Autism Support Ireland Website Launch (Autismsupport.ie)

Today Ireland’s first one stop website for autism information was launched today. www.autismsupport.ie is the result of a partnership between Irish Autism Action, Gheel Autism Services, Aspire, Tuiscint (Eastern Vocational Enterprises ltd), ABHAILE/Drogheda ABACAS School for Children with Autism and Cork Association for Autism.

"Autism Support Ireland was formed specially to develop this site," explained Keith Duffy, Patron, Irish Autism Action. "We realised that there was no single place a family member, a medic or a teacher could go to get all of their questions about autism answered. It meant people were picking up random bits from random sites and not all of what they read was helpful or right. This site will fix that problem."

Divided into sections dealing with what autism is, the services and supports that are available and the benefits and rights of people with autism and their families the site deals with every aspect of the condition.

"As awareness of autism has increased parents are often worried that unusual behaviour exhibited by their little ones may mean they have the condition," explained Kevin Whelan, Chief Executive, Irish Autism Action. "So we have included a section that identifies the red flags, or the behaviours that indicate a parent should have their child assessed. We hope that this will reassure the majority of parents and ensure that those who need an assessment get it in a timely fashion."

The site also recognises that social networking is a vital method of sharing information, so it provides links to blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter feeds. As autism is what is known as a spectrum disorder covering including conditions like Asperger’s Syndrome the site also has information on these areas.

The project has been funded under the Enhancing Disability Services Programme. Funds are provided by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the programme is managed by Pobal.