A County Monaghan mother with a severely autistic son has called on the HSE to restore a local service where parents could go and collect necessary equipment for their special needs children.
Up until recently, parents like Edel, who has two autistic children, used to go along to a distribution depot in Rooskey to pick up incontinence wear for her son, Brogan.
When the HSE changed this arrangement to a home delivery service, the products she received were different from what her son was used to and since the change distressed Brogan she now has to buy the products she wants at a cost to her of €45 a week.
After Edel took to social media to ascertain how many families in Monaghan were affected by the change of service she told Northern Sound she had so far identified 90 families in this county with a similar experience to hers.
Among those affected is a 90-year-old local lady.
Explaining that any form of change is upsetting to autistic children, Ms Sweeney asked why the HSE had to "fix a system that wasn't broke".
"I just find it surreal that these people don't understand our children, the needs that they require, that change is massive," Edel told the Joe Finnegan Show this morning.
She continued: "Special needs parenting is hard and this is just another block wall we've hit that we now have to deal with along with all the other things in daily life we have to deal with."
