Chapter 13 — Special needs schools and residential services

Witnesses

Varying levels of detail were provided to the Committee by witnesses regarding their background and social circumstances. A number of witnesses reported knowing very little about their family of origin or the circumstances of their admission to the schools and services. Details regarding family of origin, place of birth, current residence and other aspects of the witnesses’ lives are, therefore, not always complete. They are differentiated by gender when there are notable differences. The age profile of witnesses at the time of their hearing is shown in the following table:

Age range	Males	Females	Total witnesses
20–29 years	2	1	3
30–39 years	2	2	4
40–49 years	10	8	18
50–59 years	15	7	22
60–69 years	9	1	10
70+ years	1	0	1
Total	39	19	58

The majority of witnesses were aged less than 60 years at the time of their hearing. Compared with the age profile of witnesses reporting abuse in other settings a notably high proportion of witnesses reporting abuse in special needs facilities were in their 20s and 30s.

Thirteen (13) of those who reported being abused in special needs services were discharged during the 1980s and 1990s. A further 36 witnesses were discharged during the 1960s and 1970s. The remaining nine witnesses were discharged prior to 1960.

Thirty five (35) witnesses, 29 male and six female, reported being born in three Irish counties. The remaining 22 witnesses were born in 12 other Irish counties, the UK and elsewhere. There was no information available regarding the birth place of one witness. At the time of their hearings 52 witnesses were living in Ireland and six were residing in the UK.

Forty three (43) witnesses, 27 male and 16 female, reported being born into two-parent families. Eight (8) witnesses were the children of single mothers, and six witnesses did not know or did not provide information about their parents’ marital status, as outlined in the following table:

Marital status of parents	Males	Females	Total witnesses
Married	27	16	43
Single	7	1	8
Widowed	0	1	1
Unavailable	5	1	6
Totals	39	19	58

The occupational status of witnesses’ parents at the time of their admission was not always reported to the Committee, and was at times unknown. Table 3 indicates the information provided by witnesses regarding their parents’ occupational status:3

Occupational status	Males	Females	Total witnesses
Professional worker	0	1	1
Managerial and technical	0	1	1
Non-manual	4	3	7
Skilled manual	5	2	7
Semi-skilled	4	1	5
Unskilled	14	8	22
Unavailable	12	3	15
Total	39	19	58

Fifteen (15) witnesses did not report or did not know their parents’ occupational status at the time of their admission, further reflecting the fact that many of the witnesses had little or no information about their family of origin.

Forty two (42) witnesses reported having siblings, including 17 who had brothers and sisters in out-of-home care, some of whom were in special needs schools as a result of disability. Altogether the 17 witnesses reported having 38 siblings in out-of-home care. Thirty three (33) witnesses were from families of five or more children and nine witnesses reported having between one and three siblings. Twelve (12) witnesses provided no detailed information regarding their family of origin and four witnesses reported that they had no siblings.

The admission circumstances reported by the 58 witnesses varied but were principally related to the perceived educational and treatment needs of children with specific impairments or disabilities, for example hearing and sight impairments and learning disabilities.

Thirty seven (37) witnesses reported being placed in a special needs school from their family home following assessment of their particular learning or treatment needs. Six (6) of those admissions were reported to have occurred in the context of family breakdown occasioned by parental death, serious illness or marital separation. Six (6) of the 37 witnesses reported that they had started attending local primary schools where their learning difficulties were first recognised. In most instances the witnesses were the only members of their family to be placed in an institution.

The other 21 witnesses reported being placed in special needs schools for a variety of reasons, 17 had more than one previous placement and had been in residential facilities since early childhood. Eight (8) of these 17 witnesses reported that they were born to single mothers and had been in residential institutions since birth, five of whom were admitted to special needs services from Industrial Schools or Children’s Homes and three were admitted from mother and baby homes or county homes. Six (6) witnesses did not know or were unable to report on the circumstances that led to their placement in residential facilities; in three instances accompanying care workers confirmed that nothing was known and no records were available regarding the witnesses’ early life history.

The following table indicates the age at which witnesses were first admitted to out-of-home care including admissions to other facilities prior to a special needs service:

Age of first admission	Males	Females	Total witnesses
0–5 years	15	13	28
6–10 years	14	2	16
11–15 years	9	3	12
16+ years	1	1	2
Total	39	19	58

Twenty eight (28) witnesses reported being admitted to a residential facility for the first time before the age of six years and 30 witnesses reported being in residential facilities for more than 10 years, as the next table indicates:

Number of years in care	Males	Females	Total witnesses
0–5 years	6	1	7
6–10 years	16	5	21
11–15 years	11	12	23
16+ years	6	1	7
Total	39	19	58

The length of time witnesses reported spending in school and residential services varied. On the basis of information provided this variation could be understood to have been influenced by the witnesses’ age when first admitted, the different reasons for their admission and their family circumstances. The average length of stay in residential care reported by the witnesses from special needs schools and services was 11 years. It is important to note that not all of the time indicated was spent in special needs facilities, it also included time spent in mother and baby homes, children’s homes and other residential services.

While more than half of the witnesses were admitted to the schools and residential services from their family homes, and had living relatives, they reported having spent most of their childhoods in institutions. The majority of specialist facilities and treatment services were centrally located during the period covered by this Report. At the time it was common for both children and adults from rural and provincial areas to travel long distances for specialist treatment. Care and residential services were, consequently, a practical necessity. As the following table shows, almost half of the witnesses reported being over 18 years of age when they were discharged from those residential facilities:

Age when discharged	Males	Females	Total witnesses
<15 years	8	1	9
16 years	6	2	8
17 years	6	7	13
18+ years	19	9	28
Total	39	19	58