John Fogarty - October 2nd 2024

This week’s guest on Stand Out with Ian O’Connell is John Fogarty. John studied in Maynooth college and he is a journalist and Gaelic Games correspondent with the Irish Examiner since 2010 before previously working for the Irish Mail on Sunday. John’s has recently opened up and gave a raw and honest article about his daughter Grace who was diagnosed with autism. Grace had reached most of her milestones before her twin brother Ollie but she didn’t socialise with other toddlers and her speech was non-existent. A hearing test just before her second birthday in 2020 didn’t show up any issues. The following year, we applied for an Assessment of Need and in September 2021 secured a cancellation appointment with a preliminary assessment team. 3 years on from her preliminary assessment that found Grace required the aforementioned interventions, she has received none of them from the CDNT except for the assessment which diagnosed her autism, something we also had to fight for, so she could access a preschool suitable to her needs.Grace is pre-verbal. Her language is one of limited words, which cover an array of meanings, and gestures. When asked, she can repeat what is said to her and she sings parts of her favourite songs, but several of her words are used out of context.