Do I need a diagnosis before applying for an Assessment of Need?

No. The AON is for children where a parent or guardian believes there may be a disability. You apply directly to the HSE without a diagnosis or a referral.

How long does an Assessment of Need take in Ireland?

The Disability Act 2005 sets out three months to begin and three further months to complete. Actual waiting times in many areas are considerably longer, and families often wait years.

What happens if the timeline is missed?

You can complain to the HSE about the delay, and if that is not resolved you can appeal to the Disability Appeals Officer.

Does the assessment guarantee therapy?

No. The assessment identifies your child's needs. Access to therapy through a Children's Disability Network Team is a separate waiting list.

Assessments

Assessment of Need (AON)

If you think your child may have a disability, an Assessment of Need is the formal HSE route to having their needs assessed. Here is how the process works in practice, and what most families find hardest about it.

HSE Assessment of Need

In short

Under the Disability Act 2005, parents can apply for an Assessment of Need for their child. Timelines have been under significant pressure — many families wait far longer than the statutory 6 months...

What an Assessment of Need actually is

The Assessment of Need (AON) is a statutory process under the Disability Act 2005. It is for children under 18 where a parent or guardian believes the child may have a disability. The assessment sets out what your child's needs are and what services would meet them.

It is an assessment of need, not automatically a diagnosis, and it is separate from getting a service. Many parents are surprised by that distinction: the report can confirm needs without a therapy place appearing at the end of it.

How to apply

You apply through the HSE using the Assessment of Need application form. You do not need a referral from a GP, a school or anyone else — a parent or guardian can apply directly.

Include anything that helps describe your child's day-to-day needs: preschool or school observations, letters from a GP or public health nurse, previous reports, and your own written notes about what daily life looks like.

Keep a copy of everything you send and note the date you submitted it. That date matters for the statutory timeline.

The timeline, and the reality

The Disability Act sets out that the assessment should begin within three months of the application and be completed within a further three months. In practice, waiting lists across many areas run far longer than that, and families regularly wait years rather than months.

If your child's assessment has not started or completed within the statutory timeframe, you can make a complaint to the HSE, and there is a further appeals process through the Disability Appeals Officer. Plenty of Irish families have gone that route.

What you can do while you wait

Supports do not have to wait for a report. Your school can begin putting supports in place through the Special Education Teaching allocation without a diagnosis, and preschools can access AIM support in the same way.

Start a simple record now — a note on your phone is fine. Dates, what happened, what helped, what did not. It makes every later form, meeting and appointment easier, and it is the thing parents most often wish they had started sooner.

Domiciliary Care Allowance is assessed on the level of care your child needs rather than on a diagnosis, so it can be applied for while an assessment is still outstanding.

Reading from the UK? The nearest equivalents are an EHC needs assessment through your local authority in England, or a referral to a community paediatrics or neurodevelopmental service — different process, very familiar waiting.

Common questions

Do I need a diagnosis before applying for an Assessment of Need?: No. The AON is for children where a parent or guardian believes there may be a disability. You apply directly to the HSE without a diagnosis or a referral.
How long does an Assessment of Need take in Ireland?: The Disability Act 2005 sets out three months to begin and three further months to complete. Actual waiting times in many areas are considerably longer, and families often wait years.
What happens if the timeline is missed?: You can complain to the HSE about the delay, and if that is not resolved you can appeal to the Disability Appeals Officer.
Does the assessment guarantee therapy?: No. The assessment identifies your child's needs. Access to therapy through a Children's Disability Network Team is a separate waiting list.

You don't have to work this out alone

Parents in the same waiting room, comparing notes and keeping each other going. Join the Awaiting Assessment group — post anonymously if you'd rather.

Find your group