Ms Geraldine Murphy:

I am grateful for this invitation to attend the committee meeting to discuss services and supports for our children and young adults living with autism. The Special Needs Action Group, SNAG, in Athy was established in 2015. Its focus was to offer a fun outlet for children living with additional needs and their families to participate in fun and games in a safe and non-judgmental environment. Unfortunately, in today's society, there are many rules and regulations and expectations for young people when participating in games, but our focus is not just the rules and regulations. It is about how these young people can socialise among their peers and family members in a non-pressured and fun environment. During these interactions, the young people living with additional needs or their family members can develop or gain a visual understanding of each other's needs. We gently encourage all members to participate in a game or as many as they can, which in turn, will develop team-building skills.

I have been asked to speak on behalf of the parents from the group with issues that concern them. Parents are finding it very hard to get access to or contact a service team. Some parents do not know who their key support worker is. They are often not made aware of any changes to their children's support team, which can greatly stress a young individual living with ASD.

The disability team does not have a psychiatrist at the moment and has not had access directly to one as far as we are aware for many years and it is difficult to find medical support for children with ASD. This is extremely distressing for our parents as many of our children may have additional mental health issues that can go untreated. It is also vital to have access to a psychiatrist for sleep issues. It is widely acknowledged that many children with autism have trouble with sleep and a prescription for melatonin can only be prescribed by psychiatrist or paediatrician. To many of our parents, melatonin is a life saver.