Autism in Northern Ireland

A lot needs to be said and done about autism in Northern Ireland. The problems that individuals with autism face here can be attributed to a system that is not working, and never could work.

Northern Ireland is experiencing severe intransigence and ignorance regarding autism despite millions of pounds being thrown around and compared to the rest of the United Kingdom, it's a poor cousin.

I am a parent and a mother of a child who has autism. We live in Northern Ireland. The system has failed my child  many times. No surprises there as it fails people all over the world. What really irks me is the unwillingness of those individuals who work in that system to learn from their failure and take responsibility. There are very few, autism "experts" here who are not parents of children with autism. Yet we rarely hear from them. I am one of those experts. No one understands my boy's particular autism the way I do and no one can help him as much as me.

Constructive criticism of all issues surrounding autism in Northern Ireland is well overdue as is the need to shuffle off the incestuous relationships that have evolved between those providing services.