Nov 2, 2018, Cork Evening Echo: Cork parents protest at lack of autism services https://www.eveningecho.ie/corknews/Cork-parents-protest-at-lack-of-autism-services-12830ecf-3c95-4484-90ae-cb79a4235ba5-ds The HSE has been accused of not listening to parents of autistic children, who say their children are suffering due to a lack of services in Cork. A crowd of parents met yesterday at Chuckies Play Zone in Wilton to discuss their struggle to gain access to much needed autism services in the region. Cork woman Suzanne O’Flynn said children are waiting months or longer for services and some even struggle to get on waiting lists for vital services. … “Our children are being left behind.” Luke has also been denied access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, because he cannot access a multidisciplinary team. “The HSE are just not listening and our children are suffering,” said Suzanne. The latest figures show that the between August 2017 and August 2018, Cork Kerry Community Healthcare received a total of 1,120 referrals for assessment under the Disability Act…. The figures also show that the number of children seeking an ASD assessment has risen by around 100 in two months, from 900 to more than 1,000. … The HSE admitted this represents a significant challenge in terms of their capacity to respond to the need for ASD assessments. Accessing Autism services in Cork is a constant, daily struggle which can span decades, according to Cork woman Tracy Doyle, who has five children, two on the autism spectrum…. As well as increased staff and services, Suzanne said providing training to parents who are new to autism would be a huge help. “We’ll do anything to help our kids but we need more support. “More staff, more services, they’re crucial but if there was classes to help us deal with it, we’d all be there, we’d do anything,” she added.
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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