Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, to the House. He is committed to children with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Recently I received a note from a mother which sets out the concerns of parents of children with autism. She states:

I write with reference to my two and a half year old daughter who has recently been diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. As I am sure you are aware autism is a severe disability that affects the normal development of the brain in areas of social interaction and communication. It is a lifelong disability and there is no cure. Approximately 1% of the population has this condition.

In the last few weeks my husband and I have spent over €2,500 on consultation fees to have our daughter privately assessed in the hope that an early diagnosis and the appropriate intervention will help her have a better future. However, many parents in County Clare do not have the financial means to do this. The average wait time for autism screening in County Clare I believe is approximately one year and often when psychologists, occupational therapists and speech therapists are on leave they are not replaced so this results in even longer wait times. I feel that wait times for this screening need to be urgently addressed as it has been proven that early intervention gives these children the best chance of an independent future and ultimately this will save the State money later on.

In the last few days I have contacted the HSE to see what sort of assistance they can provide my daughter in the future. I have been informed that autism is not regarded a long term illness under the terms of the long-term illness scheme. I would like to know why not. If autism is a lifelong disability with no prospect of a cure why is it not included in long-term illness scheme? With regards to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, this is officially regarded as a mental disorder yet this is not covered by the scheme either. I have been informed by the HSE that they do cover mental handicap and mental illness in children under 16 but ADHD is not covered under the scheme.

She continues:

With regard to the GP visit medical card, I would like to know why my child and other children who have a lifelong disability do not have an automatic right to this facility? It seems outrageous that a child can be found to have a disability under the Disability Act 2005 yet have no right to a medical card because his or her parent or parents would not satisfy a means test. My child is unable to speak or gesture so I have to rely greatly on my own instincts much of the time to determine if she is ill. Like most autistic children she is completely unable to communicate that she is feeling sick, has a sore throat or tummy pain etc.

I have quoted this into the record to give some sense of the concerns of parents, especially those dealing with children with special needs. It was appropriate and important I do so because from time to time, those of us in this House tend to forget or fail to recognise the difficulties parents have with children with special needs.

I am particularly happy with the Minister of State present because of his function as Minister of State with responsibility for children. I ask him to intervene with the Health Service Executive to ensure a greater level of service is made available to parents with children having special needs, especially with regard to early diagnosis. In this case the parent is concerned about the inability to identify the illness at the earliest possible time. Best practice and research to date shows that early intervention plays a major role in ensuring a child develops to the best of his or her potential, whatever it may be. I look forward to the Minister of State's answer and thank him for being here.

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