The Irish government has unveiled a new strategy to improve the lives of people on the autism spectrum.
The Autism Innovation Strategy has four pillars:
- An autism-affirming society. It aims to increase public understanding of autism and autistic people, and their important role in society.
- Equal access to public services. This includes supporting access to health and social care services for autistic people, education, employment and the justice system.
- Accessible, inclusive communities. This includes having more autism-friendly venues such as libraries, sports centres, museums and art galleries.
- Building capacity. This refers to the aim of giving power to autistic people so they can live the life they choose. It encompasses such things as self-advocacy, parent support and assistive technology.
Gaps in services and supports
Simon Harris, Ireland’s taoiseach, wants his country’s new autism innovation strategy to help end misconceptions about the condition. Image: Wikimedia Commons
Simon Harris is Ireland’s taoiseach (prime minister).
He admitted some gaps needed addressing in “existing services and supports, along with misconceptions and gaps in terms of understanding autism”.
A public consultation on the strategy ended last April, with the government receiving 353 responses.
These came from autistic people, family members and organisations, including a number that support autistic people.
Top priorities
Up to 27 per cent of respondents chose health and social care as the main area needing improvements.
A fifth picked primary and post-primary education. And nine per cent prioritised better autism training.
Jobs (eight per cent), an acceptance campaign (seven per cent), early learning and childcare (six per cent), parental support (five per cent), and designing the built environment (five per cent) were also highlighted.
Qualified welcome
In a statement, the autism charity As I Am welcomed the strategy and said it could “directly impact the lives of autistic people and families”.
But the organisation stressed the strategy must address “shared challenges across the disability community”.
Chief among these difficulties was the “relentless barriers which autistic people and families face in accessing our statutory right to assessment and vital therapeutic supports”, the charity said.
Under Irish law, an assessment must be completed for children with additional needs within six months.
But reports last March suggested that 8,900 children were overdue for an assessment of their needs.
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Published: 24 September 2024
