The government’s Autism Innovation Strategy has been referred to as “a load of fluff” by the mother of a five-year-old autistic kid who does not have a primary school appointment, reports Breaking News.
According to Caitriona Rohan, irreversible harm was being caused by the lack of action taken about early intervention, as she stated on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland. Being “kicked down the road” was the issue.
“How can people with autistic children expect the strategy to be implemented and the government to be held to account when “they can’t even accomplish the basics?” , she continued.
Ms. Rohan described how she had applied to sixteen schools in hopes of finding a spot for her son Rian, who was scheduled to begin primary school this week, but they were unsuccessful, reports Breaking News.
“We’ve received letter after letter of rejection. Simply put, there are no spots left in Dublin 15 or for kids with special needs. Basically, we’re told that either the classes are filled or there is a significant backlog on the waitlist.
Ms. Rohan expressed her lack of optimism over her son’s ability to attend school. We haven’t received many solutions, and the ones that have are mostly unworkable. Furthermore, I am aware that many parents feel compelled to send their kids into mainstream schools without the necessary assistance.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the HSE were not “doing the basics” and were in reality infringing the law, despite the fact that the strategy was “a good read”, reports Breaking News.
In order to document each kid “from the minute” they were diagnosed with autism, Ms. Rohan advocated for a centralised system.
For future planning, the record would subsequently be sent to the NCSE, the Department of Education, and the schools.
According to her, no forward planning was done at the moment. This needs to come first. “As everyone is aware, early intervention is crucial, and our kids must receive the resources and rights they are due, reports Breaking News.
All of these shortcomings are causing our children irreversible harm. More supports and services are required. They are only pushing the problem farther down the road. not attending to the current circumstance.
An earlier age was required for intervention to begin. Children may require more care if they are not supported at an early age, reports Breaking News.
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