Autistic girl may have to move to get school place

A FOUR-year-old girl who has autism has neither a school place nor home tuition because there is no service available, her father has said.

Molly Mai Dollard, from Portlaoise, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD after her despairing parents paid for a private assessment because the HSE testing system was taking too long.

Legally, the HSE assessment should have been completed within six months of the date of application.

‘Molly Mai is now outside of that,’ her father Martin told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland. ‘And as recently as last week, I’ve put in a formal complaint against that.’

In theory, a diagnosis unlocks access to specialist school places and allows mainstream schools to apply for a special needs assistant.

But after two years at a specialist pre-school, Molly Mai with her family, has been unable to get a place at an appropriate school ahead of her fifth birthday. The waiting list for home tuition is up to a year.

A Department of Education spokesman said almost €1.8billion will be invested in special education this year, accounting for nearly a fifth of the overall education budget.

‘Since 2011, the NCSE [National Council for Special Education] has increased the number of such classes by over 130%, from 548 in 2011 to 1,456 across the country, of which 1,192 are autism spectrum disorder special classes,’ he said.

Molly Mai’s parents are considering moving county to get the support so desperately needed. ‘We’ve been talking about moving to a different Assessment: Molly Mai Dollard catchment area to try and acquire services for Molly Mai,’ mother Sarah-Jayne said. ‘If that’s what we have to do, that’s what we’re going to do.’

By the end of June this year 3,850 children were overdue to be assessed for autism and other special needs.

The largest proportion was in the Cork and Kerry region, where 1,578 were waiting for more than six months. In six of Ireland’s nine healthcare regions, there were increases in overdue assessments since January, with the area covering counties Offaly, Westmeath, Louth, Meath and Laois – where the Dollards live – going up by 20%, as 438 children await assessment.

Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on disability Margaret Murphy O’Mahony said: ‘We have been promised 129 teams every year for the past three years and every year has failed to meet that target…

‘At the Oireachtas Committee hearings earlier this year, the HSE told us 400 extra therapists are required. It’s time for Fine Gael to deliver.’

Assessment waiting list is up to a year