A Cavan mother says her son is missing out on growing up because he can't get an autism assessment.
Samantha Gumley says three-year-old Tadgh can't get a place in an ASD preschool without a letter of recommendation from Enable Ireland, and no mainstream preschools will take him.
She says he was first referred for an assessment in September 2019 and they are still waiting to be seen.
Last month, Joanne Regan shared a similar experience she had with her son Joey.
In a statement to Northern Sound News, Enable Ireland says its growing waiting list is due to an increased demand for services and a lack of resources.
Samantha spoke to Northern Sound to tell Tadgh's story.
Statement from Enable Ireland
Enable Ireland provides early services in Cavan/Monaghan in partnership with the HSE North Eastern Area. Services are provided to children aged 0 – 6 years with complex needs who require a team based service. We are funded by the HSE to provide these services in accordance with our local Service Level Arrangement.
Enable Ireland accepts referrals of all children whose needs meet the criteria. Parents can self-refer as can schools and pre-schools as well as health professionals (e.g. GP, Paediatrician, Public Health Nurse).
As with all organisations, Covid -19 continues to have an impact on service delivery with additional protocols and procedures put in place to follow public health guidelines. We have used our resources to deliver mixed models of service delivery including remote (via telehealth) and face to face service delivery. However, due to the significant demands on our service, we do unfortunately have a waiting list which is growing. It is a continuing challenge to meet the increased demand for services within resources available to us. In particular, there has been a significant increase in demand for assessment for children with autism, which is difficult to meet within existing resources.
We understand how stressful it is for families to have to wait for these vital services and, as a national organisation, we have campaigned with other disability service providers for additional funding for disability services to meet the unmet needs of children and their families. To support parents while they wait for assessment, our therapists and support staff have developed resources which are available online at www.enableireland.ie and at www.youtube.com/enableireland. Any parent with a concern regarding their child should get in touch with the local service in Cavan/Monaghan. Contact details are available on www.enableireland.ie
