Jail4Bail – Autism Western Cape

I received a pretty new brochure for the DA with the slogan “BETTER EDUCATION BRIGHTER FUTURE” which made me very excited that a political party cares about Education in South Africa.

In reading with great interest:

CREATING A SOCIETY WITH REAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL

The DA’s vision for South Africa is a society with real opportunities for all. This requires quality education for all our children. Improving education is one of South Africa’s biggest challenges, following 15 years of decline in many schools. The DA pledges that, within 15 years of taking power nationally, all children will emerge from schools able to read, write and calculate at internationally benchmarked levels.

TO DO THIS , THE DA WILL START BY GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT

• Teachers and officials will be present, punctual and prepared to do their jobs every day.
• There will be a special emphasis on reading, writing and calculating in every classroom.
• Principals and officials will be hels accountable for improving results through performance contracts with achievement targets for each school.
• There will be good text books for each subject in every grade, ready for the start of each year.
• Children will be tested for literacy and numeracy at the end of grades 3, 6 and 9.
• At the beginning of each year parents will be informed of the standards their children should reach by the end of the year.
• There will be support and training for teachers to achieve literacy and numeracy targets, and their administrative load will be reduced.
• Principals will be offered specialised school management training.
• Effective discipline will be established in schools.
• There will be a special focus on attracting, retaining, and rewarding excellent teachers.
• Options for higher education will be expanded to include vocational and skills training as well as university education.

Wow awesome vision for South Africa Education, however one small thing missing. Where would learners with special educational needs fit into the future of education in South Africa?

Currently funding for the development of additional LSEN (Learners with Special Educational Needs) schools seems to be non existing. Yes I am looking at this in a one sided as example, because I receive the calls from desperate parents with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder looking for schools for their children. Current International Autism prevalence statistics indicate 1:158 ranging on different continents starting range from 1:86.

The current educational structure for autism in South Africa cannot cope with the demand with waiting list of up to 2 years.

Organisation working in the field of Autism function on their own financial ability to provide the best, individualised, quality education with dedicated and passionate staff, working their butts of everyday to change the lives of families.

It is time for Government and political parties to acknowledge that the prevalance of Autism Spectrum Disorder is increasing in epidemic proportion globally. Political parties and Government need to act now, learn for Gordon Brown and Barack Obama in taking ownership of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Looking for information on Autism on the DA website resulted in

In order to be fair I did a search for Autism on all the other political parties website and no information available.

I can only therefore conclude that no political party in South Africa care or prioritise Autism in South Africa. On the 2nd of April 2010 Autism groups & Governments around the world will acknowledge World Autism Awareness Day .

I urge you to start looking at the constitutional rights to education of children with Autism in South Africa.