Autism in Ireland

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As some of you may know, I'm an American and my husband is Irish. We used to live in Ireland, but moved to the States when DS was still a baby. Lately, we've been discussing the possibility of moving back again. My husband's family in Ireland is large, and mine here in the U.S. is very small. Once my parents pass on (which unfortunately looks likely in the next couple of years) we think it might be better for us and our children to be closer to his family.

So, I'm wondering what the educational system in Ireland (the Republic) is like for a child with HFA/Asperger's?
What kind of supports are available, and how difficult is it to get them? Is there a waiting period? I've looked at the Irish Autism Action website, but I'm wondering if anyone here has personal experiences or advice to share.

Another reason we're thinking about moving is all the fear of school shootings here in America. This fear has caused a lot of parents and schools to over-react to the kind of socially-inappropriate things that children with ASD sometimes say and do. We're concerned that, if we stay here, we may have to homeschool DS in order to keep him safe and out of legal trouble. Is the situation any better in Ireland? When we lived there, it seemed like Irish society in general was less "dramatic" about these kinds of things, but again it would be great if anyone has any personal experiences to share.

I live in the UK, so have limited experiences of Ireland, but I do feel very safe in saying that fear of school shootings is next to nil here because of the gun laws which are the same here as in Ireland.

It's a sad state my home country has come to that people have to make educational decisions based on fear of school shootings. In reality the risk is actually pretty low - your child is far more likely to die in a car accident say - but I know that I too am sometimes grateful my son is here and not in the US for this very reason.

Can you ask your husband's family to investigate for you?

I used to have family in Ireland (have since mostly passed on), but they were mostly in the north (which was pretty violent the last time I was there).

A bit late to the party here but I think I might be able to assure you that Ireland has a pretty good system for people on the spectrum. I live in Cork which is in the south of Ireland. I had a REALLY hard time in main stream school and had to move to a special needs school, I spent about 5 years there but it wasn't working out, so I quit at age 17 and did nothing for 7-8 months. Eventually I was accepted into whats called an 'after school educational college' its basically a place for people with learning difficulties to go and get experience in work and get new skills, I didn't go very often as I hated it, I then attempted suicide about a year after getting into the place as I got severely depressed, I attempted suicide on the day my parents went to meet the psychologist that eventually diagnosed me with High Functioning Aspergers. After I told her about my suicide attempt she referred me to a psychiatrist which happened to be one of the top experts in Autism in Cork. This was all before I was diagnosed, I was diagnosed about 1 year later. I didn't receive any support as a kid until the age of 18, but when I did receive the support, it really felt like support and not being put on a back burner. I am now having monthly appointments with one of Europes top leading experts in the Aspergers field, her name is Carolyn Goldsmith, she is fantastic and really understands me. Just to let you know - there is support here in Ireland, and now that the internet has taken off and more resources are available online more and more companies and organisations are popping up for people on the spectrum, there has been several books written about it and there are even groups that have been set up for people such as myself with Aspergers so they can meet up in a small group and go out on day trips together, parents can also meet each-other and share their experiences with one another on how to deal with certain things relating to Aspergers.

I hope you found this helpful. Just to let you know, I wouldn't be typing this right now if it wasn't for the support I received the past few years!

One other thing - I was admitted to a mental hospital last year due to threatening to kill myself and severe self harm, they fully understood me and treated me fantastically, they knew I had Aspergers and treated me with respect for the condition I have.