Parents outraged after autism charity cuts back on vital services

THE Irish autism charity once fronted by former Boyzone singer Keith Duffy has been lambasted by parents after announcing that it is to cut back its outreach services to children with autism and will focus “exclusively” on national advocacy, information and awareness campaigns.

The board of Irish Autism Action (IAA) voted to restructure the charity after its income dropped from €1.7m to €960,000 in three years. Most of its income comes from public fundraising and corporate donations.

The decision has caused uproar amongst parents of children with autism who took to social media in droves within recent days to question the services being provided by the charity.

Yvonne O’Toole and Jacqueline Moran, who set up a Facebook support group called Irish Autism Mammies, are to meet the new chief executive of the IAA, Brian Murnane, this week. They said many of their 1,500 members, who are also members of the IAA, are concerned at how funds raised will now be used.

The IAA’s website said it provided outreach services to 75 families a month last year and facilitated 513 therapy sessions. However, a statement issued by the charity said 17 families were receiving outreach services from the IAA and the service was withdrawn from 15 of those families in May.

The charity said the outreach service was funded by the Health Service Executive, but the funds were “insufficient” and the service had become too expensive to run. “This situation was unaccept- able and so in 15 cases we withdrew from providing the service. The remaining two cases were considered too critical to discontinue.”

The charity is in discussions with the HSE about an “appropriate level of funding for that service and hope to be able to provide it to all the families in question again soon”.

Parents claimed that the subsidised therapy sessions that the charity facilitated for children with autism have also been cut.

But the IAA said its outreach support was the only service cut. It continues to provide a range of support services, including a helpline, training for teachers in mainstream schools, advocacy for individuals and nationally, and fundraising support.

The statement said the IAA “chose to restructure” and to “focus exclusively on national advocacy, information/advice and support and national awareness initiatives”.

This followed a review requested by the board. According to the charity’s most recent accounts, the IAA’s income was €969,000 in 2014, and recorded a €74,133 deficit.

Some parents on social media questioned the IAA’s focus on “awareness” and advocacy as children with autism need practical therapy and intervention.

“What exactly will IAA be doing with the funds raised by Woodie’s?” another posted. Another asked whether IAA “will be offering services from these funds”.

Keith Duffy stood down as patron of IAA last year, citing family and work commitments. He has since set up his own charity, the Keith Duffy Foundation.