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(Ireland) "Desperate" mom of 9 y.o. with severe autism; NO SUPPORT, no school for 4 yrs

Sept 17, 2023, Irish Mirror: Mum of autistic boy pleads for support: 'I'm a prisoner in my own home' https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/mum-autistic-boy-pleads-support-30956056.amp

Jayne Brogan, 41, said her nine-year-old boy Deakon is missing out on his childhood - and his behaviour is making life hell for the entire family

A desperate mum whose autistic son has not gone to school for four years is pleading with the HSE to give him the supports he needs.

Jayne Brogan, 41, said her nine-year-old boy Deakon is missing out on his childhood - and his behaviour is making life hell for the entire family.

The mum-of-four from Balbriggan in north Co Dublin said the Covid lockdowns compounded the problem and she is now a prisoner in her own home.

She told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “Deakon was going to school, not every day but some days, then lockdown happened and when it reopened he refused to go back.

“He now has a phobia of leaving the house. He should be in fourth class, but he’s had no education.

“I’m not allowed to leave the house or my friends aren’t allowed to come into the house. I’m like a prisoner in my own home. I literally sit in my bedroom if I’m not cleaning.

“He has no social skills, he won’t go out to play, he won’t wear clothes, he’s going around in pyjamas. He has 27 pairs of pyjamas.”

Jayne said Deakon’s angry outbursts are taking their toll on his brothers Andrew, 17, Tom, 12 and seven-year-old Lincoln.

She described how she and her husband Steven are at their “wits end” and the ordeal is made worse because her mother is in a nursing home with dementia but she can’t visit her.

Ex soldier Jayne worked as a fitness instructor for a time but she said Deakon no longer lets her leave the house - and gets violent if she does. She revealed: “He’s getting very violent. “I had to call up to one of my neighbours the other day... He came up and got me and he thumped the back off me all the way home.

“He took a knife out of the kitchen press... I have to have all the knives locked away….

Jayne said Deakon has had no support from the HSE [The Health Service Executive] and the family has had no respite services.

She praised the new educational officer in Balbriggan who has “gone out of his way” to try and help the family but has had no success to date.

She said: “They [HSE] have no staff, that is what I’ve been told. I don’t know where to go, I don’t know where to turn….

The HSE said it could not comment on individual cases but confirmed that its North Dublin community healthcare team is “engaged with this boy and his family”.

A HSE spokeswoman added: “We are sorry to those families who have had a poor experience in trying to access our services.”

Jayne Brogan with nine-year-old Deakon

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