A small but committed team of individuals are working hard to highlight the need for services for adults with Asperger Syndrome.
Armed with some research, a lot of personal experience and sheer determination the Donegal Asperger Support Group are stepping up their campaign for services for people with Asperger Syndrome in Donegal. They want to see: a diagnostic service; increased awareness and co-ordination among professionals and an information service for families but overall and most importantly they want to see a person centred holistic approach to meeting the needs of individuals with Asperger Syndrome including, specific interventions at the earliest age continuing into adulthood, education, training and employment along with housing.
THIRTY
A spokesperson for the Donegal Asperger Support Group said there are around 30 people in Donegal who have been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.
"However, we believe that of the 167 people diagnosed with autism in this county, a certain proportion of them suffer from Asperger Syndrome and have so far gone undetected. We expect the number of people diagnosed to increase in the coming years. Therefore it is important that we work towards creating awareness and developing services now. It is too late once the numbers increase. It would just mean that more families would feel isolated and lost without proper diagnosis, information and supports," she said.
Last week, Donegal North East Deputy Cecilia Keaveney brought them before Mr Tim O'Malley, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, to put forward their case for a diagnostic service and supports.
Deputy Keaveney said she was one hundred per cent behind the group's campaign.
"To be honest when I first met the group I had to admit that while I heard reference made to Asperger Syndrome, I knew little or nothing about it. However, having spent time with the group I have a better understanding and have offered them my full support. We had a very productive meeting with the Minister and specific actions did come out of it. In terms of awareness and diagnostics the Minister welcomed my suggestion that Asperger Syndrome should be put on the agenda for the next major health conferences for General Practitioners.
MOVILLE
The Donegal Asperger Support Group is based at Moville Family Resource Centre. They acknowledge that few people are actually aware of the existence of Asperger's Syndrome and what it means in reality for those people who have it.
Asperger's Syndrome is a variant of autism which affects three main areas: Social Communication, Social Understanding and Imagination. While many people with Asperger Syndrome do not have the accompanying learning difficulty often associated with autism, some do. Many people with Asperger's are of average or above average intelligence. But what does this mean in real life?
