Keith Swanick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to bring to the attention of the House the fact that, despite the Government's assurances that the recovery is going strong, much-needed services are still being disbanded throughout the country, which is affecting those who need them most. This week, I was told of an autistic child in the Waterford region whose specialist therapists, who the child knows well and has become comfortable with, were removed. Instead of four specialist therapists with whom the child is confident and content, the child will now just have one unfamiliar general therapist. The specialist therapists, who provide vital language and speech support and occupational therapy, have been reassigned to the general system. If the child wishes to be seen by them, the child must begin from scratch on the waiting list. How can it be that this child, for whom routine is so important, is left without any kind of specialist therapy and can be put on a waiting list for as much as a year?

The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, recently published the first major report in 14 years on the education of students with autism. The report indicates that almost 14,000 students, just 2% of the total, had an autism spectrum disorder, ASD. The report also shows that a July provision scheme, which is similar to summer school, open to the country's 13,874 students with ASD and valued by parents, could threaten the well-being of students. The NCSE believes that the staff recruited will not be familiar with the behaviours and needs of individual students, which could lead to challenging behaviours. Like so many others, autistic children require specific help that is tailored to their needs. Instead, they are being let down by a Government purporting to help them.