The parents of a three-year-old autistic boy are worried he will regress over the holidays because a government-organised summer school is not offering the services of learning support assistants.
We are very grateful for the services being offered but more can be done to really implement inclusive education
“Our son made remarkable progress this year, attending the kindergarten with an LSA.
“But now we are told there will not be LSAs at the Klabb 3-16 summer school and we are worried that the progress will be lost if he does not attend,” Paul and Katya Cachia told Times of Malta.
“His weakness is social interaction with people outside his family circle and that’s why attending school even in summer is crucial. Going to school is part of his therapy.”
The couple would like to send their son to Klabb 3-16 which is a government eight-week summer school for which parents pay depending on how often the child attends.
But in order for him to attend he needs an LSA or an adult who can supervise and help him when needed.
Autism, or the Autism Spectrum Disorder, is a condition resulting from a neurological disorder that has an effect on normal brain function. It affects development of the person’s communication and social interaction skills.
The Cachias said they appreciate all that the government does in supporting children like their son.
However, they feel its commitment towards social inclusion in education should not be limited to the nine months of the scholastic year.
When the couple initially asked about the summer school, last year, they were told that government was looking into starting to employ LSAs.
Some time later they were even assured that this would be possible.
The Klabb 3-16 brochure says that they “currently” do not have LSAs “however, we offer support by adding more staff with the group of children or child requiring that support”.
But the Cachias were recently told that there will not be any LSAs or other staff to cater for their son.
According to Mr Cachia, when they asked about the matter at the Education Ministry, the staff there were very understanding but told them there were no funds to employ LSAs this year.
Mr Cachia said his son needed the service to be able to progress and waiting for next year would be too late.
His wife added that, as parents of an autistic child, they already had to face additional expenses such as therapy and paying for an LSA was an additional burden.
“We feel that if a service is available it should be available to all, with the resources to cater for all children.
“We are very grateful for the services being offered but more can be done to really implement inclusive education,” Mr Cachia said.
Questions sent to the Education Ministry a week ago remained unanswered by the time of writing.