Report criticises crisis levels of autism services

Families of children with autism in the Midlands have claimed that services have deteriorated to crisis levels, with more people seeking help in securing basic assessments.

The Laois Offaly Families For Autism (LOFFA) group will publish a report today which it claims shows the two counties to be ‘blackspots’ in a country that is generally under-resourced when it comes to providing autism services.

According to the report, which uses HSE figures, Laois/Offaly is severely understaffed versus local, national, and peer locations and the number of therapists would need to double to reach national standard. There are also significantly more children waiting for services in Laois/Offaly than anywhere else in Dublin Mid Leinster.