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Music therapist Louise Kelly with a pupil at Scoil Iosagain in Buncrana, Co Donegal

A music therapist who worked "miracles" with autistic primary school children is to lose her job because the Department of Education has decided to stop funding the service.

'The day the music died' is now looming for the children, many with special needs, at Scoil Iosagain in Buncrana, Co Donegal.

Sixteen children with autism, in the large school of almost 700 pupils, attend daily sessions in the music therapy room, many on a one-to-one basis.

But it isn't just the children with autism and learning disabilities who have shown a marked improvement in their socialising and learning skills through music.

Children with challenging behaviour, emotional difficulties and chronic shyness, as well as reluctant school-goers and bullying victims, have responded positively to the therapeutic process, with corresponding positive effects in the classroom.

"There are huge benefits across the board. It addresses all aspects of a child's development; emotional, physical, social, and psychological. We have seen great transformation as a result of music therapy.

"It is the only direct, consistent intervention from another professional in the school," explained principal, Sinead McLaughlin.

Parents and staff have embarked on a major lobbying campaign to retain the music therapist at the school next year.

The music therapist, Louise Kelly, who left a full-time job in Northern Ireland to take up the post in the Buncrana school, explained that the therapy had knock-on benefits in the classroom and the home.

"The children learn social skills. They learn how to communicate and be calm. It is space that can be cathartic for them."

Funding for the unique programme came from the Social Inclusion Unit of the Department of Education but the school has been refused funding for the next school year on the grounds that, as a therapy, it was the remit of the HSE and not the Department of Education.

"We are continuing to lobby politicians and we are working closely with the HSE in the hope that the funding can be found from somewhere," said the principal.