School Closings Far Away Feel Close to Home
It’s far away but this news from today’s Irish Times hits close, very close, to home:
Up to 100 children with speech and language difficulties who were attending pre-schools may be without a place in September after the organisation which runs the classes today announced it had gone into liquidation.
Early Language Intervention (ELI), which runs four pre-schools in Dublin and one in Galway, said it was unable to pay its 30 staff last Friday and had been forced to let them go.
Today’s NewsWales also reports on a home for autistic children in Denbighshire closing.
I don’t know the details about funding and services provided of these two places but the very words “closing.” Here in New Jersey, there’s huge demand for too few spots in private autism schools. Charlie at 7 was considered “too old” to even be considered for one of these programs. When he did get into a small private program, it closed 6 months after he started. He loved it; it seemed so unbelievable that a place that was so needed had to shut its doors. We could have sent Charlie to a large county autism program, but elected to move so he could be in a public school autism program and things have turned out well (though after the inevitable “adventures,” including a year living with Jim’s parents). Still, the word “school closing” makes me feel grateful that Charlie is where he is now, and reminds me of what’s at the top of my agenda for autistic individuals.
Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, disabilities blog, disability, Education, Family, family blog, Health, ireland, Parenting, pdd-nos, school, speech therapy, wales
2 opinions for School Closings Far Away Feel Close to Home
jonathan
Jul 29, 2008 at 1:54 am
“Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity”-Aristotle, 4th century B.C.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jul 29, 2008 at 2:15 am
Specific text?
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