Tallaght children facing decade-long therapy wait

The average wait for speech and language therapy at one Tallaght disability team is now longer than a child’s entire primary school education, with hundreds waiting more than four years for help.

Figures highlighted by Dublin South West TD Seán Crowe show an average waiting time of 119 months, just one month short of a decade, for children referred to the Chamber House Children’s Disability Network Team.

More than 1,000 children in the Tallaght area are waiting for speech and language therapy, according to Deputy Crowe, with HSE figures putting the total across Dublin South West at 1,151.

The figures show that 376 children referred to the Chamber House team have already been waiting for more than four years.

Deputy Crowe (pictured above) said the scale of the delays had gone “beyond a scandal” and warned that children were missing opportunities for early intervention during crucial stages of their development.

“Speech and language therapy for children has been allowed to go beyond a scandal at this point,” the Sinn Féin TD said.

“Recent figures from the HSE show that there are 1,151 children waiting on therapies in the Dublin South West area and that a four-year wait is the best average that the HSE can provide.

“In the Chamber House CDNT 8 area, there are 376 children waiting more than four years and the HSE says that the average wait time to be seen by that team is a staggering 119 months, just shy of ten years.”

The figures also reveal serious difficulties at the Ballyboden centre, where 23 children are on a waiting list despite there being no speech and language therapists on staff.

Deputy Crowe said the centre has been without a speech and language therapist for several years.

Speech and language therapy can be vital for children experiencing difficulties with speaking, understanding language or communicating with others.

Therapists can also support children with problems involving eating, drinking or swallowing.

Delays in accessing that support can affect a child’s ability to participate in school, build relationships and communicate with family members and other children.

Deputy Crowe said the length of the waiting lists meant key opportunities to help children at an early stage were being lost.

“We are missing key deadlines in a child’s development and critical neuroplasticity windows that have huge consequences and lead to massive communication gaps as a child gets older,” he said.

He accused the Government of failing children and families across the area by allowing essential services to deteriorate.

“How any government could allow such vital services to collapse entirely is beyond me,” Deputy Crowe said.

“Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are denying hundreds of local children the opportunity to fully engage with education and to have the best chance at interacting with their peers and the wider world.

“It is shameful and something desperately needs to change because this Government clearly isn’t up to the task.”