Autistic boy to be sent abroad

THE parents of an autistic boy who last month lost a High Court bid to place their son in care abroad will now be able to send their child to Wales thanks to a fundraising campaign.

Annette and Colm O’Carolan have almost raised the €50,000 they need to send Lewis to a specialist autism centre in Bangor.

A campaign, set up by the Hope Project, founded by disability campaigner and MEP Kathy Sinnott has raised the money since just over three weeks ago.

“We nearly have enough for the assessment. We need €50,000, we’re almost there,” said Ms O’Carolan.

“We got two anonymous large donations, one for €20,000 and one for €15,000.”

The fund was set up after the High Court ruled a month ago that care proposals for Lewis from the Health Service Executive and the Department of Education fulfilled the State’s constitutional obligations.

The O’Carolans, who wanted the High Court to direct the State to fund a placement for their 14-year-old son in the Bangor Centre for Developmental Disabilities, rejected the proposals endorsed by the High Court.

They said the proposed centre at Woodlawn, north Dublin, offered a psychiatric model, unsuitable to Lewis, who did not have a psychiatric illness.

The money raised will fund an initial 12-week assessment period in Bangor.

“That assessment will make such a difference. It’s an intensive assessment. The people there know what they are doing, they understand autism,” said Ms O’Carolan.

“They don’t just stick a needle in, as they do here.”

She said they didn’t know what they would do after the 12 weeks were over but said the treatment offered here was a disgrace.

The O’Carolans, who live in Phibsboro, north Dublin, are back in the High Court next week, where a date for a separate claim for damages will be set.

The Lewis O’Carolan Appropriate Education Fund is located in the Bank of Ireland branch in Carrigaline, Co Cork. Account number 93863613, sort code 90-29-79.