Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 18 October 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism

Autism Policy and Health: Health Service Executive

Ms Mary O'Kelly:

I do not mind adding to that. I absolutely understand what Senator Ardagh says, but there is the matter of inclusion in the school and the curriculum. Then, as Mr. O'Regan said, there is the whole life of the child, that is, the 24-hour piece. There is also huge evidence to show that it is not even what happens in the session. It is a little like having homework from school. It is the learning in the home environment after the session and that translation of what was learnt in the session to all the other aspects of one's home life. We really want to engage with parents and families on that because an awful lot of that learning happens in the home environment. The advice and support and the programme might be set in an intervention session but the learning and the building of the capacity then happens between sessions, in the home environment, out and about, in the community, in sports and things like that.