Fine Gael Senator, Catherine Noone has said she 'unequivocally apologises' for described Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as 'autistic'.   The remarks by Catherine Noone were reported by TheTimes.ie while she was canvassing in Dublin.  She made the comments after being asked about the Taoiseach’s performance on last week's Virgin Media head-to-head debate. 

This was after he had been criticised for appearing to lack empathy on issues such as the health and the homelessness crisis.  So does this show a lack of understanding about autism and the realities of autism?  Do misconceptions around autism create stigma and negatively impact on people with autism and their families?     

So do we need to really think about the way we use the word ‘autistic’, well our listeners gave Ciara their thoughts on the controversy.