A report released by RTÉ today shows that the midlands has the highest rate of increases of children overdue for disability or a suspected disability assessment.
A total of 438 children are on record for waiting for an assessment in the region, an increase of just under 20 percent from January of this year.
It also may come as no surprise that the figures for the first six months of this year also show vast regional differences.
Chairperson Laois Offaly Families For Autism (LOFFA) Mary Dunne spoke to LaoisToday in the wake of the report.
“The figures don’t lie,” said Mary. “It’s not a shock because to me it’s three years of campaigning being highlighted. The backlog is getting bigger all the time. The waiting list used to be three years – now it’s gone up to five years.
“Parents should not have to battle the system and have their attention taken away from the family. There are at less 400 families involved in Laois/Offaly – we feel completely isolated,” added Mary.
Mary also said that families are being, ‘constantly flouted’ by the six month waiting period between a diability being suspected and an assessment to identify the needs of the child.
Any child suspected of having a disability is eligible to apply for an assessment of need to identify the health needs of the child. This is legally required to be completed within six months from the date of application.
But the new figures show that 3,850 assessment of need applications were overdue by the end of June this year.
Little Portlaoise girl featured on RTÉ
One of these children who is overdue their assessment is little Molly Mai from Portlaoise.
Molly Mai’s family have been left heartbroken and at the end of their tether by the fact that they can’t find a place in any local school for their daughter.
Martin and Sarah-Jane Dollard’s daughter Molly Mai was recently diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and ADHD, and suffers from a number of sensory issues.
The Portlaoise girl is due to start school in September, but with no spaces in ASD units in local mainstream schools, Martin and Sarah-Jane have tried everything – from applying to St Francis Special School in Portlaoise, to looking at home tutors, and even the possibility of keeping Molly Mai back in preschool for another year.
The Minister of State for Disability Issues Finian McGrath has described today’s figures as “unacceptable”.
In a statement, Mr McGrath said: “It is unacceptable for any child with a disability to be waiting long-term for assessment and that is why the system is being changed to avoid this happening in the future.
“I have asked HSE management to update me regularly on the progress of the Revised Standard Operating Procedure for Assessment of Need. I will continue to monitor this very closely.”
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