Hike in children registered on intellectual disability database

THERE has been an 8% increase in the number of children registered on the National Intellectual Disability Database in the past four years, a report by the Health Research Board reveals.

It also shows that three out of four of these children have not had their level of intellectual disability confirmed by the age of five.

While the number of children registered on the database increased from 1,429 in 2003 to 1,542 in 2007, the actual number of unconfirmed cases increased from 860 to 1,181 over the same period.

Inclusion Ireland, the association for people with intellectual disabilities, said about 200 children a month have been having their needs assessed under the Disability Act since June 2007. But, because of staff embargoes and the use of appointees to assess young children under the legislation, there were fewer therapists available to provide the services required.

Inclusion Ireland chief executive Deirdre Carroll said they feared further delays in the provision of services next year as a result of cutbacks in HSE funding.

“While these children have a statutory right to have their needs assessed, there will not be enough staff to provide the services they require,” she warned.

Ms Carroll understood that parents were slow to label their children as having an intellectual disability but, in this country, unless children were labelled, they would not get the services they needed.

“You are told what the child needs, but the problem is what is available.”

Head of disability databases at the board, Sarah Craig, said there were valid reasons why children have not had their level of intellectual disability confirmed.

“In some cases, the children have not received a psychological assessment but parent sensitivity to diagnosis and a policy decision to move away towards ‘needs driven’ rather that ‘diagnosis led’ assessment also have a strong influence,” she said.

The report also points out that while there has been a considerable increase in the provision of speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy over the past five years, there would be a “high” demand for these services over the next four years.

Ms Craig said there was a need for continued investment and expansion of services for children under the age of five.

“The highest levels of unmet need are linked to the provision of home support and respite care and many children already in receipt of day services need a change to their services. This again raises the importance of needs assessment early on for these children and the development of appropriate services to meet these needs,” she said.

Ms Carroll said there was little respite care available for young children.

“Most parents do not want residential respite but could do with more innovative forms of support to them at home,” she said.