Dáil debates

Tuesday, 2 April 2019

Autism Support Services: Motion [Private Members]

 

8:15 pm

Photo of Niamh SmythNiamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In my constituency we are lucky to have a lifelong autism campaigner, Bernie Nelson, whom the Minister of State has met on his travels to counties Cavan and Monaghan. She has a wonderful son, Liam, who has autism. He has been an inspiration for her and many other parents who, together, have established and developed the Cavan Autism Parents Support Group, CAPS. Since Bernie founded CAPS, she has noticed a remarkable increase in the number of families attending the support group. It has gone from 20 to 67 families and includes 77 amazing children. The group is organised by parents, carers and volunteers who, together, run activities such as sibling workshops, Easter and summer camps, Saturday clubs, day trips and many more activities for families.

Parents are frustrated. To be fair, they are not asking for much when one sees how much they achieve for themselves. As they know only too well, every day is a struggle. Bernie Nelson described how the State had supported her in her quest to provide services:

If I had the Minister in front of me, what would I say? I would tell them to come with me, for a day. I would walk them side by side through all the work we do, so they could see the good it has for both the children and their families. I would want the Minister to see what it takes each day to work with these children, getting them onto the bus, and then I would want them to come back to me and try say “we don’t deserve better funding”.

I am fed up. I am at my wits’ end. There are days I could just lie down and cry, thinking about my own son, thinking about all the children here [attending CAPS].

Bernie Nelson’s experience is reflective of those of so many other parents across counties Cavan and Monaghan. We need a strategy and an approach. For that reason, I am happy to support the motion and commend Deputies Ó Caoláin and Funchion on bringing it forward for debate on World Autism Awareness Day.

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