How one Cork family beat the ‘limbo’ of autism diagnosis

Siobhan Forrest loves her grandson Noah. He will be 10 in December, and she is very close to him.

Noah, who is in 4th class, is in many ways your typical nine-year-old boy, with a close-knit group of friends. He loves drawing, computers, and swimming.

“Noah, who has an older brother and younger sister, is very affectionate,” says Siobhan.

And yet?

“And yet we began to notice that his speech wasn’t coming on, that it wasn’t progressing as it should be,” says Siobhan.

There were other concerns too.

“He didn’t play with his toys and he preferred his own company. He didn’t like being among a crowd and loud noises distressed him,” says Siobhan.

When there were sports’ days out with the school, Noah wouldn’t participate. He’d stay upstairs and wouldn’t go to school.

The warning bells were sounding.

“He was fussy about his food and routine was very important to him.,” recalled Siobhan.

Like many young lads his age, Noah enjoyed jumping around, and he delighted in jumping on the couch and tumbling about.

“We got him a trampoline and he loved it,” says Siobhan.

But Noah’s family were concerned for him.

“We took him to speech and language therapy for 18 months,” says Siobhan.

“Then, in 2019, we ed children’s needs services in Cork to get an appointment to see a child psychologist. We are still on the list.

“Attending the Speech and Language School in Blarney, Noah came on much better with his speech.

“The school also provided occupational therapy and Noah started mainstream school.”

The family were pleased about that.

“But we still needed a diagnosis for Noah,” says Siobhan.

Then Covid arrived.

“We gave Noah more attention and did a lot of work with him ourselves,” says Siobhan. This included accessing occupational therapy privately.

But they were none the wiser. Until they sourced AutismCare, launched by Mark Morton in April, 2024.

Their four-step process slashes wait times on diagnosis for autism, serving both children and adults.

“We prioritise getting people in front of psychologists only within a week,” explains Mark.

They then have the option to continue with monthly sessions with the psychologist that diagnosed them.

“Since April, a lot of people have availed of the service; a lot of people being diagnosed. AutismCare is recognised by external services.”

As of March of this year, 8,893 children are waiting on overdue assessments.

Noah’s family made the call.

“We rang Mark and spoke with him to find out about his service,” says Siobhan.

They got a good response.

“Mark explained the process and he was very interested in Noah and the symptoms he presented with.”

An appointment was made for Noah within four or five days.

“We had a pre-assessment call, and we were put in touch with a psychologist called Hugo. We found an initial one-hour video call with Hugo extremely helpful,” says Siobhan.

The family were ready to go on to the next stage.

“I had guessed Noah had autism,” Siobhan says. “But having no diagnosis was like being in limbo. AutismCare were so helpful; they understood. They related to us 100%. Now we could go forward speaking with Hugo about Noah’s development.”

What did they speak to Hugo about?

“We spoke to Hugo about how Noah feels about stuff,” says Siobhan.

“How he feels about his clothes, his food, his routine.

“Noah is happy in his own company and comes home early if he’s out socially. He used to get agitated when he found it difficult trying to express himself,”

A number of adults live in their busy household in Blarney.

“I have adults in the house,” says Siobhan. “They’d ask why was Noah being like this? If someone sat in his chair, Noah would react. he was the focus in the house. It is easier now because everyone better understands,” says Siobhan.

“If Noah doesn’t get a joke, they understand why.”

Things started to happen for Noah through AutismCare.

“We attended a child psychologist in Dublin and a therapist who observed Noah and who spoke to him about different things.

“Watching him play, the therapist asked Noah about his feelings. And what certain toys meant to him,” says Siobhan.

Noah was in a good place.

“Hi school provided an SNA for him, and we continued to do a lot of work with him ourselves,” says Siobhan.

“We had to plan ahead for when Noah starts secondary school. Without a diagnosis, we had no plan,” says Siobhan.

Starting secondary school is a big step for everybody.

“That’s why it was so important for Noah to get a diagnosis,” says Siobhan.

“When we got the result, our minds were at ease.

We had peace of mind. Now we could go forward.

When the family were seeking a diagnosis for Noah, and couldn’t get one, it was frustrating.

“We were stressed out,” says Siobhan.

Where there’s a will there’s a way.

“We had to go another route,” says Siobhan.

“When Mark explained the process, we decided to give it a try. He made it easy.”

For years, it had been a difficult process trying to get a diagnosis for Noah.

Now the future look brighter.

“We tried our best to try and get a diagnosis for him,” says Siobhan.

“It was so frustrating. Approaching services, you’d swear we were lying.”

Now thing are different.

“Noah is much calmer now,” says Siobhan.

He has always been affectionate and lovable.

“I can tune into his personality better now,” says Siobhan.

What would she say to families like hers seeking a diagnosis for a family member?

“I would thoroughly recommend the service that AutismCare provide,” says Siobhan.

“They understood us and totally related to us. They explained things in lay for us. Life is easier now. Life is better.”

The AutismCare plan costs under €1,500 for children and less than €2,000 for adults. See https://autismcare.ie