Therapists: Children with disabilities being let down by 'box-ticking' assessments

Families are being 'duped' into believing they are getting a faster service but therapists say it will only lead to longer waiting lists for disability services.

The Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists has claimed the implementation of a new approach to assessment of need has "exacerbated an already intolerable situation for the children of Ireland and their families" and should stop immediately.

TheIASLT was backed in its call by the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland and comes as the Psychological Society of Ireland warned that its members working in disability services could leave the sector over the implementation of the Preliminary Team Assessment, or PTA, which one psychologist said was "not worth the paper they are written on".