I REFER to last Tuesday's article, '$33m school for autistic kids will offer 600 places'. It is an excellent move for Pathlight School to reach out to 600 students.

The surging enrolment, from 41 students to 415, indicates that there is growing demand and unmet needs.

Based on Autism Resource Centre estimates that one out of every 167 children born is autistic, there are about 4,550 autistic children here. If 25 per cent of such children are high functioning with an IQ above 75 to qualify for admission to such a school, there should be a demand for 1,137 places - indicating a shortfall from the present 600 places available.

Perhaps Pathlight should consider a second session in the afternoon to meet such needs.

Early intervention treatment by speech therapists and special needs teachers costs about $2,700 a month. But the government subsidy of such treatment has been reduced at a government-sponsored centre which in 2006 charged $240 a month. Since January last year, the cost has increased by about four times due to lower subsidy.

Although it can be argued that such subsidy could be better spent on gifted and talented students with better payback, no autistic child should be left behind because their parents can't afford it. Surely the Government can do more if in the words of Senior Minister of State for Education Grace Fu: 'I want many of them to be able to pay income tax instead of receiving welfare.'

Danny Chua Hock Chye

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Apr 8, 2008.