Helping parents learn from each other

AN Enniskeane woman is working to make services and supports more available and affordable for parents of children with extra needs. 

Sarah Murray is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) who works with families in Cork specialising in very early paediatric years, focusing on early intervention and family support for very young infants and children who are presenting with developmental delays.

‘Accessing therapy can be a little bit too expensive for some families, especially when some children require ongoing, continuous therapy’ said Sarah. 

‘So I wanted to set up something in Cork that was cost effective for families which allowed them access to behaviour support strategies. 

‘With that in mind, I have compiled a schedule of some of the most common concerns that parents come to me about and every Wednesday morning I will host a 1.5 hour parent group in Blarney community hall to provide this. 

‘I present a brief presentation and discussion, and we will also hold group discussions where we can all learn from one another and develop strategies that will help support parents who attend.’

Sarah said there’s overwhelming evidence in literature now to support the fact that autism can be reliably diagnosed as early as six months of age. 

‘There is also literature within my field and within the field of speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, demonstrating the overwhelming success that therapy for children under the age of two can bring. Unfortunately here in Ireland, obtaining a diagnosis at a young age is not readily accessible and there are incredibly long wait times to access an assessment of needs for young children,’ she said. 

However, her work is not on the diagnostic side of things, it is on the intervention and therapy side. 

‘No matter what diagnosis or lack of diagnosis a child presents with, I am skilled and equipped to assess a variety of developmental needs and provide tailored support and therapy to assist infants and their parents,’ she said. 

Going hand in hand with working primarily with children who are autistic or are on the road to receiving a diagnosis, she has repeatedly encountered the need for sleep support and toilet teaching for children with autism.

 ‘The traditional approaches to address some toileting and sleep challenges oftentimes fall short when it comes to autistic learners who have a very different style of learning, and so I assist families with sleep and independent toileting. I presented on the topic of autism and sleep in Dubai and in centres across Australia earlier this year,’ she said. 

The other aspect to her practice is in behaviour support. ‘Oftentimes, when children with disabilities are lacking certain skills, this can lead to aggressive and self-injurious behaviour being displayed by children both at home and at school. It’s my job to conduct a thorough behaviour assessment and get to know and understand that child, and to find out why these behaviours are happening and what can we teach in order to alleviate some frustration and challenges for them. I work very closely with schools both in Cork and outside of Cork on how best to approach behaviour support for their pupils. I have supported many families with behaviour support who have children who do not have additional needs. This is a lot more common than perceived and parents do find it tricky to navigate how best to address certain behaviours that their child is presenting with.’

Sarah, who will shortly have the title of Chartered Behavioural Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland, has had lots of interest in the Blarney group, so much so that she has been asked by some social media followers in other counties to host something similar online which she’s considering. 

• See sarahmurrayabatherapy.com