An Inverness mother who battled for 10 years to get her son diagnosed with autism has urged parents to fight council plans to cut support staff in schools.
Sylvia Mackenzie spoke out after education chiefs proposed axeing classroom assistants and staff working in behaviour support, psychology and with autistic children. It is part of an overall plan by the local authority to make savings to plug a £26 million budget gap.
Mrs Mackenzie’s autistic son, Kobe Sutherland, 16, was not diagnosed until he was 12 – and by another health board – despite her first raising concerns about his developmental issues when he was two.
Mrs Mackenzie, of Culloden, received an apology from NHS Highland after a Scottish Public Services Ombudsman ruled that assessments done on Kobe were not appropriate.
She has since campaigned successfully to improve the neuro-developmental assessment process to improve patient experience and cut lengthy waiting times for children with autism in the Highlands.
Yesterday she said the council’s proposals “makes a mockery” of this work, adding: “We will end up in a situation where children will be diagnosed more effectively and quickly but will not be getting the right support in education which is where it is needed the most. There is not enough support in school as it is, and to go and do this would be criminal.
“I can see a lot of people home schooling because more kids will be socially isolated. It’s going to impact on a lot of children and there could be social worker involvement. That was the case for me. You don’t want to be up in front of a panel saying you can not control your child.”
Mrs Mackenzie says a protest is being planned for the council’s budget day on February 15 outside their headquarters in Glenurquhart Road.
She highlighted that the Highland ASN Education Cuts Action Group on Facebook has already attracted about 2,200 members – and hopes that “hundreds” will turn out on the day.
The local authority’s proposals have already sparked calls for parents with children with additional needs to be more aware of their legal rights regarding education provision.
Council leader Margaret Davidson said: “No councillor wants to see a reduction in front-line services, as a result of the Scottish Government’s cut in funding to the council. Even less so when it would disproportionately impact on some of the most vulnerable people in the Highlands. I share the concerns of the many parents who have highlighted the effect of any cut in Additional Support Needs. That’s why I’ve been working hard with the budget leader, Alister Mackinnon, and the new chairman of the People Committee, Andrew Baxter, to find a way of not implementing these proposals from officers.”
