Mr. Adam Harris:

I thank the Senator. I agree there are strong local groups throughout the country. The Dublin 12 autism support group with Helen and MJ and Involve Autism with Miriam are two examples of the incredible work being done. Both of these groups in their respective areas have single-handedly changed the narrative on the availability of special classes and school places through their hard work. We owe them a huge amount of gratitude and support. These local groups play a vital role that an organisation such as AsIAm cannot necessarily do. My mother said that when I was younger the most useful thing to do was to speak to the parent of the child in the locality who was two or three years older to find out how they overcame certain obstacles and get local intelligence on who to speak to and what a school was really like. Supporting initiatives such as this should be part of an autism strategy. I touched on this in the opening statement. Much more targeted funding and support need to be available for these activities. In many respects they are full-time jobs and full-time undertakings.

I completely agree with Senator on the point she raised about the death of parents. It is something that comes up more and more. It is very difficult because the parent groups that have been established are often more geared towards the early stage of life. Parents do not often feel at home with this issue and it is often the same with the local autism groups. There is a need for more targeted support.

The same is true with regard to a tangential issue, which is ageing and autism. We speak about a population and we focus on the very young. We have a cohort of people who are growing older and there are many challenges that go with this. Other jurisdictions are only beginning to look at this. It is something we should have on our radar. The issues regarding ageing and death are particularly relevant given the assisted decision-making Act. It will bring in a lot of changes and we will need to support families and individuals with understanding it. Our concern at present is that too often the transition to adult services, such as residential care, happens when someone dies or only when a crisis happens. Autistic people need certainty and predictability. It would be far more helpful if it were done in a structured way much earlier. It would be better for everybody.

With regard to the local employment service it is clear we need more supports in this area and not fewer. It is vital that something is done.