Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to talk about the positives, namely, the autism innovation strategy and the national access plan, which I welcome. We all want them to proceed without delay. The main issues we are contacted about are assessments of need and a lack of therapies. A manager in one of the CDNTs told me the majority of children being referred to her are children with suspected autism. The assessment is vital in order for them to not just receive a diagnosis but to get a proper school placement and proper follow-up services. As the CDNTs have a significant problem with recruitment and retention, what measures have been taken to deal with this? Does the Minister of State expect the recruitment process to improve this year?

I refer to the need for cross-departmental co-operation between disability services, child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, and education. A lot of children who do not get the supports they need or are in an inappropriate school placement develop anxiety and need mental health supports. CAMHS does not seem to be addressing the needs of the children in many cases, especially if the services are told a child is autistic. That seems to be a problem. There needs to be better co-operation between all the teams, because I have heard from one side that it is not getting information and co-operation from the other.

There are many other issues that time is very limited. Public attitude is one of the things need to change. I have previously raised with the Minister of State the issue of respite services for children and their families. There is a severe lack of such services, not only in my area but all over the country.