Oristano, a 9-year-old deaf boy denied assistance: the family takes the municipality to court.
Promises of academic support not kept despite legal warningsPer restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
The first formal notice was sent to the City Hall on October 10th: the lawyer requested the service be activated immediately. The second, given that there has been nothing to report in the meantime, dates back 17 days. And since the problem hasn't been resolved, the case will now go to court.
In a school in Oristano, there is a nine-year-old boy who is completely deaf. The municipality has granted him communication assistance for only eight hours a week, even though the school's educational plan, which it submitted to the municipality last May, states that "eight hours are insufficient to encourage the student's participation in inclusive learning." It also states that "to ensure the right to education for a child with severe deafness, it is hoped that 30 hours of communication assistance will be available."
The child, assisted by his special education teacher, also needs a go-between to understand lessons and communicate with his classmates. Given the silence, and especially the failure to activate the service, the lawyer Francesca Macis, representing the child's parents (in her second formal notice, she specified that if the matter was not resolved immediately, the competent authorities would be consulted) , filed an appeal with the Oristano court.
"We are requesting the service be activated for 29 hours," the lawyer explains. "This is a precautionary appeal, so we reserve the right to seek further compensation for the damages resulting from the relevant ruling." Among the requests is the order for the Municipality to pay a sum for the days of delay in activating the weekly hours of care, for a total of €100 per day from the date the judge orders the Municipality to comply. On October 31, Social Services Councilor Carmen Murru stated that "the family's request was being reviewed by social services."
A few days later, the child's mother was contacted by the social worker to attend a meeting scheduled for November 5th at the City Hall. However, the evening before, the mother was contacted again by the same social worker (via a voice message) who informed her that the meeting had been canceled due to the mayor's unforeseen commitments. From that day on, nothing. The matter will be discussed on December 5th, the day of the first hearing.
