Interdisciplinary Dialogue with School of Law and School of Education

We are delighted to announce that the School of Education and the School of Law recently joined the Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute as member Schools. To mark this occasion you are warmly invited to an evening of interdisciplinary dialogue on Thursday, 28 November, at 6.15pm during which both Schools will discuss aspects of their research that are related to the mission of the institute.

On behalf of the School of Law, Prof Gerard Whyte will address 'Litigation and Special Education in Ireland'
Prof Whyte will consider the impact of litigation in the Irish courts on the provision of appropriate education for children with learning difficulties. Faced with apparent indifference on the part of the State in relation to the education of children with severe or profound learning difficulties, a number of parents instituted legal proceedings against the State in which they sought to enforce their children's constitutional right to free primary education. Prof Whyte will consider the efficacy of this litigation in improving educational provision for such children and will argue that while the litigation led to a general improvement in the provision of special education, the experience here also illustrates some of the drawbacks of litigation strategy.

On behalf of the School of Education, Prof Carmel O'Sullivan will address 'Drama in the Social Education of Young People with Asperger Syndrome - Towards the Development of 12 New Sub-Types'
Prof O'Sullivan will present the results of a longitudinal study aimed to quantify and assess the effects of drama in the education programme on the core social deficits of Asperger Syndrome: namely social functioning, language and communication, imagination and theory of mind. Recent changes in DSM5 have resulted in the removal of Asperger Syndrome (AS) as a diagnostic category, and this presentation will challenge the move to place AS under the umbrella term of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The School's research has identified 12 new sub-types within Asperger Syndrome and these will be presented and discussed.

If you would like to attend this event, please email lawevent [at] tcd.ie