O'Rourke says death sparked autism remarks

Fianna Fáil TD Mary O'Rourke has said that the death of her autistic godchild was the motivating factor in her recent comments about autism.

The former minister for education was highly critical of her former department for its attitude to the applied behaviour analysis (ABA) system, which she believes achieves good results for autistic children.

Mrs O'Rourke broke ranks with the Government in a Fine Gael private members' motion this week, which supported the provision of ABA for any child who was recommended for the method by psychological assessment. She accused the Department of Education of "lingering animosity and a sort of a blockage at some level" against the "full-blooded provision" of ABA.

Mrs O'Rourke's comments gained her a round of applause from the public gallery. However, she also voted against the motion, which was defeated by 75 votes to 66.

Mrs O'Rourke told Newstalk 106's Lunchtime with Eamon Keane programme yesterday that she was haunted by the memory of her autistic godchild and nephew, Caoimhín, who had a seizure and drowned in a swimming pool.

She said: "I never bothered saying this to anyone but this all stems from my godchild and nephew who died aged 22 from a seizure he had in a swimming pool in a home for people who had disabilities.

"He was huge, 6ft 2in. Gorgeous looking. You'd stand in the street to look at him. But he had a severe form of autism. I was his godmother. He was my nephew. They took him to America where the first stirrings on autism were beginning. But he had the most severe form. He would break 20 glass windows in an hour.

"He got up in the middle of night. He could swim for Ireland. He pulled back the tarpaulin. He got into the pool, had a seizure and died. The memory of Caoimhín and knowing what I know now, that he could have been helped, always haunts me."

Mrs O'Rourke also defended her decision to vote against the Fine Gael motion, saying that she would have a better chance of doing more to champion ABA inside the Government than outside.

"You know what they say. It's better to be in the tent doing your 'you know what' out of it, rather than being outside the tent.

"I had three mails saying I should have voted against the Government, but what good would that have done? I'd be a pariah outside the political system. You'd get notoriety for a few days. I don't want notoriety. I want to work."