Ballina Autism Friendly Town initiative officially launched

The committee behind a bid to secure Autism Friendly Town status for Ballina is optimistic it can complete the ongoing accreditation process within the next 12 months, well ahead of the initial timeline of a three-year plan.

Elisha Beattie and Janette Kenny from the Ballina Autism Friendly Town committee gave a presentation to councillors in the Ballina Municipal District last Wednesday after a highly successful launch in association with AsIAm, Ireland’s national autism charity, in the Great National Hotel the previous Sunday.

The delegates told councillors they were seeking support for the initiative, particularly as they were falling short on funding to afford adequate sensory equipment, falling short on volunteer numbers and for Garda vetting for each volunteer.

They said that some of the plans they are hoping to implement include the creation of a dedicated website for the autistic community in Ballina to keep everyone abreast of changes around the town that will impact on the lives of autistic individuals. Elisha said there were recently issues where the layout of the Tesco supermarket was changed and there was not sufficient awareness of these changes for autistic people in Ballina.

Other plans including the erection of communication boards to facilitate Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) for people with autism. AAC provides an alternative form of communication to the spoken word and can be facilitated with communication boards, which Janette said they are hoping to have placed permanently in public spaces such as parks and sports ground.

“This is a three-year plan but it is actually a lifelong plan,” said Elisha. “We are currently going through an accreditation process but we would love to get it in place before the three years, which they achieved in Maynooth.”

She added that a number of businesses have signed up for training in the lead up to Christmas and is hoping to sign on more businesses for training in the new year.

Cllr Michael Loftus said, in response to a comment that Castlebar is also following a similar journey, that Westport has just signed up for the initiative and that Belmullet is also expected to sign up. He said it would be a great opportunity for Mayo to be the first county to achieve widespread Autism-Friendly status.

Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said this initiative should be supported in whatever possible.

“We as councillors should adopt a mechanism to ensure this is included in everything we do. We should be making sure that all of our planning complies with the requirements of this,” he said.

Cllr Mark Duffy said this was something that would benefit the whole town but, more importantly, it supports those who need it the most. He suggested that the Communications Department of Mayo County Council have video walkthroughs and ‘social story’ visuals on their website to assist those with autism to navigate the council’s public buildings.

Director of Services Catherine McConnell said this was something that should be brought back to the wider council.

“Autism is not always visible,” she said. “It is a huge spectrum and the skills that people with autism have are underrecognised.”