THE mother of an autistic girl said children with special needs in mainstream classes will bear the brunt if SNAs are moved to dedicated special needs classes.

She also warned that this could lead to an even bigger increase in school avoidance due to sensory overload.

The decision by the department of education to carry out this review and redeployment of SNAs will cause thousands of children to be left without vital support, she stated.

'The loss of SNAs in mainstream schools flies in the face of recommendations that have been made by psychologists, operational therapists and other health care providers,' she added.

'My daughter has SNA access, but neither I, nor the school, know the finding of the review yet. But it stands to reason that this cutback could have a detrimental impact on children with additional needs, and it could double the workload for the remaining SNAs because the level of manpower will be halved.'

Earlier this week Independent Ireland TD Michael Collins described the cuts to SNA supports as unacceptable.

Deputy Collins was speaking following reports that dozens of mainstream schools were told last week their SNA allocations are to be reduced after reviews by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), with schools in Cork, Kerry and Kildare among those affected. 

Trade union Fórsa has said the situation is causing serious concern across the sector.

Cork Senator Nicole Ryan (SF) called out the Government for ‘quiet cuts’ to mainstream SNA supports.

She accused the Government of misleading families claiming the reality on the ground tells a very different story to Governmentpress releases.

‘This Government cannot claim to champion inclusion while quietly cutting the very supports that make inclusion possible,’ she said.