§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate he has made of the number of schoolchildren with autism in each year since 1992. [42798]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisIt is for local education authorities to identify children with special educational needs and plan provision to meet expected demand. The national figures which the Department collects on the number of children with SEN are not disaggregated by type of special need. The National Autistic Society has estimated514W that 5,200 school aged children have Kanner's or classic autism; other children will have autistic spectrum disorders, often in association with other types of SEN.
§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what assessment he has made of the Lovaas intensive behaviour therapy; [42793]
(2) what research his Department has commissioned into the (i) causes of autism, (ii) the treatment methods offered by local education authorities and (iii) the effectiveness of different treatments. [42795]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThe Department has commissioned a review of the research findings on educational programmes for children with autism. A report will be published in the near future. It will cover research into the Lovaas programme. The report will inform the design of research the Local Government Association is commissioning, following discussion with DfEE, into the comparative outcomes from a number of these educational interventions.