Ms Sharon Mpofu:

Yes. However, some people with kids in post-primary do not qualify for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance, so they do not have enough money to buy books. The parents rely on the €38.80 they get per week. There are things in school that need to be paid for. That becomes a challenge for parents, and also for children with disabilities. Quite a lot of parents, mostly coming from African countries, do not know their kids have any sort of disability. We are not vested in that, or made aware that there are certain types of disability. For example, if you tell a person in Africa that a child has autism, they will ask you what it is. They just know that the child is hyper, but they do not understand the extent to which the child has a disability. When people come here, and are maybe told at a GP appointment that their child has a disability, it comes as a shock. It is also a challenge to get an appointment to have the child assessed for that disability, so the parents can get more knowledge of how to handle or deal with that. I know there is already a backlog when it comes to getting an appointment for any specialties. The Department of Health and the HSE could try to fast-track appointments to see what type of disability a child has, so at least the child knows. I know there is a waiting period when it comes to treatment and how to integrate. However, at least the child is aware of what he or she has to deal with. I think it will help if that can be addressed from the grassroots up. It will also give the parents knowledge and understanding of what they are dealing with.