Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Absolutely. I thank Dr. Matthews and Ms Matthews. Organisations like theirs are creating awareness on a constant basis. I find I am always learning. I am learning a lot on this committee and I am learning a lot from engagement with autistic people on a regular basis. Society is learning as well, but there is a long way to go. I recently had a meeting with EmployAbility in my local town. They help disabled people, autistic people and people with mental health issues to try to get into the workforce. They help them to help themselves back into the workforce. However, they said there is still a major issue with employers who have misconceptions about different abilities. As the witnesses say, autism is not a disability. Someone has described it as a different ability, and it is a broad spectrum. There is such negativity among some. While it is improving all the time, is there some way of reaching out and creating more awareness among employers? Has this been done well in some areas? One mother informed me that her son had qualified for either a master's degree or a doctorate, although I forget which one. She was inquiring about a position with a local agency, which was very interested. When she mentioned the word "autistic", the agency said it was no longer interested. That is so disheartening for the young man in question and his mother. There is still a way to go. What more can we, as a committee, do about that? Do the witnesses have any suggestions?

The witnesses spoke about a charter of rights. We still find that parents have to fight for absolutely everything from the moment they first recognise that their child may be autistic or that they may have sensory issues. They have to do this right through to adulthood. Yesterday, I met a couple who have seven children, the youngest of whom is only seven weeks old. The other six all have sensory issues. Some have been assessed and others are in the process of being assessed. They have six children with quite significant issues but they get very little support. They had to fight for the domiciliary care allowance and they had to fight for carers' allowance. It is not fair. Some of the witnesses stated that we need something enshrined in legislation and a proper strategy. That is something the committee will need to put forward in it report in the next few weeks.

Another issue I want to raise is the autism database. We know there is not enough information on autism. How should that be collected? There have been some suggestions that the next census should have more questions on autism in it. Is that the way to go? We cannot plan if we do not have statistics. This country has been guilty of not planning services for autistic and disabled people. We see that in the context of children's and adult services. It is a matter of how we gather the information. Again, another parents' organisation that represents their autistic children has told me that the prevalence rate of autism is increasing. They have figures from the North, where there is a high rate. They are gathering the figures there, as witnesses have indicated. We need to do that here as well. What is the best way to do so? One would imagine it should not be that difficult. However, you cannot plan without proper information.