An issue close to her heart – her brother has learning difficulties – Kellie added current resources and provisions were simply not good enough.
“Children with autism and other learning disabilities are being consistently failed by our health and education system and I’m not prepared to stand by and let it continue,” she said.
“I’m well aware for the stress on families and the need for greater support. My brother has learning disabilities and I grew up in a family that fought for years for better services for him so that he could have the best opportunities in life.
“I proud to lead this petition, calling on both the Health and Education departments to commit to the Autism Act and to meet the needs of children with ASD within the next Assembly period.
“As it stands children could be waiting more than 20 months for an assessment, with little follow up and limited care provided within the school system. This has to change. I want to see children waiting no more than 12 weeks, with a clear follow up action plan in place.
“Children everywhere deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential and the Alliance party will continue to push to ensure the Autism Act is not only delivered, but that a full range of appropriate services are rolled out to give parents, families and other carers the crucial support they need.”
You can signed the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/minister-for-health-and-minister-for-education-we-the-undersigned-demand-better-care-for-children-with-asd-in-northern-ireland