Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Funchion and Ó Caoláin for bringing forward this motion. I have spoken to the Minister of State many times about issues. A lady in south Leitrim emails me every day with emails she has copied to the Minister of State. This issue has been ongoing since early this year. I printed off one of the emails from 12 February. She received an email telling her that her son would receive services in the Callan Institute in Dublin through Saint John of God community services. She was delighted. Everything was going to be great. Her son has not yet received that service. Today, she sent me an email that was also copied to the Minister of State in which she said her child had a meltdown in school and threw chairs at the teacher. She said that the family was still unsupported in any significant way to help it learn to manage these behaviours or gain any understanding of the root cause of them. Wonderful steps forward are being made in terms of recognising the strengths of autistic people but we desperately need to focus on addressing how to manage and support the significant challenges faced by so many autistic people. We are continuing to disable autistic people by not offering the appropriate supports. We need to get a grip on this right now.

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