Jacinta Walsh well remembers the day in 2001 when her then two-year-old son, Sam, was diagnosed as autistic. “I was completely blindsided,” she says. “It was an absolute shock.”At the time she was on maternity leave with her second son, and her husband was working in the USA. She scoured the internet for information on how best to help support Sam’s development. “That was my way of dealing with it,” she says, “to find out as much as I could about the teaching methods of the time, getting books sent over from America.”But when he turned four and there were no suitable school places available locally to meet his needs, she knew she would need specialist training. Jacinta Walsh, chief executive of Autism Support Louth & Meath Reckoning she couldn’t be the only parent in the same boat, she organised a 10-week training course and advertised it in her local newspaper, with no idea what to expect. As it happened, 18 parents signed up to join her, and the seeds of a powerful new community were planted. “By the end of it, we’d decided to form a group and open a school,” she says.Abacas School for Autistic Children with Complex Needs, Drogheda opened its doors in 2003 in a three-bedroomed house rented and adapted for the purpose, funded by parents and supported by staff and parents who had previously set up a similar school in Kilbarrack, Co Dublin.As demand grew, so did the school. In 2010 it received official recognition from the Department of Education as a special school for autistic children with complex needs. It outgrew its premises twice and ultimately moved to the site of a local boys’ primary school that had recently been vacated.While its status and location changed, the school maintained its founding mission throughout: to transform the lives of children and their families across the region. Today, under the leadership of principal Michelle McHugh, a dedicated team of specialist teachers and special needs assistants provides a personalised education for 31 children, aged between four and 18, helping them develop communication, personal care, emotional regulation and social skills.Darragh and Robert spend time in the sensory garden The school’s impact extends far beyond the classroom. Recognising that many autistic teenagers can find it difficult to make friends, the early parental community that founded the school also established a youth club. Since 2017 this has grown from two teenagers meeting to play pitch and putt on Saturdays into a thriving social programme that supports up to 160 children and young people from across the region. Walsh continues to provide support for parents and families in other ways too, helping to set up Autism Support Louth & Meath, a charity that runs meetings, youth clubs, training courses and provides information and advocacy, as well as a network of parents and families who can support and help each other. “On any given Saturday we have between 100 and 120 autistic children, teenagers and young adults coming in,” she says. “Those who started out as the original group playing pitch and putt are in their 30s now and are still coming in, because this is their friend group.”Lily and Darragh enjoying a fun game at the school