AN AUTISTIC child has been accepted into a support class after a series of deferrals, and his mother has criticised the complex system that kept him out.
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Melissa Reinikka thought the phone call from the school was going to be just like the rest.
She was prepared to receive the news that her son had been deferred for the fifth time.
"I answered the phone and I'm like 'are you ringing to tell me that we've been deferred again?'" she said.
Ms Reinikka was then told her son has a spot in a support class in 2023.
The teachers at Tamworth South Public School even debated over who would get to break the good news to the family, Ms Reinikka said.
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Jacob was accepted into a support class due to students exiting the class, a spokesperson from the Education Department said.
There are 12 students in the Tamworth area awaiting placement into a support class after a panel meeting in early August, the spokesperson said.
Ms Reinikka said the process is overly complicated and relies more on checked boxes than understanding the personal experience of families.
"I think they need to make the system easier to navigate for parents with special needs children," she said.
The Leader reported in April that Jacob was one of 30 students deferred for a support class in the Tamworth region despite being eligible.
His mother went to the Education Department and her local member and media.
"I'd like to think [the approval is] because he needed it," she said.
"But I still believe that because I've fought so hard to get awareness out there that this is a problem, that it's got to have helped," she said.
Earlier this year Jacob was accepted into the Assisted School Travel Program.
Requests to get Jacob transport help were initially rejected because of criteria making the program accessible for children in support classes only.
The effect has been staggering - with the student not refusing to go to school since.
"He has bounced out of bed, got ready for school, no arguments, no tears, no meltdowns, since we got transport," she said.
"The pressure has just significantly lifted, and to think now we only have to get through to the end of the year and then he will get the support that he needs is just amazing."
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Eva Baxter
Eva is a Northern Daily Leader journalist based in Tamworth. She covers health, politics, energy, arts & entertainment, business, community, and a bit of everything else.
Eva is a Northern Daily Leader journalist based in Tamworth. She covers health, politics, energy, arts & entertainment, business, community, and a bit of everything else.
