Ms Caroline Walker-Strong:

The priority is planning. It is to know where a child is going to school and what therapies they can access when they are there. It comes back to the assessment of need with regard to what does a child need. When a child with a disability comes into a family, the family is not expert at the start. Families require the expertise of the professionals around them to guide them and navigate them. Particularly for those families where there are complex needs and there are challenges in the household, it is knowing there are supports available for them. If we had a magic wand, we would have that lovely wraparound care where mum and dad can continue working, the siblings can continue with their activities, and the child with a disability has their own particular wraparound service that is specific to them and the needs they have. It would not be based on what is available and there would be a proper plan around it. Midway through primary school is when the secondary school situation would be considered, so there would not be the anxiety in the run-up to sixth class as to what is next, and the same with regard to sixth year. There would be a properly laid out plan with a multidisciplinary team that would slot in and out as the child needs it.