AN East Renfrewshire mum who has a severely autistic child claims she is being refused the vital help she needs to look after her son.

Danielle Corrigan, 32, says she has struggled since 2017 to get an adequate level of care for eight-year-old Aaron.

He attends the Isobel Mair School, in Newton Mearns, which supports children with special needs.

Danielle is particularly critical of the Scottish Government-funded CAHMS (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services) system, which is meant to provide additional help.

She struggles to get access to the programme because of staff shortages and says appointments are often cancelled at short notice.

Scottish Government targets state that 90% of young people should start their treatment with CAHMS within 18 weeks of a referral but Danielle says the system, which is administered locally by the East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), is failing her son.

She told the Barrhead News: “Aaron has numerous challenges in his life and is on several different medications to try to assist him with daily living.

“He has Negativistic Personality Disorder, which leads to him appearing anxious and aggressive, with an extremely bad temper. On other occasions, he can be the sweetest, most loving little boy.

“Aaron has been registered for CAHMS and we have attended since 2017 for assistance. During this time, I have constantly struggled to obtain appointments, both pre and post-Covid.

“I have had little to no access to other services – and, in particular, CAMHS – for the past 18 months.

“Aaron has the right to a decent quality of life and to some form of education but he is being denied that at the moment.”

Danielle has complained to Health Secretary Humza Yusaf and asked for funds to be released direct to her so she can seek help from a private care provider.

She has also lodged a complaint with East Renfrewshire HSCP.

Danielle, who lives in Newton Mearns, is particularly concerned that Aaron is not getting the proper medication, which has to be adjusted as he gets older.

Rob Holland, acting director of the National Autistic Society Scotland, is backing her plea for help.

He would like to see a Commissioner appointed to protect the rights of autistic people and their families.

“Sadly, Danielle’s experience is not uncommon, with many autistic people and their families struggling to get support,” said Mr Holland.

“A 2020 report from the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Autism found that 72 per cent of respondents said they did not have enough support to meet their needs and 78 per cent said it was not easy accessing support locally.”

Bosses at the East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership admit staff shortages have led to “significant” challenges in providing services to families in need.
They also apologised to Danielle over the difficulties she has experienced.
A spokesman said: “We are very sorry that Aaron and his family experienced a lapse in the support they normally receive from our CAHMS service in 2021.
“Unfortunately, many of our services have been significantly impacted by the pandemic and CAHMS has been no exception.
“There is a national shortage of staff in all kinds of mental health roles and we experienced significant staffing challenges in the service between June and September 2021. Difficult decisions had to be made during this time and we did prioritise those in need of immediate and critical care.”
The spokesman said the HSCP team is working closely with families to reinstate services, adding: “We have developed a multi-agency approach with education and social work colleagues to support Aaron.”