Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Dec 1997

Vol. 483 No. 6

Written Answers. - Autism Services.

Michael Ring

Question:

260 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will give details of the services available in County Mayo regarding the early detection and diagnosis of an autistic person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [20921/97]

Michael Ring

Question:

263 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will give details of the specialised programmes, if any, that are available in County Mayo particularly in relation to the care, tuition and development of autistic children, particularly for pre-school and primary aged children suffering from autism and in particular in relation to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [20924/97]

Michael Ring

Question:

264 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will give details of support services, if any, particularly funding, available to the parents and carers of autistic babies and children in County Mayo particularly, to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [20925/97]

Michael Ring

Question:

265 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children the investigations and research, if any, which are currently taking place in relation to the high incidence of autism in Ireland; and the information, if any, there is resulting from these investigations and research regarding autistic children in Ireland and, in particular, in relation to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [20926/97]

Michael Ring

Question:

266 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children the specialised programmes, if any, currently available in Ireland similar to the OYAS programme in America which is specifically geared to the early detection of autism in babies and children and which also caters for their tuition and further development and, in particular, in relation to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [20927/97]

Michael Ring

Question:

267 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children the amount and source of funding given to promote the services and educational development of autistic children in County Mayo and, in particular, in relation to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [20928/97]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 260, 263, 264, 265, 266 and 267 together.

The majority of persons with autism avail of the generic mental handicap services, including assessment and diagnostic services, day, residential, respite and home support services, which have been substantially enhanced in recent years. Specific programmes exist within the mental handicap services to address the special needs of persons with autism. Planning for the development of further specialist facilities, including the enhancement of diagnostic services as outlined in my Department's policy document on services for persons with autism, which was published in 1994, is being included by the health boards, including the Western Health Board, in their overall consideration of the needs of persons with a mental handicap and autism in their regions. Additional funding amounting to £502,000 has been made available to the Western Health Board region since 1995 for the development of specific services for persons with autism. This is in addition to the additional funding of £1,779,000 allocated to the region in the same period for the development of generic services for persons with a mental handicap, from which persons with autism also benefited.

The OYAS programme, referred to by the Deputy, is one of many different programmes used in the care and development of services for children and adults with autism. Service providers in Ireland are well aware of these programmes and incorporate elements of some of these approaches in the programmes which they provide and which are designed to meet the needs of individual children and adults.

Since 1995 the board has also allocated £12,000 annually to provide training specifically for staff working with persons with autism, as follows:

(a) introduction to using TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children) methods;

(b) intensive training in TEACCH;

(c) working positively with autism and challenging behaviour;

(d) understanding and working with people with autism; and

(e) assessment and diagnosis of autism.

This training programme was planned on the basis of a survey of staff training needs undertaken by the board's Regional Autism Training Group in 1995-96. In addition to the training conducted at regional level, individual agencies have also conducted training at local level and aim to enhance the expertise within their own locations.

The Irish Society for Autism, at the request of my Department, recently organised a number of training and information workshops for clinicians working in the area of diagnosis and ongoing care programmes and will be following these with similar training for staff working with persons with autism in each of the health board regions.

The multidisciplinary teams which work with children with autism in the Mayo region include speech and language therapists, psychologists, in-home teachers, social workers and support workers. There is also a child psychiatrist in the Mayo region who provides services for children with autism. Paediatricians, child psychologists and the child psychiatrist are all involved in the early detection and diagnosis of childhood autism. Although these teams offer a wide range of services to children with a mental handicap they have also received specific training in autism and its treatment. In relation to other supports available to parents of children with autism the domiciliary care allowance is available to all parents and carers of children who require a level of care considerably in excess of a child of similar age who does not have a disability. All pre-school children with autism receive approximately one hour per week of in-home teaching and a similar period of speech therapy. In addition children-families have the assistance of a support worker for varying periods each week. The support worker works both within the home and in pre-schools at which the children attend. A residential respite service is also available for children of schoolgoing age.

The provision of educational services to children and adults with a mental handicap, including autism, is primarily the responsibility of the Department of Education and Science. I understand from my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, that children with autism have access to a range of educational and support services. The precise nature of the support provided depends on the severity of the condition in each individual case. In some cases, children with mild features of autism are educated in mainstream schools with the support, where necessary, of remedial or resource teachers. Children with more serious needs have traditionally been catered for in a number of special schools, including schools dedicated to children with a mental handicap and schools for children with emotional or behavioural disorders. The following special educational supports are provided at present in County Mayo:

(1) two special schools cater for children with a mild mental handicap;

(2) two special schools cater for children with a moderate mental handicap;

(3) three special classes for children with a mild mental handicap in mainstream national schools;

(4) 33 remedial teachers, who provide a service to 112 national schools;

(5) three resource teachers, who provide a service to 14 national schools.

I also understand from the Minister for Education and Science that a review of the operation of a pilot programme of special education services for children with autism in Dublin and Limerick which was first introduced for the 1995-96 school year is now commencing. The Department will be consulting with the Irish Society for Autism as part of this process. The review, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year, will provide the basis for the development of future responses to the educational needs of children with autism.

As regards the incidence of autism, research so far has not confirmed an especially high incidence in Ireland. Difficulties regarding classification make interpretation in this area difficult. The Irish Society for Autism will, later this week, be launching an extensive research study which it undertook in conjunction with the Eastern Health Board in the board's area. The report examines the number of children and adults with autism, the ratio of male to female cases, services available, the levels of understanding and the consequences of diagnosis. My Department has also made funding available to the Irish Society for Autism for research into the mortality rate and causes of mortality in persons with autism.

With regard to the services which may be available to the individual mentioned by the Deputy, I have asked the Western Health Board to contact her directly to discuss her needs.