Pictures: Autism and Disability Resource event helps parents and teachers

A PUBLIC event held for Autism and Disability Resource proved a huge success with a large crowd in attendance at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cork.

The recent event was aimed at parents, carers, teachers, and services. The main remit of the public event was to inform the groups what services are in their local areas and how they can access the various services.

Amy Winter, who organises a number of these public events nationwide, said she decided to set up the events to ‘support’ families, schools, and teachers. “My first event was in May this year and I was blown away by the response. I run these events so families, schools and teachers can all get together and network.

“We can also refer families or teachers to other people that can support them. Parents and families are finding it difficult to access services at the moment. They are also not aware of what is in their local areas,” she said.

Ms Winter, who hails from Wexford, said the recent event in Cork was a ‘fantastic’ night. “It was a fantastic night and a great success. There was a great turnout.

“We were so happy to see that it had reached families who are at the very start of their journey. It was incredible to give them somewhere that that could come and access as many services as they wanted to. There were people from all over there on the night. The aim of the night was to support families and schools to access support services, products and to help people who work in the autism and disability sector.

“This event in Cork will become an annual event,” said Ms Winter. “It will be held again in August next year in the Radisson Blu Hotel. Half of the attendees were families and half were teachers in Cork.

“It was fantastic to see so many teachers interested in accessing resources for classrooms and for children who are joining their classes with diagnosis. Some people are not aware after the diagnosis is made, because of the waiting lists and delays within the public health system.

“They are left to try and find their way through this new path they are on. There is no information out there. My idea was to bring everything together for them. They learnt new information in Cork, and they left with armfuls of flyers and leaflets to services and products that will support them on their journey. If we all support each other, it makes us stronger,” she added.

Ms Winter said the Government and the HSE could ‘certainly’ be doing more to help people who have a family member diagnosed with autism or a disability.

“The percentage of diagnosis has sky-rocketed but that is only because so many of us are educated and we can pick up the signs earlier which is fantastic.

“The Government and the HSE could certainly be doing more. One in three positions remain empty for occupational therapists and speech and language therapists. They won’t clear the backlogs until they sort the system out. You have thousands of children on waiting lists nationwide.

“The people who attended the event in Cork were relieved,” said Ms Winter.

“A lot of the parents were relieved that there is help out there. I met one parent who said a weight had been lifted after the event. They were only a week into their diagnosis, and they were scared. The more support and information that is out there the better.”