Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Bronwynn Engelbrecht MPL.
Autistic learners at the Johannesburg School for Autism in the Johannesburg CBD, are being forced to learn in overcrowded conditions, where inadequate care, limited therapy services and unsuitable infrastructure have created an environment that fails to meet their most basic developmental and educational needs.
A recent oversight inspection by the Democratic Alliance (DA) uncovered that the school operates across four floors in a building shared with 22 other businesses and organisations, a setup that is far from suitable for learners who are high on the autism spectrum and unable express fear, frustration, or discomfort in words.
Furthermore, the school does not have enough speech therapists, resulting in learners receiving sessions only once every two weeks. For a non-verbal child, speech therapy is not a luxury, but a vital bridge to dignity, independence, and meaningful inclusion.
The outdoor space is also a concern with school officials informing us that learners are taken outside only once a day because the outdoor is not spacious and was not designed for learners with special needs.
These factors highlight a difficult reality: children who already face significant communication barriers are being educated in an environment that is not adequately designed to meet their needs.
The DA calls on the Gauteng Department of Education to reorganise the building so that the school gets at least two full floors, preferably the ground floor and second floor, to create a safe environment for learners. Additionally, the department must increase the number of speech therapists so that every child receives therapy at least once a week.
We will table questions to Gauteng Education MEC, Lebohang Maile, to determine whether there are plans to allocate fully dedicated floors to the school or relocate it, as well as to increase speech therapy services and implement a long-term infrastructure solution for the institution.
The DA is the only party committed to fostering an inclusive society that supports individuals with autism and other neurodiverse conditions. A DA government in Gauteng will ensure that facilities like the Johannesburg School for Autism are transformed into a dignified, safe, autism-focused centre to give every learner the best possible chance at independence.