The resumed Northern Ireland Assembly needs to set up a specialist autism mental health service to cope with the severe needs of its population.
That’s the message from Kerry Boyd, head of the charity Autism NI.
Kerry Boyd, head of Autism NI, says her charity will “guide and influence” Northern Ireland’s newly-formed assembly
Boyd said autism assessment waiting times had reached an all-time high.
She added that the lack of a functioning government after Stormont collapsed had severely affected services.
She said her charity’s helpline took “an unprecedented 15,000 calls“ after the power-sharing assembly collapsed in early 2022 over Brexit.
Assessment wait of up to six years
Waiting times for an autism diagnosis reached as high as five years for children and six years for adults in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust’s area, she said.
Boyd said Northern Ireland’s Autism Amendment Act was passed in March 2022. However, the province’s autism strategy was not finalised until December 2023 because of the stalemate at Stormont.
The Act intended to strengthen support services for autistic adults and children.
Last December, the strategy agreed on improving care, education, work and housing, and building more inclusive environments.
Pressures forcing call for autism mental health service
Boyd said additional pressures caused by the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and a high suicide rate among autistic adults had led her charity to call for a specialist autism mental health service.
She said this area needs to be prioritised alongside autism teacher training, as more children are on reduced timetables “than ever before”.
The Northern Ireland Assembly recently resumed work when Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill became the new first minister.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said it recognised the need “for improvement in support for autistic people”. The spokesperson added that the Department “remains committed” to the autism strategy.
Autism Eye contacted Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party, the two groups who together run Stormont, but neither responded.
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Published: 14 February 2024
