Focused on the future
MONICA Galvin, mother of Adrian, a 39-year-old man with autism, looks forward to seeing her son at weekends when he stays at the family home in Bishopstown in Cork. During the week, he lives in Greenville House in Carrigtwohill which is run by the Cork Association for Autism (CAA). This residential home, where Adrian has his own en suite bedroom, gives him independence, but Monica is fearful about its future due to HSE cutbacks. When she goes on walks with Adrian, around the Lough, she can reflect on her son’s progress.
Earlier in his life, it wasn’t possible to take him out. “He had a fear of being with people and of noise and unfamiliar things,” says Monica. Now, Adrian, whom Monica describes as “quite handsome with a lovely nature”, has blossomed. But Adrian will always need support. (Growing up, he attended Lota and the COPE Foundation.)
