SCN0022
Written evidence from Parental Submission 9
- I have 5 children. 3 diagnosed with adhd and or autism and 1 who has slipped through the net! My 19 year old autistic son was dumped by his paediatricians at our local hospital at 16 and called an adult because they wanted to save money! I contacted my GP surgery at the time and asked for him to be referred to adult services. I was laughed at and told he was not an adult until he was 18. I asked where he went then to be told well is he ill? I said not in that sense to be laughed at again and told what did I expect the nhs was desperate for money and ONLY meant for sick/ill people! When he turned 18 I asked for him to be referred to adult services to he laughed at AGAIN!!! This time I was told there was only cahms. I applied to cahms and received a phone call from them several months later asking me about my son's violent behaviour! I explained he got frustrated easily and was known to erupt but not in violent behaviour. I was LAUGHED AT AGAIN!! And told i was wasting the nhs time. He, after ALL, was ONLY AUTISTIC!!!
- His so called special needs school was rubbish, He was deemed as being a problem child and not autistic by the head who is now CEO! The local college only has 1 course for special needs children and if they do NOT conform to fit in they try and either force them, lie about what they are going to do or force them to attend mainstream college then kick them out when they can't cope! He currently attends something called [organisation’s name] where he is slowly, after a year and a half, starting to find a bit of understanding. However even here they have to follow those pathetic ehc plans! And are constantly trying to force him and us into finding ways of making him have his own " independence" some days he wants this other days he does not! We have had numerous incidents of missing autistic and asd children in the last 3/ 4 years all over the UK and I believe it's because schools and colleges involved in autistic children's care are making parents believe they have no say over how to keep their child safe! They are NOT the ones laying awake terrified if/when their special needs child does not return home from being out alone and being beaten up or taken away!!! All perfectly true and real things happening to our children in this country right now!
- Every autistic child, every special needs child, every special needs parent are different! There is no "norm" to base any criteria or paperwork on!!!! Its time each child, each single person was treated as just that. A single person!
April 2018