MIDWAY through term 3, a Williamstown mother says her teenage son with autism will never catch up on missed schooling after his integration aide funding was halved.
Raelene McDonald’s son Luke Schroder is in year9 at Williamstown High School, but is now averaging about two days of school a week.
As reported by the Weekly, the school had matched Luke’s state government funding so he could attend school with an aide four days a week. But the school’s budget was on a “razor’s edge” after the government slashed $40,000 from the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning program.
“He’s never going to catch up,” Ms McDonald said.
“He’s just getting further and further and further behind.
“To me, Luke going to a mainstream school is not only about academics, it’s also about the social aspects.
“He is regressing in his communication, eye contact, the way he even speaks to people – he’s becoming abrupt and rude … he’s certainly regressed in his social skills.”
Education Department spokeswoman Jane Metlikovec said a departmental psychologist would “continue weekly meetings at Williamstown High School regarding the best support for Luke”.
Ms McDonald said the departmental psychologist had met her only twice this year, the second time on Monday this week.
She fears that Luke won’t be able to fulfil his dream of completing his VCAL.
“If he’s not capable of being independent in the classroom he can’t do VCAL,” Ms McDonald said.
“We have to have the ID [intellectual disability label] to get to a special school – they won’t take a child just based on autism, they have to have an intellectual disability as well.”
Ms Metlikovec denied that the department was failing students like Luke.
“As autism diagnoses rise, so does the department’s support for students with autism spectrum disorder,” she said.
“In addition to the Victorian government’s recent announcement that a new P-12 autistic school will be built in Laverton, the department is continuing its support for Western Autistic School and the outreach programs it runs to support students in mainstream schools, such as Williamstown High School.”
Ms Metlikovec said online training in teaching students with autism was available to all Victorian teachers.
State Williamstown MP Wade Noonan said Luke was an “innocent victim” of education funding cuts.
