Mark O’Keefe, celebrity hairdresser and owner of the Sugar Club, made headlines last week in his heartfelt letter to his five-year old son Riley. Riley received an autism diagnosis two and a half years ago, and has so far been unsuccessful in gaining a school place. Last Friday I sat down with Riley’s parents, Mark …
We had a guest in our offices last week who dropped in to show us the book he has been working on. This book is too good to keep to ourselves so we had to share it! It crucial that we encourage and support autistic people to embrace their special interests. Meet Aidan Aidan Foran …
In the wake of Joel Langford’s tragic death, I wanted to discuss the unique nature of bullying directed at autistic people. Neil Kenny is a Researcher at the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre (ABC) at DCU. He holds an B.A. in Psychology from University College Dublin, got his PhD from Maynooth University in 2011 and a Specialist …
Jake O’Kane is 18 years old. He likes music, swimming and horse riding and he will soon be moved 70km away from his family. Jake lived with his mother Linda until February 2018 when he moved to a full-time unit in County Wicklow. However, this unit was for children and Jake becoming an adult meant …
Autistic Son To Be Relocated 70km Away From FamilyRead More »
Welcome to Our Week Online, and what a wet week it’s been. Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride has announced a number of new accessibility initiatives to make the Pride parade on June 29th more inclusive. They include a quiet area in Merrion Square’s Pride Village, a second assembly point for people who would like to participate in …
Welcome to Our Week Online, and the first week of World Autism Month. This series has proved that there’s always news about autism throughout the year, but in April it can be hard to keep up! We’ve got you covered. This week the Irish Independent featured a mother whose six year old autistic son with …
Last week we held our Community Support event in Tipperary on Parent Well-Being and Self-Care. Thank you to those of you who were able to come, but if you couldn’t make it, don’t worry! We have some of the key points summarised below, as well as live streams from the event – Part One and …
In December of last year, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and Teacher’s Union of Ireland (TUI) advised their members against drafting and implementing Individual Education Plans (IEPs) – and any similar initiatives – rejecting “the imposition of a special education needs model which takes no account of the time, workload and practical implications …
On Monday evening we held our Community Support event in Co. Limerick on Autism and Play. We were so grateful to see so many of you there! If you were unable to attend, we have taken note of some of the key information. Feel free to watch the live stream of the event above or …
What We Learned – Autism and Play: Promises and PossibilitiesRead More »
This is Our Week Online. We hope you all had a Happy Valentine’s Day (and an even better Galentine’s Day)! Miriam Moriarty Owens has set up a go-fund me page for her friend, Selina Switzer. Selina’s seven-year-old son, Noah, is intellectually disabled and autistic and she says that “caring for him is a 24 hour …
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