More needs to be done for children with disabilities, says Children's Ombudsman from Donegal

Donegal native and Ombudsman for Children Dr Niall Muldoon believes not enough is being done to facilitate and include children with disabilities.

And Mountcharles' multiple paralympic gold medalist Katie George Dunlevy, said her role in life is to inspire other children with disabilities.

There were a number of excellent contributors from Donegal who attended the event. 39 local children and adults with additional needs from Donegal also attended the event through the Bluestack Special Needs Foundation’s Bluestack Choir.

They closed the conference singing three songs, in what was a fantastic day for the Donegal contingent.

The Bluestack Special Needs Foundation’s Bluestack Choir with Dr Niall Muldoon and Derek Ryan

The event at Knocknarea Arena, ATU Sligo organised by beyondlimits.ie was sold out in advance with over 350 people attending.

Children of all abilities attended with their families to hear from powerful speakers, including other young people with disabilities, and to take part in fun activities.

Speakers and performers included Paddy Smyth MC, Paralympic and World Champions Katie George Dunlevy who has strong Donegal connections, cycling partner Eve McCrystal, Dr Colman Noctor and Derek Ryan.

Donegal Town native, Dr Niall Muldoon speaking at the Sligo event, said it aimed to highlight inclusion and showcase the skills and talents of people with disabilities.

He said: "Many families we meet say they never gone to an event together because the able-bodied people could go to events that weren't catering for the disabled child.

"Here we provide everything you need to bring the whole family, able-bodied and disabled can come together to hear inspirational speakers who have disabilities or other challenges and inspire young people to say I can be more.

"We want to inspire other organisations to say 'if you do a little bit more you can invite these children to your events'.

"So, if you provide the quiet spaces, sensory rooms, the extra toilet facilities you can bring a whole new cohort of children to anything, and we want conference organisers to take that on board."

Among the other speakers, Katie George Dunlevy said her role in life is to inspire other children with disabilities.

"It's really important for children with disabilities to see there's other children out there like them and to see adults with a disability that have gone through what they've gone through and have gone on to have a fantastic life," she said.

"I wish me and my family had this when I was a kid. There was nothing like this around, so I think it's really important."

The GAA, IRFU, FAI, Gymnastics Ireland, Para Table Tennis were all involved with the event with Yoga and Mindfulness, Gaming, Music and Drama, Arts and Crafts all forming part of the exciting day.

There was sensory maps, a quiet space, a sensory unit, Accessiloo toilets with hoists, subtitled speeches, ISL, with people of all abilities are taking part and attending.