Sinnott v Minister for Education

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: Mr. Justice Barr
• Judgment Date: 04 October 2000
• Neutral Citation: [2000] IEHC 148
• Court: High Court
• Docket Number: 54 p/1997
• Date: 04 October 2000

[2000] IEHC 148

THE HIGH COURT

54 p/1997

11170 p/1996

SINNOTT v. MINISTER FOR EDUCATION & ORS

JAMIE SINNOTT (A PERSON OF UNSOUND MIND NOT SO FOUND SUING BY HIS MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND, KATHRYN SINNOTT)

PLAINTIFF

AND

MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, IRELAND AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

DEFENDANTS

KATHRYN SINNOTT

PLAINTIFF

AND

MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, IRELAND AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

DEFENDANTS

Citations:

O'DONOGHUE V MIN FOR HEALTH 1996 2 IR 20

CONSTITUTION ART 42.4

BLUE REPORT (1983)

CHANGE FROM HEALTH TO EDUCATION REPORT (1971) (UK)

WARNOCK REPORT (1978) (UK)

LILAC REPORT (1990)

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO MENTAL HANDICAP (1965) CH 11 PARA 141

RYAN V AG 1965 IR 294

MURPHY V AG 1982 IR 241

MCDONNELL V IRELAND 1998 1 IR 135

DEFRENNE V SABENA 1976 ECR 455

BARBER V GUARDIAN ROYAL EXCHANGE 1990 ECR 1889

MESKELL V CORAS IOMPAIR EIREANN (CIE) 1973 IR 121

HANRAHAN V MERCK SHARP & DOHME (IRL) LTD 1988 ILRM 629

CONWAY V IRISH NATIONAL TEACHERS ORGANISATION (INTO) 1991 2 IR 305

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS 1957 S11(2)

CONSTITUTION ART 41.2

O'BRIEN V S 1985 ILRM 86

CONSTITUTION ART 40.1

Synopsis:

- [2001] 2 IR 545

1 Judgement delivered by Mr. Justice Barr on the 4th day of October, 2000 .

2 Both actions arise out of the same events and were tried together. I propose to treat them as one.

3 The evidence has established the following facts and conclusions on the balance of probabilities:-

4 Jamie Sinnott was born on 11th October, 1977. He is now almost 23 years of age, the third child of nine. Mrs. Sinnott, his mother, is separated from her husband for a number of years and has been Jamie's primary carer all his life. At birth he was a healthy baby and developed normally for about the first four months. Mrs. Sinnott is an American of Irish extraction. She came to live in this country at or about the time of her marriage and Jamie was born here. Her father, Dr. John Kelly, is a surgeon who has maintained close ties with Ireland and has a house in Co. Cork at Enniskean where Mrs. Sinnott and her children resided originally. When Jamie was about four months old he was vaccinated in the usual way. Soon thereafter he began to develop autistic symptoms. Subsequently, in course of her endeavours on behalf of autistic children generally, Mrs. Sinnott founded an organisation called The Hope Project. She stated in evidence that she has details of about 300 families on computer who came to her for help - each having a child suffering from autism or other condition within the autistic spectrum. In almost every case such children were, like Jamie, normal for the first few months of life and then sustained an insult of one type or another and became "derailed in to autism". Experience indicates that there usually is a precipitating event after which autistic symptoms emerge.

5 The first symptom which Jamie displayed was that he began to scream incessantly as thought in acute pain. He lost the ability to attach to the breast. He became extremely distressed at light and sound. He did not want to be touched or handled. Mrs. Sinnott's description of him at that time was "He seemed to cry all of the time. The only times he seemed to be happy is if he was in bed away from all sound and lights dimmed, curtains closed and no-one touching him; then he could remain calm for short periods of time". Jamie's problems also extended to physical incapacity. This was very clearly demonstrated on an occasion when he was about six months old. Mrs. Sinnott's sister paid a visit and brought her son, Barry, who was a month younger than Jamie. Mrs. Sinnott described the two babies lying on the floor side by side. "Barry was looking at this mother and smiling and kicking and doing all of the appropriate six months things... Jamie was lying next to him, unusually not crying... just lying there completely flat, he was not doing anything and he was not looking at anybody...". This was in sharp contrast with the interaction of the two babies when together up to the time when Jamie developed autism. Jamie was then entirely normal in behaviour and was more advanced than Barry.

