Vol. 504 No. 7
202 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Health and Children if funds will be made available for speech therapists for autistic children of pre-school age in view of the acute need for early intervention in such cases; and if his Department has liaised with other Departments in this regard. [12574/99]
This year I was pleased to be in a position to allocate additional funding of £1.5 million, with a full year cost of £2.5 million, for the further development of health related support services for children with autism. These services will benefit children through early intervention services, pre-school services and outreach services for schoolchildren. The multi-disciplinary support teams being established include speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, psychologists and social workers as required. Planning for the development of further specialist services for both children and adults with autism is being included by the health boards in their overall consideration of the needs in their regions.
This Department, in conjunction with the health boards, will continue to liaise with the Department of Education and Science to provide health related support services to children with autism.
