‘These kids need a voice, they need their services’

SALLY HARDING
The frustrated mother of an autistic child from Stamullen says she has been left with “no other choice” than to try and fundraise for private speech therapy sessions for her son and five of his classmates who are on a waiting list to access services from the HSE.  
It has been over a year since Sue Howe's seven-year-old son John, who is non-verbal, has had any intervention in the form of speech or occupational therapy and the mum-of-three recently learned that she could be waiting another 18 months to get the little boy the help he needs.
“Access to services is really atrocious at the moment, my son hasn't had any services in over a year.
“He was with Enable Ireland who were really good but when he turned six in February 2019 he got transferred to the HSE where he was referred to adult services.
“We haven't had a phone call or one letter to say we have John on the waiting list, nothing, I had to ring them and they told me that he will be another 18 months plus waiting.
“I was in the car with my mam at the time and I actually just broke down and started sobbing. 

“It makes you feel like you are dirt on the ground, it makes you feel so low and that you are nothing in this country. It's like discrimination. 
“He gets his bus to and from school and when he comes home he's frustrated that he can't say what he wants to say. These kids need a voice, they need their services, they need their therapy and to be able to say ‘I love you’ to their mam and dad. I'd give anything to hear him say those words. 
“For a mother, it is absolutely heartbreaking that you cannot help them in the way they need. 

The Howe family in Stamullen,  Sue with John, Jack, Max and dad, Aaron.
PHOTO: SEAMUS FARRELLY

“John was born 2013 and I had his baby brother in 2014. We noticed that he wasn't reaching his milestones, he had no speech and he wasn't socialising with any other kids. He was two years and seven months when he was diagnosed, we had to get him diagnosed privately because we’d probably still be waiting if we were on a public waiting list.
“When we got the news, I felt like ‘Oh my God, did I do something wrong’ and I was just thinking I can’t believe that this has been what the problem was all along. I was thinking maybe when I was pregnant with his baby brother, maybe I didn't do enough or give him enough time so it was really hard.

“I was offered no help, nobody told me what to do so I just went into Supermam mode and I started googling and joining online support groups asking what do I do. I was told to get onto the Dept of Education, The Special Education Dept, apply for a home tuition grant and get his name down for the early intervention units that specialises in Autism.
“I rang near and far for the early intervention units and I didn't stop until I got him a place but I had to fight tooth and nail. You are losing your mind because you are thinking he needs early intervention but there is nowhere to send him.

John eventually got a place in a preschool specialising in children with autism before moving on to Abacas - a special school for children with autism in Drogheda. Thriving in both facilities it was recommended that the youngster take a place he was offered in the autistic unit in Realt na Mara Boys National School in Donacarney. 
“He loves school. The most important thing for him is to get the ‘white’ bus to school, he waits and looks out the window and when the bus arrives he'll say ‘white bus’ and goes off delighted with himself.

“Enable Ireland told me he has the potential, it’s all there, he just needs to learn how to communicate and understand. He has no awareness, no concept of the danger of running out on the road. I am just one person and I have two other kids and I try and dedicate my time equally to the kids but a child with special needs requires more attention and I can only do so much myself.”
Dance teacher Sue has organised an event to raise funds for speech therapy.  
For further information or to make a donation search ‘Autism Fundraiser for Speech Therapy’ on Facebook. 
The HSE has been contacted for comment