Mother terrified daughter will be expelled from school

WAITING years on end for an appointment for an Assessment of Needs (AON) appointment, is having a devastating impact on families.

One mother who spoke to The Echo is waiting three years for her child to be seen, and is terrified her daughter will be expelled from Junior Infants this year, because her child was expelled from créche due to behavioural issues.

Long waiting times and over 100 vacant staffing posts in the HSE’s Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNT) have created massive problems for families up and down the country.

Cllr Francis Timmons (Ind), who works at WALK, a organisation who support people with disabilities, says the waiting list for assessment is now at least four years and going private isn’t even an option right now.

“Many try to go private, which can be eight months to a year, but private are not taking any new referrals due to long lists they already have,” said Cllr Timmons.

Ijeoma Ukaegbu, a Clondalkin resident, has been trying to get an AON for her daughter Maya (4) for three years, and has also tried privately but to no avail.

Maya, who will be five in August, was expelled from her playschool because of behavioural issues and Ijeoma is terrified that without the right supports, the same thing will happen when Maya begins Junior Infants in September at a Clondalkin primary school.

“I am so scared. When Maya was two, I put her into a creche but she was expelled due to challenging behaviour,” said Ijeoma.

“At the time I was pregnant, with a baby, I work as a nurse, had to cope with a whole lot of stress.”

After going back to her local public health nurse, Maya got a place in a creche at Deansrath Community Centre, and Ijeoma says they were “amazing” in terms of improving Maya’s speech and talking development.

However, with no diagnosis and uncertainty surrounding when her daughter will get AON, Ijeoma fears what this will mean in September.

“It depends on her progress, most schools don’t have special assistant teachers. I have been to many schools in Clondalkin and Lucan. Maya needs support, she can’t sit down in class.

“It is going to effect other kids in class. It is difficult for a school to assess.”

Early intervention is key according to Cllr Timmons, who says AON waiting times are “horrendous” and the backlog is “getting bigger and bigger.”

“I work with people with disabilities, the issue is very complex.

“You need specialist training. The technology is changing all the time, but if you miss assessment before starting school, you are without proper support from day one, and you need that support right throughout education.

“We’ve signed up to UN Convention of People with Disabilities, there is a right to education but we are not meeting those rights.

“We have a Minister for Disability in name but no action to follow it up.

“The most disadvantaged people are often excluded from work. In WALK we want people to have the best life they can live.

“It is really important people are assessed very early on, otherwise there is a knock-on effect on families, teachers, society.”

Parents in the local area formed a new group earlier this year – Clondalkin Autism Parents Support Network (CAPS) – and they helped advise Ijeoma which local school would be best suited for Maya.

This week, clinical psychologist Dr Sara O’Byrne, who had to close off her waiting lists for autism assessments, said the HSE procedure for dealing with autism cases led to a surge toward private practices, which are now overwhelmed.

Dr O’Byrne said the standard operating procedure under AON failed to lead to diagnosis and has driven people into the over-subscribed private sector.

Meanwhile, former president of the Psychological Society of Ireland Mark Smyth, said the HSE are not training enough psychologists to “meet the demand we all can see is out there.”

The stress has taken a toll on Ijeoma, who doesn’t want to see Maya held back while kids her own age progress.

“Every child has a right to school but I don’t even know where I am at the moment,” said Ijeoma.

“I called assessment today but they can’t tell me when Maya will be seen. Even if they could just let us know our next step. I will do what I have to do, but we need somebody to look at her.”