§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he is taking to improve services for children with autism in the Northern Board area. [173616]
§ Angela SmithIn the forthcoming year the Northern Health and Social Services Board proposes to improve diagnostic and assessment services by investing £77,000 to strengthen the existing service in Homefirst Trust with additional speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and clerical support.
£50,000 is also being provided to increase paediatrician and speech and language therapy input, in addition to clerical support, to begin to establish a local service.
£7,000 has been made available for staff training related to Autistic Spectrum Disorders.