Ms Aisling McGrory:

I am in a special schools team and in our team there is a speech and language therapist, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. We have two vacant posts for a speech and language therapist and a psychologist. It is quite unique because the two special schools in Donegal have never before had a CDNT schools team available to them. Nationally, there were therapists in school previously, until that model was withdrawn, but it was not the model that is in the two schools in Donegal. This is brand new so there is lots of learning for us in it. We are actually quite lucky in the team we have because we have developed pathways, universal strategies, and training for both teachers and parents. By working together we are sharing all our knowledge to best support the pupil, the teachers and the families. The social workers who are embedded in that model can bridge the gap between home and school. We spoke already about the lack of respite and the lack of residential places. That is so stressful for families. We are helping to try to prevent crises, family breakdowns and separations that can end in very expensive emergency placements which do not necessarily happen to be in somebody's locality. I know CDNTs across the country have different models around key contacts. Sometimes, somebody may be identified to be that liaison person for the family. The family might pick up the phone to that person who will review how things are going. They will have one person as a key contact who they can contact and ask about physiotherapy, incontinence wear, the assessment for an AAC device or education psychology and psychology support. As we are all working together, if those therapies are in the teams, I, or the key contact, can then report that parent A is looking for physiotherapy and can ask about what is happening. They can pass on that parent A may be looking for some psychological report, maybe some support with applying for carer's allowance, or, when the child turns 16, for disability allowance and what that looks like for them. The parents know they have one person identified who they can contact. This helps. It is a really good model. All people sometimes want to do is to talk to one person and ask them how they can help them to get all these other therapies. I am conscious I am taking up time. Is there anything else?