Nov 2, 2019, RSVP Live, Dublin: Irish parents set up autism support website to help others after son was diagnosed aged two https://www.rsvplive.ie/life/irish-parents-set-up-autism-20798209 One Irish couple were driven to set up an autism support website, after struggling to find the help they needed after their two year old son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Dublin mum, Sarah reveals there were no warning signs anything was amiss with their son until he was 18 months. … However, at 18 months, they noticed their son starting to regress. “From 18 months to two, his words stopped and we started noticing things we were concerned about” she tells us. “He wasn’t responding to his name, he didn’t have much interest in toys and his eye contact wasn’t great.”… They brought their son to the public health nurse, who was not concerned assuring them that boys simply developed differently to girls. The worried parents questioned whether there could be a hearing issue, and were referred to have their son’s hearing checked, however with a long waiting list, they opted to have him checked privately. It was at this appointment the experienced audiologist agreed that their son showed signs of being on the autistic spectrum and reccomended they bring him to an early intervention centre to try and get a diagnosis. However, the couple were told the wait for an assessment would be 18 months, so once again they decided to try and find a private appointment for their son to be assessed, explaining: ‘We felt we couldn’t wait this long, for our sons development as he was 2 and a half by now.”… “It felt very surreal, it took us a bit of time to let it all sink in. We tried to focus on making sure we could get the entitlements he needed and the right supports, that at least gave us hope.” … Based on their own struggles to access the right information and support, the couple decided to set up a website where parents of children with Autism can go to find information. … And sharing her advice for other mums whose children have been diagnosed with autism, Sarah was keen to stress the importance of self care. “Look after yourself” she insists. … She also talks of the importance of remembering to just relax and have fun with your child too, and not to constantly focus on their ‘diagnosis’. “Don’t forget to just have fun with your child and just play as normal. …
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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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