Ms Paula Dalton:

Support for parents is very important. I have been lucky in having close family and friends who have helped us but not everyone is in that position. It would be lovely for children if there was a centre where children could go to play a game of pool and talk to other children dealing with similar issues to let them see they are not alone. Rhys feels very alone. He feels no one understands. This isolates him. That is true of all of them to a degree.

Rhys is autistic but the first thing we heard in the CAMHS was that our son had autism, and CAMHS did not need or did not have to treat him. My mouth just hung open because I did not know how to respond to that. He is autistic and he is highly intelligent. He probably has a higher IQ than most of us in this room. He is a delight and he does benefit from treatment and services. The disability services and CAMHS should come together and talk about this child and other children. They are so busy passing the buck between one another that this little child is falling between the cracks. It is getting worse and a lot of time and money is being wasted. I have noticed that since the autism spectrum disorders were brought into the mental health sector. That needs to be highlighted.