Autism (Hansard, 27 April 2004)

§ Mrs. Iris Robinson
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent changes have been made in accessing multi-agency multi-disciplinary diagnosis and assessment services at an earlier stage in relation to autistic spectrum disorder. [167719]

§ Angela Smith
The Department's Priorities for Action 2004–05 requires boards and trusts to establish multidisciplinary diagnostic, assessment and early intervention teams to provide for improved life outcomes for around 200 children and young people with autism per year. An additional £0.5 million has been allocated for this purpose.

§ Mrs. Iris Robinson
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what changes have been made in(a) school-based and (b) home-based educational and therapeutic provision since the report of the task group on autism. [167720]

§ Mr. Gardiner
The Department of Education and the five Education and Library Boards have responded positively to the Report of the Task Group on Autism.
The Department of Education has actively sought additional resources. In relation to school-based provision, in 2003–04, £500,000 was invested to provide an eclectic mix of training and awareness-raising programmes in the pre-school sector. £550,000 per annum will be provided from 2004–05 to allow each Board to put in place an ASD Team dedicated to the educational needs of children with Autism and to form an Inter Board ASD Group. This will enhance local provision and enable school based support to be put in place.
In relation to home-based provision the Boards have sanctioned and are funding a number of home-based programmes for children with ASD. Consequently the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) has designed a strategic pathway to enable it to evaluate and identify effective practice in this area.

§ Mrs. Iris Robinson
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the TEACCH educational programme for young people with autistic spectrum disorders. [167723]

§ Mr. Gardiner
No overall assessment has been made of the TEACCH educational programme for young people with autistic spectrum disorders. This is because during the course of school inspections the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) inspect the quality of the teaching and learning as it meets the individual needs of the child in the school setting. This may involve a range of programmes but the specific interventions are not inspected in isolation. Between 1998 and 2000 the ETI undertook "A Survey of Provision for Pupils with Severe and Profound Learning Difficulties in NI. This included a section on provision for pupils with autism, which commented favourably on the use of TEACCH in the classroom by the teachers surveyed.
For the Education and Library Boards, the ongoing assessment of TEACCH, as with other programmes, is a natural element of the work of school-based staff who are experienced and/or trained in this approach.
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§ Mrs. Iris Robinson
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effects of applied behaviour analysis in the education of children with autistic spectrum disorders. [167724]

§ Mr. Gardiner
To date no overall assessment of the effects of commercially available home-based ABA programmes has been undertaken at service level by the Department of Education. This is because, during the course of school inspections, the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) inspect the quality of the teaching and learning as it meets the child's individual needs in the school setting. This may involve a range of strategies but the specific programmes are not inspected in isolation.
Several Education and Library Boards (ELBs) are currently making ABA provision for children on the basis of individual need. They will be carefully considering the progress made by pupils on these programmes and the Department will be interested in the outcomes. As a contribution to the development of ABA, the ETI is evaluating a pilot ABA programme in a pre-school setting in one ELB area. Consequently the ETI has designed a strategic pathway to enable it to evaluate and identify effective practice in home-based programmes for children with Autism.
On an on-going basis, ELBs review children with statements of special educational needs through the statutory annual review procedures.