6 Mrs. Sinnott's father carried out an assessment of Jamie and became concerned about him. Dr. Quigley, the family G.P., was consulted and he referred him to the paediatric unit at St. Finbarr's Hospital in June, 1978 where he was assessed by Professor Barry. At that stage he had lost control of his jaw which had started to clamp. He has never regained full jaw control and since then up to the present time he drools saliva which causes him on-going distress as well as creating an element of revulsion in those who come in contact with him. Jamie was detained in hospital for a period of observation and tests on the basis of which Professor Barry advised that the child was not reaching his milestones. He was healthy and they had found nothing physically wrong with him. It was reported that all of his tests were normal. On being pressed by Dr. Kelly, Professor Barry stated that he would not discount autism. His advice was that Jamie be taken home and that they watch the autism develop. They were not directed to any other service where the child might receive treatment, nor were they asked to bring him back to the hospital for further assessment.

7 Jamie was brought home and Mrs. Sinnott embarked upon a search for appropriate treatment for her son which in turn developed in to a crusade on behalf of autistic children generally - a huge struggle over two decades seeking to prevail on State health and education authorities to recognise autism and to provide appropriate education and training for those afflicted by it - particularly children like Jamie with severe or profound physical and mental disabilities which are frequently a feature of autism. Anyone who heard Mrs. Sinnott's evidence in court and witnessed her demeanour must have been moved by her account of intelligent, selfless dedication and heroism in contending over the years with so much official indifference and persistent procrastination which has continued up to and through this trial. It is a sad commentary that even at this late stage the State has failed to address realistically its constitutional obligation to provide for the on-going education of Jamie Sinnott.

8 The history of Mrs. Sinnott's efforts for upwards of twenty years to obtain education and care for Jamie and others seriously afflicted with autism and related symptoms is a very depressing story with many disappointments and set-backs arising out of failure on the part of officialdom to address the problem of autism and how it should be treated - notwithstanding substantial international progress in that area since the 1960's and earlier which is well-known and documented. The evidence of Mr. Matthew Ryan, a senior administrator in the Department of Education who has particular responsibility in the area under review, underlines the depth of ignorance of autism and its problems at official level. In Jamie's case the difficulty was aggravated by actual professional misinformation on how he should be treated which contributed to setting back his education and training for years.

9 Mrs. Sinnott's own family home is in Chicago, Illinois, where her father carried on practice as a surgeon. Having endeavoured without success to obtain treatment for Jamie from several institutions in Cork, Mrs. Sinnott decided to bring him to Chicago and see what might be done for him there. He was brought to the paediatric unit at Loyola University Hospital where he came under the care of Dr. Eugene Diamond. He was detained for five days and had a comprehensive series of tests under a team of specialists. He was found to be generally healthy and of good growth. It appears that his substantial disablement was diagnosed as autistic in origin with a major deficit in motor development which affected his muscles, skeleton and general movement. He was diagnosed as suffering from a psycho-motor problem the effect of which was that the brain was not sending messages to his muscles and limbs. Mrs. Sinnott was informed that Jamie needed intense therapy designed to teach the brain to send the messages necessary to put him back on track. The Loyola specialists recommended intensive intervention in the nature of occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language training.

10 Jamie was then enrolled at the Disfunctioning Child Centre at the Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, the director of which was Dr. Naomi Abraham. The centre provides a range of therapists to deal with dysfunctional children, including those suffering from autism and related disabilities. Jamie attended three sessions a week from the end of September until Christmas, 1978. There were two sessions with Ms. Elizabeth Osten, occupational psychotherapist, and one session with other therapists or undergoing tests. Every month a written assessment was made of Jamie's progress by the therapists concerned in consultation with Mrs. Sinnott and her father. She described that when her son arrived at the centre he was screaming continuously and when not screaming he was lying there like a spongy lump. He did not appear to see anybody or do anything. She described him as being "glazed over" and not wishing to be touched. He had also started to display repetitive autistic behaviour. An autistic person is self-centred in a literal sense who tends to shut out the world around him. He or she is also prone to repetitive behaviours such as pulling the hands and mouthing them. The treatment at the Michael Reese Hospital brought about substantial improvements in Jamie's behaviour, physical capacity and enjoyment of living. He was watching people and giving some eye contact. He stopped most of his autistic repetitive movements. He started interacting with people around him. He ceased to cry and he even smiled. There was quite a traumatic change in his...