Enable Ireland North East Children's Services
Enable Ireland currently provides early services in Counties Cavan, Monaghan and Meath. There are currently four service locations in Meath and two in the Cavan/Monaghan area. Services are provided in partnership with the Health Service Executive North East from whom funding is received. The aim of the service is to facilitate the development of the child and to provide support to parents and families through a mix of group and individually based sessions.
Find out about specific services in Cavan, Monaghan and Meath.
Services are provided for:
- Children aged from 0-6 years, who live in the relevant Community Care Area.
- Children with physical, sensory and/or learning disabilities or developmental delay and/or a diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorder or who present with several features of autistic spectrum disorder.
Children who require ongoing team-based interventions services are provided by a team.
The team can include:
- Administrative Support
- Child and Family Support Worker
- Clinical Psychologist
- Occupational Therapist
- Physiotherapist
- Speech and Language Therapist
- Social Worker
- Nurse
The teams are managed by an Early Services Manager – one for County Meath and one for Cavan/Monaghan.
The Enable Ireland Teams work very closely with colleagues from the HSE North Eastern Area, such as paediatricians and public health nurses. They also work closely with other agencies for example schools, pre-schools and local voluntary groups.
Referrals
In line with legislative changes, all referrals for children under 5 years of age are made through the HSE Assessment Officer of the relevant county. Referrals for children over 5 years of age are to be made on the official Enable Ireland referral form. These forms are available from the local Early Services centre and should be returned to the relevant Early Services Manager on completion.
Service Delivery
Services are delivered in a family centred, integrated and holistic manner based around individual needs. This includes assessment, therapy and support, which is provided in children's homes, at schools, centre based or at other locations in the community.
We aim to empower parents to be involved as partners in service delivery.
Together with parents we aspire to identify a child’s individual strengths and needs. Services are delivered within a social model context, in partnership with the children and families. A key part of the service is to enable families to access their local community. The corner stone of the model is the Individual Family Service Plan which is supported by regular action plans. Families are encouraged to hold their own records.
Model of teamwork
The model of teamwork has moved from multi-disciplinary to inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary teamwork. The team now work within an inter/trans disciplinary model of service, enabling and empowering parents to be active participants in their child’s plan.
Local policies and procedures have been developed within each Early Services Team to support this model, for example around team meetings, facilitating partnership with parents, and developing person centred plans. Practices to support a partnership approach with the family include parent support groups. Person centred planning is implemented, and monitoring and evaluation is ongoing and parents are very involved in this.
