(Ireland) 5% of kids have autism; 'We can presume that 1 in 20 adults are also autistic'

Nov 28, 2025, Health Manager: Ireland needs health systems to reflect the diversity of our society

https://healthmanager.ie/2025/11/ireland-needs-health-systems-to-reflect-the-diversity-of-our-society

Ireland needed health systems to reflect the diversity of our society, Mr. Adam Harris CEO of AsIAm, told the Conference.

“Where the autistic community is concerned, we need to change attitudes and environments.  If the world is designed by people who are not autistic, it is easy to see the barriers in everyday life for autistic people. They experience the world in a very different way and that is a very substantial proportion of our community experiencing the world through a very different lens,” he said in a powerful speech on the need for inclusion and the importance of designing systems that served everyone, with particular attention to neurodiversity.

We don’t talk about autism as a deficit. People who get an autism spectrum diagnosis have a mixed profile of abilities and differences.  You can meet somebody who is an excellent communicator. Others may require varying levels of support.

Mr. Harris said people needed to access really good information around autism.  “One of the challenges is when we talk about definition.  It is difficult to find a shared definition which we all understand,   People with autism communicate, think and experience the environment in a different way to people who are not autistic. . . .

 “Neurodivergence is an umbrella for people with autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and Tourette’s Syndrome and some people, have more than one of these.

“There are many reasons why autistic people may need access to healthcare, yet there are huge barriers to this in our community. People working in healthcare do not have training in autism, there are lack of autistic supports to help navigate the healthcare system, some people in the autistic community have problems with the telephone, so it is difficult for them to make appointments, using a telephone. There are huge challenges in all this. . . .

He said there was no evidence of over diagnosis of autism in Ireland .  “The National Council for Special Education has recently reported a prevalence rate of 1 in 20 in children of school going age or 5% of the population   We can presume that 1 in 20 adults are also autistic  and many adults are not diagnosed.”  . . .