§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what information she has requested and received from local authorities on the provisions that they are making for the education of the deaf-blind, of children suffering from autism and other forms of early childhood psychosis, and of those suffering from acute dyslexia as required by Sections 25(1), 26(1) and 27(1), respectively; and if she will give the numbers of children who are still waiting for suitable places.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasInformation was collected from LEAs in 1970 about children with defects of both sight and hearing and in 1971 about the autistic. The numbers reported were 460 and 1,468. From January 1974 information will be collected annually about the numbers of these children provided with education by LEAs or awaiting places in special schools. My right hon. Friend asked her Advisory Committee on Handicapped Children in 1971 to advise her about the education of children suffering from dyslexia. The committee was unable to accept the view that a syndrome of "developmental dyslexia" with a specific underlying cause and specific symptoms had been identified. It believed that there was a continuum spanning the whole range of reading abilities. Accordingly, no returns for dyslexic children have been asked for.