Parents of autistic boy furious over Ahern’s letter

THE parents of an autistic boy have responded angrily to a letter sent to them by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Mr Ahern wrote a letter to Annette and Colm O’Carolan urging them to discuss with the health and education authorities about placing their son Lewis into the Woodlawn centre in Dublin.

Lewis’s parents have rejected a placement in the Woodlawn centre claiming it is run on a psychiatric model, involving medication rather than expert autistic help. The High Court ruled last June that the proposed service for Lewis at Woodlawn fulfilled the State’s constitutional obligations.