I don’t know where we’d be as a family without Shine

A CARRIGALINE couple grappling with their son’s autism diagnosis had to consider all their options, including a move to the US, to ensure he had access to a place in primary school.

That was before Colette Quinn and her husband Neil O’Connell had heard of Shine, the Irish Progressive Association for Autism (IPAA) in their home town, without whom they say things would be very different for their family.

Colette and Neil’s son Harry got a diagnosis of autism eight years ago, when he was three years old.

“As a family, getting a diagnosis like that is difficult and challenging,” said Colette.

“We didn’t know a whole lot about autism at the time, or know any family with a child with autism. It was life-changing.

“We were trying to figure out what it meant for our son, for us, what supports he’d need and where to even get all that information.”

A work colleague of Neil’s told them about Shine, set up 20 years ago, and Colette still clearly remembers her first meeting with its manager Kieran McAuliffe.

“Before I went to see him we spoke on the phone and he asked me what Harry liked, and I told him that at the time it was dinosaurs. When we arrived, I remember he totally ignored me and said ‘Hi Harry, would you like to come in and meet some of our dinosaurs?’

“It was just a small thing but it was incredible, and it’s all part of their ethos which is putting the child at the centre of everything they do.”

Harry was fortunate to get one of the 18 pre-school places at the centre, which Colette said put him on a pathway to flourish.

“We know that one hour of intervention before a child with autism is five, is worth seven or eight after they’re five, so early intervention is absolutely crucial,” she said.

Harry attended there for a year, and is now in 4th class in mainstream class, which at the time of his diagnosis would have been inconceivable, said his mum.

“He was monosyllabic until he was around three and that’s why we were told not to be too optimistic about his future, and were told there was no appropriate place for our son to be educated in this country. But we refused to accept that and it was when we went to Shine that things changed, with their specialist highly trained staff.

“They know how to bring out the best in a child, and help them reach their potential and we just knew he’d progress there once he got the right intervention and he really did.

A RISE IN NUMBERS SEEKING SUPPORT

Shine is a registered charity and gets some government funding, but as parents aren’t charged for any services, they rely heavily on fundraising, especially as they’re seeing a rise in the numbers of people they support.

Colette, who is now a Director at Shine, said: “Last year, we got 3,000 calls to our support line from parents wanting advice.

“We also saw an increase of 48% in cases we dealt with, that’s 500 families, and we expect that to go up by 25% again this year.”

Among the broad range of services Shine provides is educational support in 30 schools around Cork city and county, where their staff work with school staff to create the best learning environment for the child.

But regardless of where someone is from, they can pick up the phone to Shine and they’ll support and direct them.

“Also, since Covid, all our content has gone online, making it available to a huge audience,” said Colette.

“We’ve done as much as we can with the funding we have, to maximise and share our expertise. It’s a fact that parents to children with autism have higher levels of anxiety and stress so we wanted to make sure that they could access the knowledge as and when they could.”

Positively, Colette and Neil, who are also parents to Ryan (14) feel there’s far more awareness around autism now.

“There’s also a whole conversation around neurodiversity in the workplace, and how it can benefit society.

“But the service provision still has a long way to go even in terms of a diagnosis.

“You could be wating two to three years for a diagnosis – it took us 18 months – and in the meantime you’re at home with your child, grappling to get supports and trying to bring them along.

“Essentially, you cannot get a place for your child in school without a diagnosis, you’re not entitled to anything so it all comes back to speedy diagnosis.

"These are the type of struggles parents of children with autism face every day.”

ADVICE TO PARENTS

Her advice to any parent whose child has got an autism diagnosis – outside of contacting Shine – is to arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible.

“The most important thing is to focus on the ability rather than the disability.

“Contacting Shine is the first step. We do feel it’s one of a kind in terms of the level of expertise that’s available, and also for the early intervention pre-school.

“What started as a group of parents coming together, and wanting to help their own children and other parents, has grown from humble beginnings to where it is today, a centre with a global reach making such a difference to families’ lives, like ours.

“We can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done for us and for Harry. He’s doing phenomenally well and the only reason he’s doing that is because of the fantastic work Shine did.

“I honestly don’t know where’d we’d be as a family without them.”

For more information, see shineireland.com

FUNDRAISER FOR SHINE

A fundraising fashion event in aid of Shine takes place on Thursday, April 20, in Carrigaline.

Mabel Lane, of Main Street, Carrigaline, will be hosting ‘Front Row’ to raise essential funding for services and programmes for autistic children in Cork city and county.

The fashion show will be hosted by Helen Queally Murphy, from Daily Diva Diaries, and will feature a range of fashion boutiques and retailers including Ally Grace Boutique in Carrigaline, It’s So Me in Douglas, Mad for Style in Kinsale, ReiMa bags and Espy & Irls Eyewear.

Some well known faces from Instagram will be modelling on the night and the evening will be packed with inspiration for summer wardrobes.

There will be a range of prizes raffled on the night also.

Tickets for this event, which promises to be a fun-filled evening, are available on Eventbrite https://FrontRowFashion.eventbrite.ie

Doors open at 7pm and the fashion show kicks off at 8pm.

Colette Quinn said: “At Shine, we have always been very lucky and very grateful for the wonderful support we receive from both the people of Carrigaline and the greater Cork area and I have no doubt that those people will once again offer their support for this fantastic event.

“Many of our children and families live and work here in Carrigaline and it is great to see a local business like Mabel Lane demonstrate their commitment to their local community by supporting and hosting this event for us.

“It is also important to remember that all of the funds raised on the evening will go directly towards funding the services we provide at the Shine Centre.”

For those who cannot attend and want to support https://shineireland.com/front-row-fashion-show-20th-april-2023/