❓ A Member of Parliament questions the requirement for a paediatrician diagnosis for children with Global Development Delay to access support through Schools Plus, citing potential discrimination and access issues. The Minister defends the policy, citing health advice and the provisional nature of GDD.
AnsweredQoN 500Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Why must a child with Global Development Delay have a diagnosis by a paediatrician before they commence kindergarten if they are to be considered for support through Schools Plus? (2) Is the Minister aware that this discriminates against children whose parents do not have the skills to realise that their child’s development is delayed, or in regional areas where there is a shortage of paediatrician and a waiting time of up to six months for an appointment? (3) Is the Minister aware that this discriminates against children whose parents are unlikely to attend either playgroups or clinics? (4) Will the Minister consider changing the time of diagnosis to include when the child is in kindergarten?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
7 August 2013
Responded by
Minister representing the Minister for Education
Response time
56 days
(1) The Department of Education based the eligibility criteria for Global Developmental Delay (GDD) on advice from the Department of Health that students would be assessed for GDD prior to accessing early intervention services and re-assessed on entry to school. This determines whether the intervention has resulted in the student making progress, or there is still evidence of significant developmental delay as the child is about to enter Kindergarten. If delay is evident despite the early intervention, then GDD is accepted as a provisional diagnosis.
(2) - (3) The reasons for not accessing early intervention services are beyond the control of the Department of Education. However, immediate support is available to students on entry to the public school system. Students identified at risk become a priority for the Statewide School Psychology Service, which is able to determine whether students are likely to have significant educational needs, an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder.
(4) No. GDD is a provisional category for children under the age of five years, when it cannot be reliably established why there is a delay in development. Some children can close developmental gaps quite quickly and the Department of Education exercises due caution in decisions about imputing a disability. A diagnosis after entry to school should, therefore, be more specific than GDD, which is consistent with accepted worldwide standards.
(2) - (3) The reasons for not accessing early intervention services are beyond the control of the Department of Education. However, immediate support is available to students on entry to the public school system. Students identified at risk become a priority for the Statewide School Psychology Service, which is able to determine whether students are likely to have significant educational needs, an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder.
(4) No. GDD is a provisional category for children under the age of five years, when it cannot be reliably established why there is a delay in development. Some children can close developmental gaps quite quickly and the Department of Education exercises due caution in decisions about imputing a disability. A diagnosis after entry to school should, therefore, be more specific than GDD, which is consistent with accepted worldwide standards.
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