A 32 year old man from County Galway has settled a High Court action over the delay in his autism diagnosis for €125,000.
Keith Callaghan, from Rahoon, sued alleging that there was a failure to diagnose his autism in his younger years, resulting in him not being able to receive autism specific education.
Mr. Callaghan sued the HSE, the Minister for Education, the Attorney General, as well as the Brothers of Charity Services in Renmore (which provides individuals with intellectual disabilities) and the board of management at St Joseph’s Special School, Newcastle, Co. Galway.
According to this morning’s Irish Times, Mr. Callaghan is unable to read or write or do any mathematical problems beyond the simplest addition, and he has no functional reading skills due to his autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
The €125,000 settlement is without an admission of liability, and the court further ordered that a fixed outlay sum of €50,000 legal costs be paid to Mr. Callaghan’s solicitors.
It was claimed that he was placed in as general special education school without adequate assessment of his needs or progress throughout his school years.
Ms Justice Nuala Jackson allowed €5,000 to be paid out immediately to the Callaghan family, for a ‘well deserved’ holiday.
More details on this story can be found in this morning’s Irish Times.
