A Statement from the Shine Centre for Autism:
As part of normal discourse Shine is always prepared to engage with and to accept the validity of comments and opinions of others when they differ from those of Shine. It is when those comments are unfair, unbalanced and untrue that we must act to clarify the situation to protect our children, clients, families and staff. It is important that we deal with the facts and not conjecture and supposition when we are discussing the positive development of the children in our care.
The Shine Early Learning Unit has been in operation since 2005 and we have worked with hundreds of children with autism in that time. Both the curriculum and ethos of the unit are openly published on our website for all to see. https://shineireland.com/early-learning-unit/ We deliver an eclectic teaching model which includes elements of ABA, PECS, Teacch, Lámh, communication skills, social stories, academic learning and social development. The teaching model is broad based and incorporates all areas of the child’s wellbeing including the child’s physical and emotional development. This teaching methodology was reviewed and audited by the Department of Special Education and found to be completely appropriate for our children. The Shine ELU is also registered with and audited by TUSLA, once again we have published details of TUSLA’s latest audit in February 2019 on our website. The Shine Centre is a not for profit organisation and a registered charity and works with many other children, parents and families across a range of support services.
The comments and statements posted on our Facebook page in recent days are untrue, do not standup to scrutiny and have no basis in fact. None of the commentators have visited our Centre and are basing their opinion on the hearsay and the conjecture of others. The use of extreme and ill-considered terms such as “abuse” and “torture” are in our view defamatory and legally actionable. Further comments made on other public pages about the good governance of our organisation are also in our view legally actionable as such untrue comments publicly impugn the good character of our organisation, staff and our independent Board of Directors. We have referred all of these comments and allegations to our legal advisers to ensure the professional integrity of Shine is upheld and maintained.
Shine wholeheartedly stands by the efficacy of our work and the professionalism, dedication and commitment of our staff. We also want to thank the many people who have been in touch with us with messages of solidarity and to assure them that we will continue to support the many children and families who avail of our services now and into the future.
The Board of Shine Ireland.
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