Neurodiversity Ireland

02/06/2026

Who advocates?

Everyone.

Children can advocate for themselves, via words, actions, or any communication of their feelings.

Communication takes many, many forms.

Parents can advocate for children and other adults can advocate for children, via their words, their actions, their mindsets and their role in society’s architecture.

Health and allied care professionals have particular duties to advocate for children under Children First 2015 and other legislation such as CORU Regulations, that require them to speak up against abuse and prevent harm to children.

Children’s rights cannot exist without advocacy.

Are you ready?

31/05/2026

Why do we undertake advocacy?

Because we have to.

This week, a parent was sentenced to 21 days in prison (suspended) because their child missed school due to mental health challenges that are unsupported by any state agency. Another parent was denied AAC for her child, as the state health care agency “does not undertake the required assessment” and another parent was denied AAC as their child who is not speaking was deemed “not to need it” based on paperwork alone. Another parent who believes Primary Care would be more suitable to support her child than the CDNT has been accused of neglecting her child, as the waiting list for Primary Care is currently 2 years.

A Roadmap for inclusive education was published this month, which begs the question as to what happens to all children who have been & are being failed by the non-inclusive education system? How long must we wait for inclusive education?

Between 200-250,000 children do not attend school full time. When does this statistic become an urgent priority for government?

We advocate because every statistic is a child, is our child and because it is urgent. Their lives matter too much to us.

For that, we risk being considered too noisy, too radical and too uncomfortable.

Are you ready?

23/05/2026

We are very excited to visit Bloom this year, as we collaborated with the Bord Bia Bloom team on the first ever Regulation zone for the festival. Our Occupational Therapist, shared her insights, to help create a safe space for neurodivergent children & families & festival-goers to step out from the event.

Creating a safe regulation space in the heart of the festival signals that neurodivergent people’s needs have been considered from the outset.

If you would like to consult with us on how to create an inclusive event, service or activity, contact [email protected] for information about our services.

21/05/2026

We are OPEN! ✨️💪🥳

Our Neurodiversity Centre is officially open! What a pleasure to finally cut that ribbon alongside all of the people that made it happen.

We are so thankful for those that donated to make this dream come to life!

Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in disability services in Ireland and we made sure to celebrate that fact.

We can't wait to welcome the children we adore and champion. Here's to a brand new day 💪✨️🥳

21/05/2026

Today, we open our Neurodiversity Ireland Hub, our centre of excellence for neurodivergent children & families. We will show how to support children in a neurodiversity affirming way, that is, by understanding how humans are all different, valued, valid and valuable.

We don’t ask any child to change who they are.

We know that behaviourism can never be neuroaffirmative and we speak to the harm it causes children - whilst also demonstrating how different a child-led and neuroaffirmative approach is and how it should be embedded across all aspects of a child’s life.

We are a children’s rights movement. Join us.

18/05/2026

Very much looking forward to the latest book from Anna Day, on neurodiversity affirming care, which is much needed in the area of mental health settings & services.

15/05/2026

14/05/2026

🌈 Final Summit Schedule Update 🌈

In the spirit of being clear, we are updating our schedule with any small changes to ensure everyone has predictability on the days ahead.

The updated schedule will be pinned to our social media pages to ensure maximum visibility.

We cannot wait to see you all on Friday both in-person and online ✨️