Why Ireland is introducing a new system to diagnose autism

About this episode

The episode discusses Ireland's new autism assessment protocol aimed at reducing long waiting lists for diagnosis.

An assessment of need (AON) helps put children with a disability on a service pathway. But the waiting list is long and growing every year. It currently stands at 21,782 which means some children will wait years for diagnosis. To speed up the process and deal with the stubbornly long waiting list, the government has announced details of a new “autism assessment and intervention pathway protocol”. How will the new protocol work? Who will conduct the assessments? Several stakeholders say no, but who are they and what are their issues with a plan intended to shorten waiting lists? Social affairs correspondent Kitty Holland explains the new protocol, and the growing backlash against it. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Andrew McNair and Suzanne Brennan.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Bernice Harrison

Topics covered

• autism diagnosis
• healthcare policy
• waiting lists
• government intervention
• children's services

Keywords

• autism
• diagnosis
• assessment of need
• waiting list
• healthcare
• government policy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Irish Times, Acast

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