Ms Julie Tonge:

On behalf of UCD, I would like to thank the Chair and the members of the committee for the opportunity to present on the topic of services and supports provided by the State for autistic people. UCD welcomes the careful consideration that this important topic is being given.

By way of background, UCD provides supports to 2,475 disabled students and, of these, 254, or just over 10%, are autistic students. Autistic students are invited to attend a one-to-one needs assessment with a member of staff from the access and lifelong learning team to agree on a range of reasonable accommodations for the classroom and exam environment. They are also offered additional supports including assistive technology and training, academic skills support, social supports, career guidance, supports for placements and internships and the support of an occupational therapist. We have two full-time occupational therapists working in UCD and the service is prioritised for autistic students to assist them to transition successfully into all aspects of the college environment and to develop independent learning skills. We also encourage autistic students to participate in our access leader programme. Access leaders are selected to represent UCD's access and lifelong learning team and play a vital role in assisting us with our work.

UCD strives to be a university for all where all students feel they belong, are welcomed and valued. Universal design is a core component of the university-for-all initiative. The principles of universal design are being used to create an inclusive environment in UCD and to ensure that access and inclusion is everyone’s business.

This opening statement is based on our experience of supporting autistic students in UCD. Regarding access to assessment and intervention and issues with assessment of needs, the immediate challenge for autistic students is their access to assessment. Waiting lists for assessment of needs impacts the ability of those who receive a diagnosis to access intervention services. This is exacerbated by the prioritisation of resources for assessment rather than intervention. We support many students whose families had no option but to access services privately and not all families have the resources to do so. Accessing diagnostic services is critical, as it assists students and their families to both understand and access appropriate services, including the Disability Access Route to Education, DARE, and the disability supports available at third level. Without appropriate intervention resources, autistic people are left unsupported in managing the challenges they experience and will continue to experience as they move through life.

In education and employment there is a need for dedicated transition services for autistic people that can be accessed throughout their lifespan. The transition from second to third level can be particularly challenging for autistic students. Currently, there is a lack of transition services for autistic people who are leaving second level and transitioning into third level or employment. A similar issue exists for students transitioning from third level into employment. Supporting students to transition to third level cannot be the responsibility of third level institutions alone, not least as they remain unknown to us until the point of access. We recommend that a dedicated transition service be established to support autistic people to prepare for the transition to third level and to collaborate with third level institutions to assist with this.

An additional need is support for the development of life skills. A programme tailored to the needs of autistic people to develop skills that would benefit them, regardless of whether they continue in education or seek employment would be useful. There is also a need for adequate support to prepare autistic people for the workplace and for workplaces to practise inclusive recruitment and employment practices. Accessing reasonable accommodations in an employment context can be much more complex than in an educational environment and autistic people need to be supported to develop self-advocacy and communication skills and to identify suitable reasonable accommodations. Specialised career consultants with a deep understanding of autism, and who can build relationships with employers are needed.

In UCD we have seen an increase in the number of adults seeking a diagnosis of autism post-entry to college. The cost of private assessments is a barrier for students who may benefit from the supports available if they were to receive a diagnosis.

Those who do not seek a private diagnosis are often provided with an assessment only and do not receive a full report that could be used to ascertain appropriate supports. There is a need for dedicated support to assist adults with the emotional impact of receiving a diagnosis later in life. Public diagnostic and intervention services should be enhanced and extended to the adult population. The HSE's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, in adults national clinical programme is an example that could be replicated.

With regard to public buildings, there are certainly changes that could be made to make them more autism friendly. Our experience is that the needs and preferences of autistic people can vary greatly. A universal design approach to the design and update of public buildings would meet the needs of the widest proportion of the population. In addition to improving environments, there is a need to support autistic people to understand their sensory preferences and to develop strategies for them to use in different contexts.

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise these issues with the committee and I am happy to answer any questions from members.