Kildare Senator Fiona O’Loughlin has welcomed the development by the HSE of a new telephone support service for the autistic community.
The help line is not intended to be a counselling service or a crisis/emergency service, but I hope that this additional telephone support service will provide assistance and guidance for those who have questions and need information about services. The HSE will over the coming months advertise for expressions of interest from Organisations with the relevant core competences and experience who would be interested in tendering to work with the HSE to develop a pilot phone help line which may eventually have wider application across all Disability Services. “I very much welcome the news that the HSE are developing, on a pilot basis, an Autism Phone Help Line. As well as being able to provide clear, concise information and resources about autism, I really think this will help provide more signposting of supports in place to help people, such as welfare services and community health care, as well as in areas such as employment. A lot of information is accessible online but for those why may not have sufficient access, or perhaps prefer talking to someone, the help line could offer a real lifeline for them,” she said