My Working Day: Ann Haig, early intervention specialist with Down Syndrome Ireland, would like to see more services available for children who need them.
I don't have a nine-to-five job and I don't even really have an office, although I have use of the office in Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI). My role in DSI is to provide information and support around the educational and development needs of young children with Down syndrome.
And about one-third of my working day is spent answering calls and e-mails from parents and professionals about various issues in these early years.
I also travel throughout the State, giving seminars to parents and professionals working with children with Down syndrome. Pre-school teachers, childminders and childcare students are particularly interested in how to integrate a child with special needs into a creche, nursery or playschool.
I often have to dispel myths about children with Down syndrome such as the myth that how they look reflects their cognitive functioning. In fact, each child with Down syndrome has a level of ability that isn't linked to their facial features and 90 per cent of children with Down syndrome fall within the mild range of intellectual disabilities.
Parents also look for support with tasks such as toilet training. I explain to them that the normal age range for children with Down syndrome to be toilet trained is between the ages of two and four and that each child will fit somewhere within this age range.
I also try to partner with other organisations as much as possible. For instance, recently I partnered with Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children and Heart Children Ireland to produce a booklet on good oral motor and feeding skills. This booklet is suitable for all children with Down syndrome, those who have experienced difficulty with feeding because of cardiac problems and those who haven't. I am also keen to build relationships with people working in services for young children with disabilities around the State.
Aside from my work with Down Syndrome Ireland, I run some early development groups for children with Down syndrome. These groups meet one morning a week and we work on sensory skills, communication skills, social skills and promoting independence, to help the child adapt better to their various environments.
Most of the time, I absolutely love my work, but there are some aspects of the disability sector which I find frustrating. For instance, I am pleased to see that the Disability Act now ensures that each child under five will get a needs assessment carried out within three months of acceptance of the referral by the HSE and a report on this assessment within another three months.
However, I wonder what's the point of all this, if there aren't services to offer these children following the assessments. Also, I would like to see the introduction of quality standards for early intervention services for children with disabilities.
Down Syndrome Ireland's annual Honey Days fundraising campaign takes place on Friday and Saturday. This year's campaign will highlight the shortfall in national speech therapy services available to children and young adults with Down syndrome in Ireland.