To ask the Minister of Education how many children with a confirmed medical diagnosis of autism (i) have been assessed by an educational psychologist; and (ii) are awaiting diagnosis by an educational psychologist, broken down by county.

(i) The Education Authority has advised that it does not hold this information on a database and a manual file search would be required across the region.

(ii) If a child has a diagnosis of an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and is referred to Educational Psychology an assessment will be completed. As per response to AQW 568/16-21 the diagnosis of children with autism is the responsibility of the Department of Health and is therefore confirmed by Paediatric ASD Services within Trusts. Educational Psychologists neither diagnose nor confirm a diagnosis of autism.