Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Our guests are welcome and I thank them for the presentation. This committee is about the implementation of the UNCRPD, which very much endorses "Nothing about us without us". Alarm bells ring when autistic people and organisations representing them are so opposed to ABA and progressing disability services. I assume that is not based on a whim. Why the opposition? I have to be guided by autistic people and what they say. Our guests have indicated the practice can be harmful and has been in the past. It has changed and needs to be changed further. There needs to be a human rights-based approach. Is the lack of regulation not the key here? This needs to be regulated to ensure it is not harmful and there must be very strong engagement with autistic people and their representative organisations. I will be guided by them, as I will be by all disabled people, because they know best what is right and should have choice in the matter. That is what is important.

The bigger issue is that psychologists are not regulated. Until there is regulation of psychologists and, as a further step, behaviour analysts, we are going to have issues with people who are not properly trained and who are going to do more harm than good. That is the bottom line.

Restraint is a huge issue as well. We know it is being used in schools. It is physical and also involves the use of drugs. It is still being used through the use of drugs in many institutions. Behaviour is being controlled by basically drugging someone so he or she is not aware of what is going around him or her and that is totally wrong.

Those are my concerns. The autistic community must be convinced this area needs to be regulated. Those are the two main points I wanted to make.