Kieran Kennedy, Director of Shine Ireland hasn’t stopped working in “plugging the gaps in service provision for autistic children left by the Government” since 2001 when he established what was then called the Irish Progressive Association for Autism (IPAA).

The IPAA was set up by a group of concerned parents of autistic children including Kieran who were dissatisfied with the level of support and services for autistic children in Ireland. “We came together to support ourselves as the system was not user friendly.

Parents didn’t know where to go or what to do once they were given the diagnosis”, Kieran said.

Since it’s foundation the IPAA has had massive increases in members, many of these families have joined the association to access the practical supports offered to member families. The IPAA has taken the view that it is simply unacceptable for a family to be told that there is no service available for their child. Shine will work with the family to secure these services or the association will endeavour to fill the gap left by the state by proving the service itself.

In late 2006 the Board of the IPAA agreed to re-brand the Association’s charitable element as “Shine the autism charity” as it was difficult for the general public to understand who the IPAA were and what they did. The Board felt that the symbol of a sun gave the vision of hope and brightness and the “brighten the future” phrase was what the Association was all about. As a result of the new charitable logo, a new website was developed and it is hoped that the IPAA will eventually apply only to the commercial and corporate element of the Association and Shine will become the primary name for the support group.

An example of the association’s determination to provide services to it’s members was evident in November 2005 when Shine opened their first Early Learning Unit for preschool autistic children. The association had made representations to the Government for funding for nearly two years for this unit as they were very aware of the difficulties many of the members were encountering in trying to secure pre-school places for their children. Having waited for nearly two years for a decision from Government, the Board of the Shine/IPAA decided that the association was no longer prepared to wait for funding and secured a premises and raised the required funding to open the first unit which now caters for nine preschool children with plans to expand the numbers over the coming months. Shine see this service as vital in preparing autistic children for mainstream school and the one to one teaching they receive can be crucial in the transition to primary school. Since the establishment of this unit the IPAA has been inundated with requests to open similar units across the Munster area and beyond.

Kieran said, “We always endeavour to meet  demands  from our own resources. We receive €60,000 in funding from  Government agencies annually but we have an annual turnover of €1 million. That shows just how much fundraising is needed for us to provide the services we do ”

Shine believe that Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is the best teaching methodology for children with Autism.  “ABA is  scientifically proven to be the best method for teaching children with autism yet the Department of Education are pushing different methods on parents and parents wishes are been ignored”, said Kieran.

Kieran said there has been a dramatic increase in the number of autistic children in Ireland in recent years but the Government is simply not keeping up with the pace in relation to the provision of services and facilities for autistic people. “The Department is not planning ahead in relation to providing services for autistic people. They have focused on younger kids but there is relatively no facilities in place for adolescents with autism”.

Among the expansive range of services offered by Shine are; initiatives for alternative therapies, a one stop advice office for parents, teachers and professionals, a ‘reference’ library’ for members and professionals, monthly parent meetings, monthly newsletters,  a website offering information and advice to parents, information seminars and conferences, summer camps for autistic children, Saturday clubs for autistic children and adolescents, support for schools by providing computers, books, software etc to them and a pilot scheme to support ‘in house’ Special Needs Assistants.

Shine hopes to expand and increase its services in the coming years and not having sufficient government funding isn’t going to stop the committed parents. “We can’t give up on our own kids, we have to keep pushing forward”, said Kieran.

For more information on Shine Ireland see www.shineireland.com