Two-year delays for autism care

AUTISTIC children over the age of six are waiting up to two and a half years to receive specialist care because of flaws in the assessment system, it has been claimed.

Figures released at the latest HSE regional health forum show that last year, a massive 198 cases of autism in children were confirmed in Cork, almost three times the annual figures for the previous two years.

The jump is linked to a new assessment of need process called for under the Disability Act, which makes it mandatory for children under six to be assessed as a matter of priority.