Mr. Odhr?n Allen:

I thank the committee for inviting the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland, AOTI, to this meeting of the Joint Committee on Autism to discuss services and supports provided by the State for autistic people. This is a very important matter and AOTI welcomes the committee’s in-depth consideration of it. This statement is informed by occupational therapists working in different practice areas with autistic individuals across the lifespan, as well as occupational therapists working in education and research.

The centrality of the need for a society that accepts and affirms autism and neurodiversity is an overarching principal that AOTI advocates. This is reflected in our call today for societal level change, collaborative thinking and new practices so that Irish society becomes more inclusive of autistic people. Occupational therapists believe that a just society is one where individuals, families and communities have the capabilities and the freedoms to choose to participate in the everyday activities that they need and want to do in the different environments of their life. These everyday activities that are important to us are what occupational therapists call occupations, hence occupational therapy.

Occupational therapists are experts in supporting and enabling everyday living and can, therefore, play a key role at both societal and individual levels to help autistic people thrive. Occupational therapists focus on the person, the environments where they live their life - like home, school, the community and the workplace - and the occupations they want to participate in to help them live their life how they want. Supporting people to engage in occupations and facilitating their full participation in community life, at both an individual and a societal level, is the bread and butter of our profession. Our professional perspective provides a valuable framework to guide positive change for autistic people in the areas of health, education and work, and across the lifespan.

I would like to first set out an overarching occupational therapy perspective. We recognise and uphold the following values and principles which we believe must be central to the analysis of services and supports provided by the State for autistic people. On participatory democracy, we welcome the collaborative consultation with all stakeholders being undertaken by the committee as it examines the services and supports provided by the State for autistic people. Community participation and co-design are a central pillar in contemporary democratic society and in the design, delivery and review of public services. Autistic people need to be central to this and empowered to participate in our communities and in Irish society.

On language use, the stated preferences of autistic advocacy groups and the autistic community is that of identity-first language. This must be incorporated into all actions that emanate from the committee’s work and into services and supports provided by the State for autistic people. We should be guided by autistic people to ensure we are using the correct language and frameworks when developing and delivering services.

On human rights, a human rights approach to the development and delivery of public services is imperative. This will align with the increasing recognition of neurodiversity and a shift from awareness to acceptance as a means of realising autistic people's human rights and potential.

A human rights approach means Ireland must ratify the UNCRPD optional protocol. A thorough review of the Disability Act and Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs, EPSEN, Act is also required. We welcome the Department of Education’s current consultation process on the review of the EPSEN Act and call again for a review of the Disability Act.

Autistic people are not a homogenous group and the diversity of experience of autistic citizens across the many different contexts of their lives must be acknowledged and accepted. It is also important to recognise the convergence of intersectional barriers for autistic citizens and the diverse challenges these can create. Cross-departmental and cross-sectoral working is essential to ensure the rights of autistic citizens are met and to deliver services and supports provided by the State that are inclusive of and meeting the needs of autistic people.

I will clarify briefly what occupational therapy is. Occupational therapy affirms diverse ways of being and doing while also recognising that individuals face barriers to participation in everyday activities and roles due to personal, environmental and societal factors. Occupational therapists can support and advance the life goals and occupations of autistic and other neurodivergent children, youth, and adults. Occupational therapists are traditionally employed within the health and education services in Ireland and their work has therefore often reflected these service models. However, occupational therapists are well suited to supporting autistic citizens outside of these traditional models and approaches, which can sometimes limit occupational therapy’s potential. A neuroaffirmative framework is advocated to enable the development of occupational therapy services that best meet the needs and requirements of autistic citizens. There are many reasons an autistic person may seek the support of occupational therapy, which helps them participate in their meaningful occupations and activities of daily life. Having an autistic neurology can often be disabling in a neurotypical world as there are many sensory, motor, psychosocial and environmental challenges that an autistic person faces. Occupational therapy can assist autistic people with addressing these challenges. To provide optimal services and supports, we need to ensure autistic people have the right to timely and thorough interdisciplinary team assessment carried out by suitably qualified and experienced professionals, including occupational therapists.

I will hand over to my colleague Ms Noël to complete our opening statement.