Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley. The last occasion we debated this issue I expressed concern in regard to what was happening in the west as a result of a conflict of interest between the Irish Society for Autism and the Western Autism Society and the tragedy of the power struggle that took place for the control of property and institutions. Thankfully it has been resolved, not before the litigation proposed and eventual settlement prior to going through the courts.

Despite the fact that so many, particularly parents and siblings of children with autism, have given so much time and effort to improving the lot of such children, occasionally an incident such as this distracts from the focus of attention originally intended. It is important that all these well-intentioned groups continue to keep a focus on the original intention of improving services for those with autism. I said previously it was remiss of the Western Health Board which stood idly by not to move to resolve the situation when there was a clear necessity to do so. While a member of the Western Health Board I tried to encourage the management to participate to resolve the situation but, unfortunately, to no avail.

Until recently it was the parents who discovered their child was suffering from autism rather than the general practitioners. This was not the fault of the general practitioners but they were unfamiliar with the way in which they could diagnose the condition.

Since the last debate on the issue, I read with interest of Raun Kauffman who came to Dublin and gave a lecture. He gave his life story to the meeting as he has done throughout the world. His case is similar to many of the tragedies with which we can associate ourselves as public representatives. When he was 18 months old he was diagnosed as autistic with an IQ measure of less than 30, which placed him as severely intellectually disabled. His parents were told to forget him, to go home and look after the other children and to leave him in the institution where the experts would be better able to manage him. They were told that in time, perhaps, he could be taught to dress himself or to use a knife and fork. He would never speak, have friends or go to school. His future was hopeless.

Thankfully his parents said no. They brought him home and started to work with him. For years they worked really hard with him and got their just rewards. Raun graduated from high school with honours and graduated from university and earned a degree in biomedical ethics. Raun now tours the world lecturing on what his parents did for him. The question must be asked whether this story is a miracle or a case of wrong diagnosis. Sadly, that is a situation that still exists in many instances throughout the country. If anything can come from this debate, the Department of Health and Children must initiate a thorough investigation into the causes of autism. Statistics and studies here clearly indicate an incidence of one in 166. That is a high occurrence of autism. If there is such a high incidence there is a need for services to help the parents and siblings of families who have a child suffering from autism. It is necessary to put proper facilities in place. It is unfortunate that the Ballinasloe advocates have had to come on deputations on several occasions to various Ministers over the years to seek a simple respite service to give them the break they need.

People only get a break of one day per month, never a weekend. How can parents continue to educate and do everything they can for their children at home when there are no reliable community facilities on which they can depend for a respite break? This needs urgent attention. Can one think of any need in society that demands higher priority than this?