Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of services for children with autism in particular and the matter of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit places in schools and the supports therein. There are long waiting lists and people are obliged to travel long distances to access units. In some cases, there are simply no available places for children while other schools are hesitant about opening ASD units at all because they will not receive adequate funding and support to run them. To say parents are at their wits' end is an understatement. It is deeply distressing for children with ASD and their parents not to know where they are going in September, whether there will be places for them and whether supports will be in available in that environment. The Government is failing children with ASD. There are many other issues which parents and children face in terms of assessment and so on, but I ask the Government not to wait for September and to make the necessary investment to provide for school places now. The Government must ensure that every child with ASD has an appropriate place in the education system come September. The supports necessary to nurture their potential should be there.

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