‘My three-year-old daughter won’t let me wash her hair ... I’m not sure what to do’
Ask the Expert: She is really sensitive, is easily upset and has lots of fears
Autism
Stories about autism
‘The way to a human’s brain and immune system is through the gut’
Dr Muiris Houston: More scientific evidence is emerging to show that our gastrointestinal system interacts with our nervous system
To Rest Our Minds and Bodies by Harriet Armstrong: Ambitious, stylish novel is like The Bell Jar for Gen Z
Armstrong has crafted a style that is urgently contemporary and unmistakably her own
Rosie O’Donnell: ‘People say, you moved to Ireland, just forget about Trump. I can’t. The crimes are endless’
The comedian and actor on her move to Dublin to escape Trump’s US, how she struggled to accept the death of her mother, and her surprise that Sandymount is considered posh
Scientific consensus is not a fruitful concept
The notion of consensus is poorly suited to scientific practice, where conclusions must remain revisable in light of new evidence
Rising number of neurodivergent children on disability payments prompts welfare dependency fears
Number receiving domiciliary care allowance up by as much as 46% in some areas over five years
Parents in legal battle over whether daughter should receive medical care in Ireland or Poland
Mother says daughter will not receive care she needs in Ireland due to waiting lists
Neurodiversity and relationships: ‘It’s about recognising where you both struggle and where you both thrive’
The key to making relationships work lies in understanding yourself, your partner, and the neurodivergent traits that shape your interactions
What happens when your therapist or GP asks: ‘Have you ever wondered if you might be neurodivergent?’
A diagnosis may offer a new perspective that helps life make more sense
‘My daughter is having big anxiety meltdowns. How can I help her?’
Ask the Expert: In helping your daughter, the goal is to understand and address the underlying stresses that cause her meltdowns
‘Through that nightmare of a tunnel’: the long wait for autism assessment in Northern Ireland
Almost 16,000 children in the North await assessment, new figures show - the longest delay is more than four years
Sinn Féin versus William the Conqueror
Inside Politics podcast with Hugh Linehan: A row over a Norman anniversary, waiting lists for disability services and the skorts controversy draws to a close
Under cover of flimsy filler, Ray D’Arcy gets political
Radio: Radio 1 host’s show lays it on thick and thin, while former boxer Bernard Dunne hears compelling tales of sporting highs and lows
Government ‘all talk but no action’ on disability assessment backlog, says activist
Cara Darmody, who has started a 50-hour picket outside Leinster House, made the comments following meeting with Taoiseach
Government to change law in bid to speed up autism and disability assessments
Ministers admit no quick fix for system estimated to have waiting list of 25,000 by end of year
Waiting lists for autism assessments set to surge, HSE estimates
Government set to face intense pressure on services as Cara Darmody (14) to hold 50-hour protest outside Leinster House
Five children with special needs bring High Court actions over access to education
One of the children has never been to school, while others say they cannot secure suitable placements
‘It comes from fear’: Aoife Daly on parents’ battles to get autistic children into schools
Inspectors find ‘almost all’ schools in study had criteria which could limit enrolment of pupils with learning difficulties
The Irish Times view on schools and autism: children’s rights must be upheld
Across the State, families of children with additional needs are struggling to access schools
FND: ‘I have accepted that, sometimes, doing things like a weekend away means some days of pain, exhaustion and seizures’
Niamh Cummins was told her functional neurological disorder would go away once she read about it, but it hasn’t been that simple
‘Slippery slope to eugenics’: advocates reject Robert F Kennedy jnr’s national autism database in US
US health secretary says data will be used for research, but fails to address privacy concerns, potential misuses
Radio review: ‘It sounded like a big mosquito’ - anger over drones fills the airwaves
Radio: RTÉ presenter is a likable substitute for Joe Duffy, while Newstalk’s Kieran Cuddihy launches an unusual free-speech crusade
‘Great progress’ in the race to turn brainwaves into fluent speech
Californian researchers and groups such as Precision Neuroscience are using implants and AI to make advances in ‘voice prosthesis’
As my life got easier, I got angrier. Things should not be so hard for the working class
I cannot accept that mental health issues and neurodivergence are ‘overdiagnosed’
‘It’s irritating when you hear about there being an explosion of autism and ADHD’, says Dublin teacher
Work of teachers is being substituted for that of psychologists because of shortages, delegates hear
Wired Our Own Way edited by Niamh Garvey: Captures the challenges and advantages of autism in a neurotypical world
A ground-breaking first collection by Irish autistic people summons a wide range of superbly written essays
Care home worker sacked following remarks about autism wins unfair dismissal case
Adjudicator awards €12,500 for loss of earnings as ‘just and equitable in all the circumstances’
Department of Education faces UN complaint over school guidance on use of physical restraint
Campaigners say new rules fail to protect vulnerable children
Why is mental health so much worse among Irish youths than adults?
Insta-therapy or therapy-speak should not be confused with real, very valuable therapy
Trump’s tariffs agenda will be ‘horrible’ for world, says Rosie O’Donnell
Actor and comedian was speaking at Malahide Castle where autism charity AsIAm held annual Same Chance Walk
An Irish doctor on why she believes autism, ADHD and depression are being overdiagnosed
Are we living in an age of overmedicalisation? Overdiagnosis of conditions such as autism, ADHD and depression is a result of the relaxation of diagnostic criteria, says consultant in neurology Suzanne O’Sullivan
The Age of Diagnosis by Suzanne O’Sullivan and No More Normal by Alastair Santhouse: Intelligently exploring questions of immense public importance
Are we becoming victims of too much medicine? Are diagnoses doing more harm than good? Those are among the contentious questions addressed with sensitivity in these two valuable books
Maybe I’m Amazed by John Harris: A father-son journey in autism and music
Journalist Harris’s swiftly paced memoir was sparked by his son’s autism diagnosis and the discovery of his ecstatic love of music
‘These children are being denied their constitutional rights’: Parents hold Dáil sleepout over lack of school places
Helen McEntee says she will not hesitate to use legal powers to force schools to open special classes if necessary
Crosswords & Puzzles
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Common Ground
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
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