Autism - Deprivation of Liberty order

markneary

kai666 wrote: »

I manage a challenging behaviour unit for people with autism, some of whom have 2 to 1 support 24 hours a day, but in the eyes of the nearest and dearest are little angels

Every story has 2 sides, and we only have one here, and really is a petition signed by a bunch of strangers on the internet, who know nothing about the real circumstances really going to have any influence at all over anything at all? I really doubt it, and would shocked and horrified if it did

If you dont me saying so that is a slightly sneering statement about "little angels" coming from a manager of a challenging behaviour unit. I just hope you are not the manager of the challenging behaviour unit where Steven is being held because I would expect a little more empathy for someone in that managerial position.

With rgeards to the "bunch of strangers", I will be eternally grateful to them for the fantastic support they have given and most importantly by helping to point me in the right direction in challenging the Authority's position.

Glpark01

I hope you get him home soon, my 3 year old son is autistic and taking him away from his home and his carers would destroy him and change his behaviour especially as he can become very anxious, good luck with the petition, me and my partner have signed it and joined the fb group.

skyrock

"I manage a challenging behaviour unit for people with autism, some of whom have 2 to 1 support 24 hours a day, but in the eyes of the nearest and dearest are little angels"

Totally totally irrelevant rambling designed to make yourself look and (dare I say it) feel important. Im sure this comment is of no interest whatsoever to the majority of people who, like myself, are genuinely interested in the case. <<inserts smilie of someone yawning >>

:T

markneary

Well, this morning we visited the psychiatrist for Steven's second mental capacity assessment. The good thing was that it was with the psychiatrist Steven has been under since he was 18, so he had some knowledge of the background. We were in the room 1 hour and 10 minutes and Steven did remarkably well to sit calmly all that time because there were a few occassions when it got quite heated.

It became clear in the first ten minutes that the psychiatrist had been given an untrue picture of why Steven was at the positive behaviour unit in the first place. He had been told that it was because I had been struggling with Steven's challenging behaviour. he was quite shocked when I told him the real reason!He clearly hadnt been told that Steven left his home for three days normal respite. It made something that happened back in January fall into place. Steven had a normal appointment with the psychiatrist at the end of January. I arranged to meet them there at 2pm. I got there about 20 minutes early and waited outside. I'd been waiting for about five minutes when Steven, the manager of the unit and Steven's support workers emerged from the hospital. I was told that Steven's appointment had been brought forward but nobody had told me. Just think how different that appointment would have been if I had been there and told them how Steven came to be at the Positive behaviour unit. More and more, it becomes obvious that things were set up from the start.

It was also awkward when the psychiatrist asked Steven why he was at the unit. He was looking to hear Steven say something about his challenging behaviour but Steven said it was "cos Dad was not well next Wednesday" (i.e. the day he went to the respite unit). As I have never been able to fully answer why Steven is at the unit, it's not suprising he has no answer either.

Back to the assessment - Steven made it quite clear that he wanted to live at the uxbridge house. Now matter how the question was phrased, he always came up with that answer.

There were two times he got stuck and started to get agitated. The first time the psychiatrist asked if him "Merchiston was better than......" I could see Steven was getting confused by this because to him "better" is what happens to you after you have been unwell!When one of his support workers rephrased it to, "which do you like best?", he was back to choosing the Uxbridge house.

The other occassion was when the psychiatrist asked him waht he liked to do at Merchiston. Steven replied: "Watch telly". He was asked the question a further three times and each time, he answered "watch telly". The psychiatrist took this as Steven not understanding the question but I said that was all he could answer because that was pretty much all he did. When asked the same question about the Uxbridge house, he came up with five things he liked to do. 5-1 to the Uxbridge House!

Needless to say the psychiatrist announced at the end that he was going to recommend that Steven does not have the mental capacity to decide where he wants to live. In his opinion, Steven cannot make an informed decision about the matter.

So, that's that. It just proves what an uphill struggle its going to be in court when such blatant lies are put before the people making these life changing decisions.

Broken_hearted

Stay strong. There are many people fighting for parents and carers rights every day. Things will change slowly. As to it being a bunch of strangers with no idea of what they are signing, personally I think it is great that people are taking the time to learn, to have empathy and voice their concerns. If people keep quiet those in greatest need lose out, I hope he is home soon and the support needed is put in place rather than the abuse you have suffered so far.

markneary

Received a really supportive letter from Mencap today, forwarded by the BBC after the You and Yours interview. They have asked for more information and would like to be involved. A pretty good heavyweight to have in our corner!

thelastunicorn

kai666 wrote: »

everyone is blindly signing this petition, without probably having much if any understanding of autism. The young man needs 2 people with him when he goes out, clearly he is not the easiest person to be with at times.

I manage a challenging behaviour unit for people with autism, some of whom have 2 to 1 support 24 hours a day, but in the eyes of the nearest and dearest are little angels

It concerns me that you work with people with autism. No one states that he's easy to be with, just that the situation and routine were working before he was, essentially, kidnapped, and the shake-up he's had to endure has increased his anxiety to the point where he's become very challenging. A lot of people with disabilities need up to two carers, and it doesn't necessarily indicate aggression. Ill-informed people just tend to see autistic people as having illogical rages about nothing in particular and likely to lash out for no reason at all, when that's simply not true.

Surely someone who works with autistic people should know this? I see lots of posts on the internet from teachers and similar people who are meant to support autistic people but constantly talk about how "difficult" they are, which seems to be an incredibly negative, non-empathic way of looking at someone you're meant to be helping.

D&DD

Just spotted this and thought it rang a bell
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/a-father-and-son-reunited-a-secret-court-forced-to-open-its-doors-2228507.html

jetta_wales

D&DD wrote: »

Just spotted this and thought it rang a bell
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/a-father-and-son-reunited-a-secret-court-forced-to-open-its-doors-2228507.html

I hadn't read this thread before but am happy to see that it at least had a happy ending.

formaldehyde_perfume

That's really great news. It's a shame anyone had to struggle like that in the first place, but at least things worked out in the end. I worry about families in similar situations that don't have the capability and determination of the father.