A mother of a 15-year-old boy with severe learning difficulties, Rita Orr, has expressed her frustration with social services and the lack of support she received for her son, Callum, who also has autism. Orr had pleaded with the local health trust for extra support for two years, but received no help. Eventually, Orr left Callum at school and contacted a social worker to take him into emergency care. Callum is now being cared for by the South Eastern Health Trust.
Families of children with severe learning disabilities in Northern Ireland are currently facing a lack of overnight respite care. This service provided respite to families by giving them a break for one or two nights per month. Such respite care is being diminished in Northern Ireland for a combination of reasons, including loss of facilities and increasing numbers of children entering full-time care. As a result, several families have no choice, but to send their children to residential facilities in other parts of the UK or the Republic of Ireland, at a cost of up to £20,000 per week.
One mother, Julie Tipping, has been requesting more support and help for her 11-year-old son, Theo, for months. Tipping has been told by the Belfast Health Trust that they are unable to offer overnight breaks, but they are exploring ways of introducing them. Tipping’s son is among several children who have severe learning difficulties, often leading to aggressive outbursts – causing serious injury not only to themselves but also to other family members. This behaviour makes it difficult for parents and families to manage at home, often with no safety net.
The current Northern Ireland Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, has called the current situation “unsustainable” and has promised a “urgent improvement”. Dmitrijs Meiksans, CEO of the First Choice Selection Services, an agency that provides care assistants to those with special needs in Northern Ireland, said that the agency has seen an increase in the number of care assistant vacancies for those who require special needs care. There has also been a decrease in applications for such positions, leading to a shortage in this area.
The situation is scary for parents of children with severe learning difficulties, and the current challenging environment is calling for urgent action from local authorities to step in and provide much needed support for families in need. There is a need to find a way forward to manage the situation and to help these families going forward
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