By Dionne Meehan

A BALLYBOFEY family, urgently seeking respite care for their son with autism, say that parents of children with special needs in Donegal are being neglected and forgotten.

The family say they are “exhausted” due to the lack of supports available in the county, and “walk on egg shells” daily in the hopes their son doesn’t lash out.

Drumboe Respite House in Stranorlar is the family’s closest centre.

However, it is currently not available for respite use because it is accommodating emergency residential placements.

Speaking to the Donegal News, the desperate mother voiced her struggles.

“My son has never had respite and he is 16-years-of-age,” she said.

“We are the neglected county here in Donegal, we are forgotten about.”

Another local mother, who has a 13-year-old pre-verbal child with autism, said her family are at breaking point due to the lack of services in the county.

The family, which includes three children, are often worried for their health and safety in the home due to the child’s physically challenging behaviour.

“We’ve had to lock ourselves in our rooms when he is in crisis mode,” the worried mother said.

The family receive very limited overnight respite and unfortunately, it is often cancelled last minute.

“Things are so bad right now that we need at least fortnightly respite to keep things smooth at home and keep things safe for my other kids,” she said.

“We want him at home, but we are worn thin.”

In another part of the county, a young woman shared her family’s ordeal.

Living and working more than two hours away, the woman’s 30-year-old sister has a disability that requires significant care and is looked after round the clock by their elderly parents.

However, her mother was recently diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy and her father has recently had a stroke.

Due to these serious health conditions, her parents are struggling to care for her sister and the family are frightened for the future.

The family desperately need respite but have not had any overnight respite made available to them in the last six years.

With many families highlighting the serious shortage of respite services in Donegal, it is clear that urgent action is needed.

Spokesperson for the Special Needs Parents Network in Donegal, Jo Corkery, said the lack of respite available is “frightening”.

“We are very limited in terms of respite availability in Donegal,” she said.

“It is basically a postcode lottery around the country, but unfortunately, we are not doing very well in that lottery.

“We are very badly served in comparison to other counties in terms of respite availability, especially overnight respite availability in respite centres.”

Ms Corkery has urged families and politicians to come together to push for expanded services in the county.

“Why are we not planning and investing appropriately for children and adults with a disability?” she asked.

“We are not doing right by them.

“Families and politicians need to come together to push for this, in a concentrated effort. Representatives, councillors, TDs and our Senator, who is on the Disability Matters Committee, need to come together to really push for better services and supports for children and individuals with a disability.”

If you are experiencing something similar, make your voice heard today at yoursay@HSE.ie