Mum posts elf’s escapades online to help raise awareness of autism

Santa has sent an elf on the shelf with a difference to wreak havoc in a Co Louth home in order to raise awareness of autism.

The elf, who is on the autism spectrum, is climbing out windows, refusing certain foods and spinning himself around lights since he appeared at Colleen McNally’s house in Avenue Road, Dundalk.

Mum-of-four Colleen, whose nine-year-old son Darragh has autism, is posting the elf’s antics daily on her Facebook page in the hope it will raise awareness of the condition.

“Santa brought us the elf and we knew straight away that he had autism. He looked at us out of the corner of his eye like Darragh used to.

“We all decided we were going to name the elf Duca because Darragh’s first words were ‘duca, duca, duca’.

“In one post Duca is flying from a light fitting. Children with autism often spin around or clap their hands to regulate their senses.

“Another day last week, we caught Duca trying to escape out of a window. This is called flight risk in autism and it’s terrifying for parents. A child with autism has no concept of danger and can be gone in a minute,” she said.

“In other children, if you called their names, most would return but children on the spectrum would keep going. I shared Duca’s antics that morning in the hope that other parents would see it and realise that if they saw a child with autism on their estate, alone, that now they might realise to contact their parents straight away.”

“I’m hoping that by posting daily about Duca, it will raise awareness of autism so that people will think before judging the next time they see a child eating dirt or eating toast in a restaurant while parents eat steak or acting up. Maybe it’s not that their parents are mean, maybe the child is on the spectrum,” she said.