FAQ
What is Autism
How can I have my child educationally assessed and have an individual education plan (1FF) drawn up?
What is Autism Autism is a disability that affects the normal development of the brain in areas of social interaction and communication. The first signs of autism usually appear as developmental delays before the age of 3. Austism is described as a "spectrum" disorder. This means that the symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations and can range from mild to severe. Two children with the same diagnosis can act very differently from one another and have varying skills. Autism is a serious developmental neurological disorder, marked by severe difficulties in communication and forming relationships with people, in developing language and in using abstract concepts. Characteristics include repetitive and limited patterns of behaviour and obsessive resistance to tiny changes in familiar surroundings or routines.
How can I have my child educationally assessed and have an individual education plan (1FF) drawn up?
If your child is attending school, the school should be asked about its arrangements for psycho-educational assessment. Psycho-educational assessment, in this context, is concerned with the identification of the childs educational needs arising from ASD and from any intellectual disability. It is not intended to diagnose or confirm the existence of an ASD.
In schools served by the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), the principal can request the involvement of the area educational psychologist. The school should be able to draw up an IEP for the child on the basis of the educational psychologists report and any other existing professional reports. The childs parents should also be consulted about the IEP, which should lay out specific objectives to be achieved by the child within a particular time-frame and should indicate arrangementsfor review.
If the school is not yet covered by NEPS, the school may commission a psychological assessment under the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). This scheme was introduced by the DES as a temporary measure to provide access to psychological, assessments for schools not yet covered by NEPS. Details concerning the SCPA are available on the DES website at www.irlgov.ie/educ
If your school-age child is not currently attending any school, the DES will arrange for a psycho-educational assessment.