CONCLUDING MESSAGE BY THE HON. LOUIS GALEA, MINISTER OF EDUCATION, AT THE, FIRST MALTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, ON AUTISM

CONCLUDING MESSAGE BY THE HON. LOUIS GALEA, MINISTER OF EDUCATION, AT THE FIRST MALTA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AUTISM - 4-6 JULY, 2000

Two weeks ago, this conference hall was packed with Maltese educators working together for the development of a National Curriculum that would be accessible to all students and that would promote practices that respect and celebrate all student diversity. And I had felt encouraged at the current consensus on the need to move forward towards inclusive educational practice. The proceedings of this conference are evidence that our vision is not only being written on paper but is in fact being worked out in the variety of large and small initiatives being undertaken within existing educational practice.

The NMC conference had also highlighted, among other things, three important aspects for the implementation of our vision:

that most of our plans required further and different training of our educators at all levels in innovative approaches to teaching and learning;

that an important ingredient in the success of our endeavour required collaboration between all stakeholders; and

that such innovative changes in practice and the mentality that goes with it take place over time, but must start occuring in small and larger measures without delay.

These three elements are evident in the proceedings of this conference.

Let me start with the last point: This conference has shown that action for inclusion is already taking place, and has improved over the past few years. Eden has from the start been dedicated to the delivery of services, though it has also promoted talk about inclusion. One of my first decisions as Minister of Social Policy in 1987 was the setting up of the National Commission for Persons with Disability which has been instrumental in the development of legislation for equal opportunities for persons with disability. The first legislation passed by my government in this mellenium has in fact been the Equal Opportunies (Persons with Disability) Act. And my ministry is committed to extend its provisions more clearly to Education. However, legislation can only support and does not create practice. Eden has been very active in developing services to children and young people with disability.

It is with pride that I note that 69 per cent of our 889 students identified as having special educational needs are now being educated in mainstream. And that 82 per cent of children with autism served by the Eden Foundation are in mainstream schools. This has created a challenge to our schools. There have been some very successful inclusive experiences for our children, from which our nondisabled children have also benefitted by opening up their appreciation of diversity. However, I am also aware that our schools feel the need for more support to ensure that inclusion occurs and is effective in improving all children's learning.

Inclusion has only been on the agenda of our education for the past few years but it has been gradually evolving. It can occur effectively over time. New expertise and the new mentality that is built with it need to be nurtured. On the other hand, it has been observed that it is also useful that we have not been waiting to have all the necessary expertise in place before we embarked on the implementation of inclusion. We need to keep a balance between action and long term planning and preparation.

Given the presence of children with disability in our schools, as is their right, it is now more urgent that we develop the necessary expertise and provisions. This conference has shown that this is occurring, but we also need to extend it as much as possible. It is very important that the successes that have been achieved be shared as has happened in this conference. It is also important that we continue to keep in mind that mainstreaming, or putting children in mainstream schools is not a simple solution. We must continue to support each child's inclusion. I will support the continuing development of expertise in developing understanding of each of our children's needs and in making appropriate provisions for their learning.

This brings me to the second point I wish to make: the need for collaboration to ensure that the needs of children with disability are effectively catered for. Autistic spectrum disorders are a complex condition that require the expertise from a number of disciplines, and I see that this conference has brought together psychiatrists, psychologists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, teachers and facilitators and parents. I can see that most of you here are practitioners sharing your expertise in the field of autism. We have here collaboration across cultures.

We have seen that the collaboration between the Eden Foundation and the UK National Autistic Society has been very fruitful. I understand that while Maltese practitioners have benefitted greatly from the longer established practice in the UK, Eden's commitment to inclusion has added flavour to the implementation of increased understanding of the needs of children with difficulties within the autistic spectrum. Collaboration leads to more creative solutions to our challenges.

Collaboration is a must for meeting the challenge of inclusion. The NMC working group on inclusion have suggested that:

"Collaboration is an essential feature of quality education for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). And that a commitment to collaboration needs to be adopted by all workers in the field. Moreover, structures that enhance collaboration and teamwork need to be developed".

Even in the papers presented at this conference, our own practitioners, too, have emphasised the importance of teamwork among the professionals and with the parents within the Eden Foundation, and also collaboration between Eden and the schools. Eden was initially set up by a parent and there was an emphasis from the start on the sharing of decision-making with the parents.

This seems to have become a feature of the work with parents of children with autism. Eden has also recently launched the Early Bird programme to provide parents with a deeper understanding and skills in meeting the needs of their children. Parents have also not only attended this conference but have also shared their own perspectives with the audience. We would like to promote such collaboration with parents.

Eden also immediately started off as an interdisciplinary set-up. Indeed, I used to hear quite often the term "trans-disciplinary" to indicate how professionals were working closely with the key workers of the child and family so that these could make use of available expertise and meet the holistic needs of the children and family. Having been Minister of Social Policy, I am very much aware that interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary work is difficult to carry out because of conflicts of interest among professionals. But again I would like to encourage all of you here to seek collaboration in your service to our children and families.

And this brings me to my first point: the need for our teachers to develop expertise in inclusive educational practices. As regular teachers are not so familiar with the diverse needs of children with disability, they are now feeling the need for more knowledge

and skills in teaching also these children. It has been observed that, because of this situation, some teachers fail to take responsibility for the education of children with disability, leaving the work to the facilitators assigned to supporting these children. This fact and need has also been highlighted by the NMC working group. I see conferences as this being one of the ways in which teachers can acquire more knowledge and skills in meeting the needs of students with autism in their classrooms.

A major contribution of specialised services like those provided by the Eden Foundation must be that of sharing their expertise with our teachers and facilitators. I am aware that one of the examples of inclusive practice with children with autism shared at this conference illustrated how the facilitator carried over the expertise developed in the STEP programme. This practice needs to become a regular feature of the work of specialised centres and agencies serving children with disability.

We are committed to continuing training of teachers and facilitators in meeting the needs of student diversity. We are collaborating closely with the Faculty of Education in ensuring that training is extended and directed towards the needs of our children. This collaboration needs to also include agencies that are dedicated to serving the needs of children with disability. They need to share their expertise in the training of both facilitators and teachers.

As Minister responsible for the promotion of the education of all our children with their diverse needs, I feel encouraged by the inclusive practice that this conference has highlighted. I also feel challenged to understand the diverse needs of all our students and their families. While the inclusive education ideal expressed in our NMC initiative is sometimes seen as too distant from our actual practice, I am sure that if we develop small appropriate innovative practices through the variety of groups engaged in the education of our children, we will move ever closer to our vision of a quality education for each and every student.