Neighbour problems

GobbledyGook

The issue isn't really that the child is in the garden for hours on end, it's that inappropriate behaviour is exactly that and even children with disabilities need to be taught that - or have the ability to carry it out (ie the bricks) removed from them. It's not really that different to not letting the toddler loose in the cutlery drawer because he's too small to handle the knives safely.

Our neighbour's child is autistic. He spends hours and hours in the garden watching the cars go by or watching clouds. He won't wear a coat or a jumper and to me he always seems cold, but there's a certain point when he comes in so we figure he just has a colder setting than us. We all tried getting him interested in other things, but if you do that he just looks out a window to the garden. If the weather is too cold for him then he sits at the window instead. He also touches people, which is why he's always supervised, even through the window, and isn't allowed to wander out the garden alone as he doesn't understand what is appropriate. At the same time however he hates people touching him - if he doesn't initiate it he hates it.

Some neighbours don't like it, one in particularly thinks it's creepy. However his obsessive observational skills came in handy recently when 'not Brian' was opening Brian's car and it confused him. Alerted everyone to someone trying to steal a car!

AnnieO1234

OP - I commented early in the thread but have only just caught up again. Apologies.

Now I have one thing to say, now will you feel if in a years time that child is the next Daniel Pelka or similar? I would contact the police and social services. The police in respect of the rock throwing and complete failure of the mother to do anything, and social services with your objective concerns about the welfare of the child. It genuinely sounds like his mom has given up, and certainly doesn't seem to want to engage with her son or her neighbours.

If all checks out, no harm no foul. Hopefully the police will be enough to get her to shift the rocks. If there is something going on however it's better to alert someone now before it is too late.

I know you've mentioned it to your HV but with respect to the good ones there are an awful lot of poor ones out there and I doubt they have the mechanisms in place to action something about one family that's come from a visit to another.

Xxx