My boy needed help but Tusla just threatened us with prison
Parents who couldn’t get diagnosis due to lack of psychologists taken to court
THE parents of a boy with undiagnosed autism were told they could face time in prison after Tusla wrongly accused them of neglecting their son’s education.
The Child and Family agency took Kildare couple Paula and Damien Deegan through the High Court after a severely delayed autism diagnosis prevented their son, Rhoshan, from attending secondary school.
After symptoms of the disorder were first identified, the family spent two-and-a-half years trying to get an autism assessment for their now 16-year-old son.
It was a daily struggle to get their child to attend his local school, Salesian College Celbridge. Rhoshan would often become extremely stressed and punch holes in walls, or tear down wardrobe doors at home.
His behaviour was so erratic that the guards and ambulance services were called on occasion.
The couple decided the best thing for their son’s health was to allow him to stay at home until they could finally access an assessment through the HSE’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), or through private healthcare.
However, due to the overwhelming delays in getting the assessment, Tusla refused to acknowledge that the teen had autism and took the family to court – and an arduous eight-month trial followed.
Tusla pursued the case despite having received letters from the teen’s former school principal and head of the ASD unit at Salesian College Celbridge explaining that it was clear Rhoshan was displaying signs of autism.
Speaking with the Irish Mail on Sunday, Paula Deegan said: ‘We spent 15 months with CAMHS trying to get an assessment.’
With no diagnosis forthcoming through CAMHS – Rhoshan was just being seen by a psychiatric nurse – Paula started to message dozens of psychologists across the country and in the UK, but without success.
In October 2017, after many months of looking for psychologists in the US and Australia, they were summoned by Tusla to the High Court in Dublin, accused of neglecting their child’s education.
The charges meant they could have faced time in prison as the prosecution were set to recommend custodial sentences for the
couple. According to Paula, any form of prosecution would have meant the pair, who have four children and are both professionals, would have lost their jobs.
Commenting on the way the prosecution approached the case, Paula said: ‘They were like wolves, they wanted us prosecuted and I really don’t know why.’
Paula eventually approached an expert in the field of child psychology, Dr Ann Honan and she assessed Rhoshan as having Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1.
In the end, the judge presiding over the case, Judge John Brennan sided in favour of the family. Paula says: ‘Rhoshan still has no education and nothing was offered.’
When asked if the Department of Education intends on providing the family with a home tutor, or providing Rhoshan with any form of education following requests for assistance from the family, a spokeswoman said: ‘The Department does not comment in the case of individual children.’
Commenting on behalf of CAMHS, a HSE spokeswoman said: ‘The HSE can’t comment on individual cases. HSE CAMHS services are focused on continued efforts towards service improvement.’
A Tusla spokeswoman said: ‘Tusla Child and Family Agency does not comment on individual cases. All referrals are assessed in line with Children First.’
Speaking to the MoS, Dr Ann Honan said more needs to be done for Irish children with autism: ‘Children should be assessed for possible ASD as soon as concerns are raised,’ she said.
‘Parents would never wish this on their child, so if they are worried about and report atypical development or behaviours, believe them.
‘All services are grossly understaffed particularly with regard to the number of psychologists employed since the now long-ago recession,’ she added.
‘He would punch holes in walls’ ‘We were put through arduous 8-month trial’