A Derry mum has described how her autistic child has recovered from losing all of her hair and refusing to leave home due to the anxiety associated with her school experience.
Karinne Doherty, speaking to Belfast Live after husband Neil completed a 30-day cold water swimming challenge to raise money for charity and promote autism awareness, said she wanted to speak out to “share and give hope”.
She described how five-year-old Clodagh became so stressed from her early school experience that she became “completely bald, within two weeks” – before homeschooling, the support of a special learning unit at a local primary school, and help from a local charity helped turn things around.
Read more: Belfast mum whose son has autism says more acceptance and inclusion is still needed
The help offered by the Jigsaw Project in Derry – to both children and adults – and the learning support unit at St Eugene’s Primary School inspired Neil to take on the swimming challenge.
For the past month, he has been braving the cold water at spots throughout Inishowen and has already raised over £1,700 – to be split between the Jigsaw Project and St Eugene’s primary school.
He and Karinne have two children with autism – eight-year-old Claragh and five-year-old Clodagh.
In his online fundraising appeal, Neil said: “Both girls are on the autism spectrum. Clodagh was unable to attend mainstream school for over two years because of sensory issues but St Eugene's Primary School opened a learning support unit. This school was able to meet Clodagh’s sensory needs and has been a life saver for us - it allows Clodagh the opportunity to get back into education in a safe, nurturing environment that suits her needs.
“We, as a family, also attend local autism group the Jigsaw Project. They offer invaluable support for families with kids on the spectrum.”
Karinne, describing Clodagh’s difficulties, said: “We want to share and give hope. We tried her with a set of school settings, she lost all her hair, and then there was meeting after meeting, and then our pediatrician said that it's not very often he would agree with home-schooling, but he said that Clodagh was kind of like a really unique case - her anxiety was so bad.
“For six months, my Clodagh never come outside the door. It was so hard. She was only the age of four. She felt that every time we took her out we were taking her to school, so we had to end up getting her homeschooled for a year.”
This marked a turning point, as Karinne explains: “Do you want to know something, it was the best thing that I ever done. Her confidence grew. Her hair grew back. Now, it's not massively long but it's coming on brilliant.
“Then St Eugene's Primary School opened the wee unit in September. All my children go there, and it was always a dream to have Clodagh there to be honest. They had said to us about trying it out. We were so nervous.
“We said yes but we were so worried it would go back to the way it was before. In the summer holidays, we couldn’t go out together – either Neil was out with the other children, or I was out. We couldn’t go out together because Clodagh wouldn’t leave the house. She thought we were going to take her back to school again.
“But we tried it, and in really small steps, she’s doing absolutely amazing. We couldn’t be any prouder.”
Neil's online 'Cold water dip for autism' appeal can be found here.
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