Diagnosing a child and young people with autism could take sixteen months

The longest waiting time for Autism assessments to be carried out in south Donegal and Sligo is sixteen months, according to the chief officer, community healthcare in this region, Dermot Monaghan. 

Councillor Felim Gurn asked how long children had to wait for a diagnosis for autism from a psychologist, at a recent sitting of the Regional Health Forum West.

Cllr Gurn said people have told him they had to seek an autism diagnosis privately and pay for it themselves.  

The chief officer, community healthcare in this region, Dermot Monaghan, said the matter is a very significant concern and that sixteen months ago a report was compiled to outsource the matter to 'properly vetted companies.'

"The waiting list is six months in Leitrim and sixteen months in Sligo and south Donegal. That will come down because we are outsourcing them to properly vetted and sanctioned companies to be able to do it," he said.

Mr Monaghan said they were eager to reduce the waiting times: "Even six months is too long," he said.  

The Children’s Disability Network Team (CDNT) Sligo, south Donegal and the Children’s Disability Network Team Leitrim west Cavan are interdisciplinary teams made up of a number of professionals from different disciplines, who work together implementing the national policy on access to services for children and young people with disability.

Cllr Gurn was informed that best practice informs that an autism assessment requires input from a number of disciplines, such as, speech and Language therapy, psychology and occupational therapy and that this is the model implemented in the CDNT for Sligo, south Donegal disability team and the Children’s Disability Network Team in Leitrim and west Cavan.

"Autism assessments in the CDNT Sligo, south Donegal, are carried out by the CDNT members, however, at times outsourcing may need to occur in order to meet the demand. The longest waiting time in this area is 16 months and we are currently working through our waiting list chronologically, with those waiting longest being outsourced by the team for private assessment," Cllr Gurn was informed. 

He was also told that Primary Care Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan/South Donegal holds a waiting list of children 0-18 years, who require an Autism Diagnostic Assessment and who have been identified as having non-complex needs. Children are typically assessed in chronological order, according to the length of time they have been waiting.

Currently, the longest period a child has been waiting for an Autism Diagnostic Assessment is 12 months.