Swords Councillors have approved a motion to make Swords an autism friendly town.
A motion to start the process of making Swords an Autism Friendly Town was brought to the Area Committee of Fingal County Council yesterday, by Cllr Joe Newman.
The proposal received the full support of all councillors present and the Community Section of Fingal County Council expressed their support for working with groups to make the proposal a success.
The call to make Swords and autism friendly town has been supported by the team at St Michael’s House, who provide adult autism services in the town.
Cllr Ian Carey said:
“I was very happy to support Cllr Newman’s motion to help make the town of Swords a more positive place for people with autism.
“Sadly we have a very long way to go to improve the experience of people with autism and their families. I have a number of cases of families who believe their child needs support but cannot get an Assessment of Needs to identify what services their child needs. It is really a national disgrace. Members of my own family, like many others, have been put in this situation waiting and waiting for an assessment and the longer they wait the window for effective intervention is closing. We need a drastic change in how we assess and deal with the needs of people in our communities. Our health services are letting the most vulnerable amoungst us down, and it doesn’t get the attention it deserves.
“The plan to make Swords an autism friendly town is very timely because so many plans for the area are about to progress. I hope, through working with the community, we can make Swords a better place for all of us.”
