A national programme called ‘Progressing Disability Services for Children & Young People’ is changing the way services are provided across the country.

Children’s Disability Network Teams aim was to provide services such as nursing, occupational therapy, psychology, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and social work

This new system is both under resource, under staffed and under funded. 

• Callum is 7 and we have no support since he was 5. I have been ringing begging for therapies and no one is listening. Rebecca O'Brien Cork
• We haven’t had speech with Cope with 2 years!! Olivia will be 4 in March. No PT/OT with 18 months. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Laura Harte Cork
• Rían has had no OT since March 2020 and no physio since August 2020. I have been emailing our new team and getting no response. A concerned parent at the end of my tether now! Sharon Bird Dublin
• Sophie is 3. Due to the new PDS she now has no physio or OT services .. so she has nothing now with this new improved model!! Katie Kiely Waterford
• Tara is waiting on SLT and physio services to name but a few. Tara would be considered non verbal she only has a few words and she has been diagnosed with arthritis. The new system is a disaster. - Eithne Hayes
• Ryan hasn’t received any therapy since Easter 2020. That’s 20 months without any access to vital early intervention. Ryan started school in September and this would have been a great help to him and his teachers. Aideen Cotter
• Ruairí has just turned 2 years old in September and hasn't had any face to face physio in almost 2 years. Deirdre Bolster Dublin

The vision for children’s disability services was to provide:

Easy access to the services children need.  ❌ Over half of families have yet to receive contact from any member of their team.

Fairness in providing services. ❌ Teams in special schools were redeployed into the system leaving children in these schools without access to therapists. 

Families, health services and schools working together to support children in developing their potential.❌ None of this happening. Families have been left in limbo with no services.  A system already failing our children only months after starting.

❌ The closure of all special needs preschools and the deployment of their staff into the new scheme leaving children with access to a viral service. 

The “transition” to this new service has taken 2 years and the majority of families were left with no services during that time. Now under this new model of services, started this year, families are still not receiving the services or can be given any indication of when these therapies will start. In some cases for the first time. 

We are asking you please help us make a change and sign our petition in order for our children to reach their full potential.