Primary education
In accordance with the principle of inclusion underlying the Luxembourg public education system, children of a primary school age (in principle 3 to 12 years) who are domiciled in Luxembourg are automatically enrolled in the local primary school – whether or not the children in question have special needs. Depending on the geographical location, each primary school is attached to a region or a regional directorate. Each regional directorate has an assistant director responsible for pupils with special educational needs (i.e. SEN pupils). He/she acts as the primary point of contact for implementing the education plans for SEN pupils, and, works together with the professionals of the support team for pupils with special needs (équipe de soutien pour élèves à besoins éducatifs spécifiques, ESEB), to guide parents through the necessary steps. When a pupil continues to experience difficulties despite the efforts provided at the local level, the regional inclusion commission (commission d’inclusion, CI) may submit a request to the Commission nationale d’inclusion (CNI) (national inclusion commission) in order to obtain a specialised diagnosis from one of the eight competence centres, including the CTSA.
Secondary education
In secondary schools, the support team for pupils with special needs (équipe de soutien pour élèves à besoins éducatifs spécifiques, ESEB) may be in charge of supporting pupils with special needs. Rather than being associated with an inclusion commission (commission d’inclusion, CI) for a given region or a regional directorate, each secondary school has its own CI. Therefore, where a pupil is in need of some specialised intervention over and above that offered by the ESEB, the CI and the parents jointly prepare the dossier for submission to the Commission nationale d’inclusion (CNI) (national inclusion commission).
Important information
- The CTSA will not intervene in relation to a child (e.g. observing him/her in school, implementing specialised or rehabilitative interventions) unless and until it has been formally appointed by the CNI.
- The CTSA will only intervene in relation to children and young people who have already been medically diagnosed as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Such a clinical diagnosis must be formally established by a multidisciplinary medical team. (The CTSA does not establish any medical diagnosis.)
- Pending the processing of a child’s dossier by the CNI or the diagnosis of a child as having an ASD, the CTSA may meet with and advise the parents for the purposes of discussing their situation and any possible intermediate steps to be taken.
- The CTSA may also answer general questions concerning autism raised by professionals (e.g. teachers or educators working in a nursery or a maison relais), but the team of the CTSA will not comment on any particular pupil until the CNI has appointed the CTSA to take charge of the pupil in question.
- The CTSA only intervenes in relation to children and young people with an ASD diagnosis who are domiciled in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Where a family with a child of primary school age with an ASD is planning to move to Luxembourg, we advise the family in question to get in touch with the assistant director for their future place of residence. If the child with special needs is aged over 12 and plans to attend a secondary school, the family should contact the Service de l’intégration et de l’accueil scolaires (SIA) (school integration and welcome service).