Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

One part of the motion which strikes me reads:

Many of the barriers autistic people face come from how society responds to those with the condition, and unemployment, social exclusion and many mental health challenges arise, not from autism, but from a lack of understanding, support and accessibility,

These words had particular meaning for me this week when I was contacted by a mother in Navan whose son was attending Ard Rí community national school, the same school my three children attend. She said to me her son was doing well but that the battle to obtain support was unreal, including repeated refusals to give him an SNA. She is concerned about his transition to secondary school.

The lady in question is also a medical doctor and expressed how she was horrified by the increased mortality and morbidity rates among autistic people. Autistic adults have been shown to have a life expectancy 16 years less than those in the non-autistic population. Not everyone is as lucky as this boy in terms of the support he has received. In the past ten days I have had two families from two schools in my constituency inform me that their children have been sent home at noon each day, three hours earlier than the rest of the school population, simply because the schools cannot cope. In what kind of society are we living? Deputy Thomas Byrne and I are working to resolve the issue, but it is simply unacceptable in this day and age. The need for full proper supports for all children in the education system is urgent to ensure every child can have a fair crack at life they deserve.

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