<p style="margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 3px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px;">
	Parents of children with Down&rsquo;s syndrome have said they are &ldquo;shocked and disappointed&rdquo; that the Department of Education is to continue its policy of not recognising the condition as a disability.</p>
<p>
	<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">In a statement, Down Syndrome Education Equality Advocates said the lack of knowledge displayed by the Government with regard to children with Down&rsquo;s syndrome is &ldquo;unacceptable&rdquo;.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">&ldquo;The Government, through the Department of Education, seem to be under the impression that children with Down&rsquo;s syndrome do not matter and that they will accept less,&rdquo; the statement says.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">&ldquo;As a result of the minister for education&rsquo;s decision, children with Down&rsquo;s syndrome will continue to require the diagnosis of a second disability from the Department of Education&rsquo;s &lsquo;Low Incidence Disability&rsquo; list, in order to be allocated resource teaching hours.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">The group said parents are infuriated by the &ldquo;blatant discrimination&rdquo; against their children.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">&ldquo;The attitude of this Government is insulting, not only to the children themselves, but to us &mdash; their parents &mdash; who have been fighting an unjust system of resource allocation, a system in which the disability Down&rsquo;s syndrome is not recognised in its entirety.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">&ldquo;Our children were diagnosed at birth with Down&rsquo;s syndrome, with all its inherent difficulties.&nbsp;</span><br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<br style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;" />
	<span style="font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">&ldquo;All children with Down&rsquo;s syndrome have a speech and language dis-order, but are prevented from receiving resource teaching hours to improve their speech because they do not have an IQ above 90 as a result of Down&rsquo;s syndrome.&rdquo;</span></p>
<p style="margin: 5px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 3px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 18px;">
	<a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/governments-attitude-to-downs-syndrome-insulting-238949.html">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/governments-attitude-to-downs-syndrome-insulting-238949.html</a></p>
