02-07-2007, 09:53 PM
Autism scandal
THE parents of a child with autism have spoken of the extraordinary lengths they have to go to just to get the necessary care for their daughter, because proper help is not available from the health service. Pat and Linda McCormack, from The Links in Donabate, have been forced to travel to the USA to receive training and treatment for two-year-old Méabh.
Speaking to Northside People, a despondent Pat McCormack said medical and educational facilities for children with autism in Ireland are inadequate and leave families such as his with no option but to seek help elsewhere.
Research has shown that very early detection and intervention can greatly reduce the effects of autism on young children.
However, Pat said that if he and Linda, who also have a five-year-old son, Tomás, were to wait to get help and treatment for Méabh in Ireland, this important ‘golden period’ of between two to five-years-–of-age would be lost.
He said that as it is, Méabh has been on a waiting list for up to a year now, and the family had to act alone to kick start the treatment for their young girl.
“We started to have concerns about Méabh when she was about 14 to 15-months old,” Pat explained.
“There was a withdrawal of eye contact from her, she stopped repeating words we had been teaching her and she retreated into her own world.
“At 18-months-old, we got a diagnosis of autism and since then it has been incredibly hard to receive any sort of help or treatment for Méabh.”
Pat said that due to the long waiting list for public appointment consultants, the family decided to go private, but even still they have been left waiting.
“We have been told that a definitive diagnosis of Méabh’s condition can only be delivered by a multi disciplinary team,” he stated.
“Méabh has been on a waiting list since February 2006 and on a priority list since July of last year but still we have been given no date or time as to when this will happen.”
Exasperated at the obstacles to obtaining the necessary medical help required for Méabh, Pat and Linda decided to travel to Massachusetts in the USA last August to take part in the world renowned Son Rise programme.
Son Rise is a programme established with the aim of teaching parents of children with autism how best to help their children overcome the condition.
Pat and Linda received expert advice from some of the top professionals in the United States during the week they stayed there, and they plan to go back again to further their training.
Since returning from the Son Rise programme, Pat and Linda have turned Méabh’s bedroom into a dedicated play and therapy room and their daughter now receives up to 50 hours a week personal attention.
“All our family and friends have been absolutely brilliant in helping us out with Méabh, while Tomas’ school in Donabate has been really understanding and helpful,” Pat said.
On top of the Son Rise programme, Pat and Linda have also been receiving help from a French doctor based in Edinburgh, who operates the equally successful Defeat Autism Now (DAN) programme.
While Pat says the help the family has received from the two programmes has been invaluable to Méabh, he is extremely aggrieved at the fact that they have had to look outside Ireland to get adequate help.
“We really feel that the State hasn’t been proactive in providing for the early intervention of children with autism, or even providing any sort of options for families,” Pat stated.
“There is no joined up thinking involved and the Department of Health does not seem to be acting off any recent research.
“There is this pessimistic view towards autism and the department doesn’t seem to realise, or want to know, that it is possible for people with autism to recover from it.
“I would say that in relation to this, the State is indifferent at best, but a stronger view would say it is extremely culpable.”
When contacted by Northside People, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Children said it did not comment on individual cases.
However, the spokeswoman said the management and delivery of health and personal social services are the responsibility of the local Health Service Executive (HSE) office, which is normally accessed through a referral letter from a GP.
Meanwhile, Pat and Linda are currently fundraising to help cover the costs of the Son Rise and Defeat Autism Now programmes.
A benefit night in aid of the ‘Méabh McCormack Fund’ will take place in the Old Shieling Hotel, Raheny, on Friday March 9.
Pat McCormack added: “I would also like to pay special thanks to Meabh’s uncle, Podge, and family friends who took part in the Dublin City Marathon to raise money for the fund.”
From The Dublin People ( http://www.dublinpeople. com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2238&Itemid=49 )
THE parents of a child with autism have spoken of the extraordinary lengths they have to go to just to get the necessary care for their daughter, because proper help is not available from the health service. Pat and Linda McCormack, from The Links in Donabate, have been forced to travel to the USA to receive training and treatment for two-year-old Méabh.
Speaking to Northside People, a despondent Pat McCormack said medical and educational facilities for children with autism in Ireland are inadequate and leave families such as his with no option but to seek help elsewhere.
Research has shown that very early detection and intervention can greatly reduce the effects of autism on young children.
However, Pat said that if he and Linda, who also have a five-year-old son, Tomás, were to wait to get help and treatment for Méabh in Ireland, this important ‘golden period’ of between two to five-years-–of-age would be lost.
He said that as it is, Méabh has been on a waiting list for up to a year now, and the family had to act alone to kick start the treatment for their young girl.
“We started to have concerns about Méabh when she was about 14 to 15-months old,” Pat explained.
“There was a withdrawal of eye contact from her, she stopped repeating words we had been teaching her and she retreated into her own world.
“At 18-months-old, we got a diagnosis of autism and since then it has been incredibly hard to receive any sort of help or treatment for Méabh.”
Pat said that due to the long waiting list for public appointment consultants, the family decided to go private, but even still they have been left waiting.
“We have been told that a definitive diagnosis of Méabh’s condition can only be delivered by a multi disciplinary team,” he stated.
“Méabh has been on a waiting list since February 2006 and on a priority list since July of last year but still we have been given no date or time as to when this will happen.”
Exasperated at the obstacles to obtaining the necessary medical help required for Méabh, Pat and Linda decided to travel to Massachusetts in the USA last August to take part in the world renowned Son Rise programme.
Son Rise is a programme established with the aim of teaching parents of children with autism how best to help their children overcome the condition.
Pat and Linda received expert advice from some of the top professionals in the United States during the week they stayed there, and they plan to go back again to further their training.
Since returning from the Son Rise programme, Pat and Linda have turned Méabh’s bedroom into a dedicated play and therapy room and their daughter now receives up to 50 hours a week personal attention.
“All our family and friends have been absolutely brilliant in helping us out with Méabh, while Tomas’ school in Donabate has been really understanding and helpful,” Pat said.
On top of the Son Rise programme, Pat and Linda have also been receiving help from a French doctor based in Edinburgh, who operates the equally successful Defeat Autism Now (DAN) programme.
While Pat says the help the family has received from the two programmes has been invaluable to Méabh, he is extremely aggrieved at the fact that they have had to look outside Ireland to get adequate help.
“We really feel that the State hasn’t been proactive in providing for the early intervention of children with autism, or even providing any sort of options for families,” Pat stated.
“There is no joined up thinking involved and the Department of Health does not seem to be acting off any recent research.
“There is this pessimistic view towards autism and the department doesn’t seem to realise, or want to know, that it is possible for people with autism to recover from it.
“I would say that in relation to this, the State is indifferent at best, but a stronger view would say it is extremely culpable.”
When contacted by Northside People, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Children said it did not comment on individual cases.
However, the spokeswoman said the management and delivery of health and personal social services are the responsibility of the local Health Service Executive (HSE) office, which is normally accessed through a referral letter from a GP.
Meanwhile, Pat and Linda are currently fundraising to help cover the costs of the Son Rise and Defeat Autism Now programmes.
A benefit night in aid of the ‘Méabh McCormack Fund’ will take place in the Old Shieling Hotel, Raheny, on Friday March 9.
Pat McCormack added: “I would also like to pay special thanks to Meabh’s uncle, Podge, and family friends who took part in the Dublin City Marathon to raise money for the fund.”
From The Dublin People ( http://www.dublinpeople. com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2238&Itemid=49 )