Autistic children treated 'disgracefully': Tipp girl, 12, meets Taoiseach to seek improved supports
Martin With Met Micheál Photo: Today Twitter Cara, 12, Taoiseach Martin Micheál
A 12-year-old primary school student from Cashel, Co Tipperary, met with the Taoiseach on Thursday to urge the government to act urgently on the lack of supports for autistic children in Ireland.
Cara Darmody, who attends Ardfinnan National School, has two younger brothers, Neil and John, who are both non-verbal with autism.
Micheál Martin said it was a great privilege to meet the Tipp campaigner, praising her "powerful and passionate advocacy on behalf of her two younger brothers, and for children with autism and special needs".
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Cara said children with autism in Ireland were being treated “disgracefully”, and she planned on telling Taoiseach Micheál Martin the situation needs to be treated as a crisis emergency.
Cara explained it can take three to four years to be assessed for autism in Ireland at present, and it is “almost impossible” for many to access psychiatry, occupational therapy and educational supports.
“There's consequences for no services,” she said on RTÉ radio. “And what I mean is that there's permanent damage done when there's no services.”
She said the issue “hurts” her as she sees her sibling harming himself as he is not able to access the care he needs.
“Autistic children are being treated absolutely disgracefully... we as a family need to be heard on this.”
Cara’s younger brothers both attend Scoil Chormaic Special School in Cashel, though her father, Mark, said the two boys have received drastically different levels of support since their diagnosis.
Mr Darmody echoed the words of his daughter that change must happen immediately, saying the time has come for “real action”.
Mr Darmody said recruitment issues were something that needed to be tackled with priority, followed by issues surrounding diagnosis delays.
Speaking about the Government, he said: “They say well, we're going to try and recruit but that's not good enough for families who are walking in the door tomorrow morning just to be told it's three to four years before you'll even be seen. It's just not acceptable anymore.”
He added he and his daughter would like to see a change in attitude arise from their meeting on Thursday, and for the Taoiseach to recognise the issue as a crisis.
“We will give him a list of different things but to be fair, and I want to be very fair to him. I've heard the Taoiseach speak about this. I don't think that there's any arguments here. I think every politician accepts that as a serious problem.
“But they're not treating it like a crisis. And that's the difference. So there's no urgency. So they seem to accept that they don't have to do anything today or tomorrow or this week. And that's what has to come to an end very quickly.”
Last month, maths-lover Cara raised €38,119 by sitting the Junior Cycle Maths paper after studying the whole three-year secondary school curriculum in eight months with the help of her school and parents.
Mr Darmody said it went “brilliantly” and that she will sit the Leaving Certificate paper next year in another bid to raise funds for families of autistic children.