Another roadblock thrown up against families of autistic children by the HSE. Waiting lists throughout the country for autism assessment and interventions are typically in excess of 12 months but usually much longer. joe.ie/politics/hse-p…
. Even when families reach the end of extensive waiting lists they are offered only minimal interventions. The importance of early intervention is one of the first things parents see when they look up autism, but it seems early intervention doesn’t exist in Ireland.
Parents struggle to pay for private assessments and interventions. But the HSE does not have a uniform policy about accepting assessments from psychologists who do not work for the HSE. In addition, there isn’t a list that parents can check to see if a psychologist they want to
hire for a private assessment is acceptable to the HSE. Long waiting lists throughout the country is not a new problem. Parents have been battling to get their children assessed and try to get appropriate interventions for many years. The government has done nothing to fix this
this problem and there are no indications that it is working on a solution. As a result of inaction by the HSE and the government, the future of thousands of autistic children is bleak. Delayed assessments and lack of appropriate interventions affect children’s ability
to reach their academic potential and to develop social, communication and life skills needed for independence as adults. @SimonHarrisTD, @LeoVaradkar, @paulreiddublin
