Amira unable to attend school since September as she waits on SNA

EIGHT-year-old Amira from Ballinabranna should have begun second class in September but instead, she is being homeschooled by her mother as they wait for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to approve a special needs assistant to attend with her.

Amira O’Toole Rauf requires round the clock care because of a devastating injury she sustained as a 14-month-old baby. Another car crashed into her mother’s, Caroline’s, car in November 2018 in Portlaoise, severing her spinal cord and hospitalising her mother. The driver, who was in his 40s, was killed in the crash.

Caroline has been fighting for proper care for her daughter since the accident. This latest issue with finding an SNA is part of a long saga for the family, who have been pleading for supports that will enable Amira to live a life of dignity.

“She really wants to go to school and make new friends,” said Caroline. Amira previously attended Ballinabranna primary school where she had SNA assistance.

However, she left in June 2025 as it wasn’t suitable to her needs and is now enrolled in Mayo National School, Crettyard. Her new school is “a very small, little family-oriented school,” said Caroline, with a small playground so that Amira can push herself easily around it.

“In Mayo, we never felt as welcome. Liam Lalor (the school principal) has been absolutely 100% fantastic,” said Caroline.

“You’d think it should be straightforward enough to find an SNA,” said Mr Lalor. “If a child has special educational needs, the school applies to the NCSE and then they send out the local representative and they do assessment of needs. And, if needed, an SNA should be sanctioned within a reasonable time frame.” According to the NCSE website, schools must apply for an SNA allocation between 15 September and 24 October and reviews are conducted throughout the year. Mayo NS first got in touch with the NCSE about securing SNA hours for Amira in August but the review of their allocation took place in November.

When an approval was not forthcoming, Caroline felt she had no other option than to take Amira’s story to The Nationalist. “You have no privacy in this country. You have to hit mainstream news. You have to go to the local newspaper. You have to go and put yourself out there again."

The principal contacted the NCSE again on the morning of Wednesday 7 January, saying that  The Nationalist had been in touch with him about the story. A reply came later that day, saying that the request for an SNA has been approved and recruitment for the position would begin.

The NCSE was contacted for comment by The Nationalist regarding the average timeframe for SNA allocations and reasons for a delay in Amira’s case. “It’s outrageous that this is the system. It makes no sense in anyone’s mind,” said Mr Lalor., adding that Amira will begin attending Mayo NS as soon as an SNA is in place.

Despite this development, multiple barriers remain. Amira has been waiting four years for a wheelchair that will properly support her spine, which now has a 42-degree curve. The lack of proper seating is impacting her bladder and bowel management “crushing her organs to the left and crushing her lungs to the right,” said her mother. The waiting lists for spinal surgery will be a problem they face into in the coming year.

She is also waiting on a cushion from Carlow Children’s Disability Network Team to support her while carrying out self-catheterisation, a different standing frame that will make her more independent, and a sleep system that was promised five years ago.

“You can give them a piece of equipment, it might do the job, but if it doesn't make them feel ‘I can do it with a little bit of help,’ instead of ‘no I can't do it, I’m in a wheelchair’ ... you really psychologically damage in your child,” said Caroline.

She is also concerned that Amira will be left out of swimming lessons with her classmates because of a lack of planning and support.

All these barriers have taken a toll on Caroline and her family. “I can't leave the home in the daytime when it's raining and the weather doesn't suit her to go out. We're prisoners at home 24/7. It's not just Amira that's disabled; it's the whole family that's disabled because we can't do anything.

“It's exhausting and it's wearing me down now. All I want is my daughter to have some bit of life and some quality of life.” 

She is, however, hugely relieved that Amira will start school as soon as her SNA is in place.