Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

There has been much talk of compassion which the Minister of State has demonstrated clearly since the beginning of the debate on autism. This is the third debate in the House on this issue; the first lasted three hours and the second some two and a half hours. Many Members still wished to speak and so we are concluding the discussion today. We are appreciative that the Minister of State has attended each debate.

I wish to speak on autism from several perspectives. First, I wish to return to the matter raised by Senator Daly. Why is there such a high incidence of autism in Ireland, more so than in any other European country? I am sure the Minister of State will have some facts on this issue in his reply. This high incidence begs the question as to cause. We are told there is some malign gene with which the child is born. Is there a predisposition in the parent or is there something in the environment, diet or otherwise that gives rise to the condition?

Autism is one of the most awful deprivations a child and his or her family can suffer. I speak from personal knowledge. My brother Paddy had a son Caoimhghín who was cared for in a wonderful place in County Galway until his death at 22 years of age. He was a fair-haired young man of 6 ft. 2 in. in height who was diagnosed with the most destructive variant of autism at a very early age. The child did not set out to be destructive but he was born with that gene. His story had a very sad ending. He was a wonderful swimmer and if he had not suffered from autism he may well have made his mark in that sport. He availed of the pool in the place in which he was cared for but one night he got up and pulled back the tarpaulin — he was a very strong young man — and drowned in the pool as a consequence of a fit. It left a huge impression on his family and relations who were devastated; we had all known him as he grew up and he was a beautiful, handsome young man.

At that time it was in vogue for families to go to Boston to avail of a special regime involving parents and helpers donating time to assist with autistic children. I saw parents who were absolutely frustrated. My brother and his wife did not go there, but I know other parents who did. Hundreds of volunteers were involved in providing exercise, massage and so on. The programme did not work out and everybody was more disturbed than they had been before.

This is a day to highlight education for people with special needs and I hope the needs of those with autism are fully taken into account when the special needs budgets are worked out. If a rigorous programme is implemented with kindness early on, great steps can be made in terms of social interaction.

Autism varies in degree of severity and there are also related conditions such as dyspraxia, ADD, which is a version thereof, ADHD and other variants which previously were never spoken about because people were unaware of the terminology. Inherent in the condition of autism is a great deal of intelligence gone wrong within the child's brain. I gather from reading about it that the intelligence is often way beyond the IQ level for the age group to which the child belongs. The intelligence cannot be corralled and channelled in the correct educational way, which then leads to highly destructive behaviour in the educational system.

We would be well served if comprehensive research were undertaken on the subject of autism, which could help to forestall the predisposition to it. It would also give hope to parents who usually do not know if autism is present when a child is born. It takes some months before it becomes apparent. Parents are pleased with their children no matter what. It would be wonderful if the Minister could find money for research in this area.

I thought it important to speak on this matter because of my personal experience of it over 22 years. My nephew grew up at the same time as my two children. I was aware of his growing isolation and the growing isolation of his family because of the lack of services available to him even though he was in a wonderful adult care centre. I endorse the point made by Senator Terry that the lives of other family members are completely engaged in the care of such children which can affect other relationships within families. It is heroic the way they continue to provide care. I am interested to hear what the Minister will say in his reply.