'You have to fight for everything for them. If you don’t he’ll be left behind,' says Tipperary mom

The struggles of having a child with a learning disability do not just stop at trying to find them an education, says one Tipperary mom. 

Samantha Bray tells Tipperary Live that the journey to obtain an assessment of needs for her son Oisín has been a long and expensive one.

Children in Ireland need these reports to obtain vital services like speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and educational support.

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The waiting list for obtaining an assessment of needs is long and parents often have to go private or they could be waiting for months for this vital diagnosis.

Samantha says that while Oisín has started speech and language therapy, he is on a waiting list to start occupational therapy and it could be years before he starts this.

This highlights the ongoing struggles that parents face when trying to obtain important services for their autistic children.

“You have to fight for everything for them. If you don’t he’ll be left behind. It’s exhausting.” said Samantha. “We’ll have to go through all of this again with my younger son Rían.”

Samantha’s son Rían is three years old and also on the autistic spectrum. While he would be able to attend an ASD unit in a local primary school, the worry is if he will be lucky enough to be given a space in one given the high demand.

When one battle is won, another begins when you are a parent of a child with a disability.

An education, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy are all crucial for an autistic child’s development.

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Left without these supports and regression can happen where children lose skills they have already previously learned, and no child should be left in a situation where this can happen.

Left without these supports and regression can happen where children lose skills they have already previously learned, and no child should be left in a situation where this can happen.