Do people genuinely believe 'you should get her/him sectioned' as some sort of option?

In addition to previous Ops answers, have a read up on Oliver McGowan mandatory training that is being rolled out.

I think in addition to general lack of knowledge of the MH system that's been mentioned, the other thing that kicks in when reading really scary and distressing news stories is this cognitive thing where people naturally want to apply 'solutions' that other people involved could have done to prevent the thing happening and/or find someone to blame - it's a way for the brain to protect itself from the fear and anxiety we naturally feel when we read about something as terrible the Southport attacks and other similar things. In the case of an attack by someone mentally ill 'the parents should have had him sectioned', in the case of a child abduction 'the mother shouldn't have taken her eyes off him/her', in the case of a rape 'she shouldn't have been walking alone at night'. It's more of an instinctive thing than something you logically think through, the more you think about it in fact the less it works, the protective effect is in kidding yourself that people (and by extension, you) are in control and can prevent similar terrible things happening to you and your loved ones by your actions rather than these tragedies just being the random chance of the universe that could happen to anyone. Goes right back to ancient times when people believed they could prevent themselves catching plague or their crops failing by wearing the right amulet or making offerings to the right local deity or whatever.

But while it may be a perfectly natural reaction I do agree it's not very helpful to post online, particularly if posted from a place of ignorance and misinformation, and doesn't really assist in identifying where individuals or systems really could or should have done things differently...

The threshold is high but I’ve found that you do need to be able to advocate for family members and push while emphasising the level of need. As soon as you stop, it’s much easier to ignore

That's kind of you, thank you. He does have a named LD nurse and gets the yearly checks with them but that is about it.

Thannk you.

IMO not likely to happen. But if this is something you are worried about please speak to his team. Does he have a LD named nurse? They should be able to put your mind at rest. If not please contact your local Mind and talk it through with them.

I hope you are ok, transitioning from child to adult services is a really tricky time. I hope you are getting your own support. Carers are often neglected and people underestimate the stress SMI and LD can have on them. It’s constant and ongoing.

The problem is that there are probably lots of other teenagers who are potentially as violent as him. It’s easy to say with hindsight that something should have been done but before his atrocity he was just one of thousands.

If you look into Dynamic support register (DSR) and make sure your son is on it. It is a register of all autistic people who also have mentally illness and could be a risk of section.

If he becomes at risk of being detained on a section you should automatically be offered a C(E)TR meeting which ensures his needs are met. You may need to push for this to happen.

C(E)TR should also happen automatically & is a right when someone with autism is detained under section. This is to make sure their needs as as an autistic person are met & tries to ensure they are not detained for longer than they need to be.

It was one of the things brought in in the wake of the Winterbourne scandal. I have seen it work very well but no doubt there are failings elsewhere due to funding, delays, etc

Worth looking into so you know what to ask for if you need it.

The authorities KNEW that Rukabana was dangerous but too scared of being labelled racist to actually do anything about it.
We know what happened next....

Jeremy have you tried to get me sectioned?

To be clear, the police are only detaining someone under S136 of the MH Act in order to remove them to a place of safety. They are not empowered to make a clinical judgement of someone's mental illness as such - it's a very loose area. And they absolutely cannot be detained under this legislation in their homes.

I have detained four people under S136. All were apparently terribly unwell, in public and were later taken under some form of official section for proper care. All were hallucinating - and one was a very serious threat to the public with his delusions leading to violent physical outbursts.

The second was a threat only to himself and had developed early hypothermia but couldn't see he was at risk of anything.

The third was a classic paranoia example of "the CIA have planted bugs under my skin and in the walls of the house and they are listening to us now".

The fourth was a chap who was waiting for Jesus to pick him up in his spaceship to take him to heaven. He was very sweet but very very confused and couldn't understand what was taking so long.

These were all over 15yrs ago and obviously I've changed a few details to keep them anonymised.

It was last July

I have said that. Particularly on Southport threads.

I know because I was sectioned and I wasn’t a danger to myself or others. It is possible. My mum in particular was a complete pain in the arse. Rang 999 on repeat over and over and over and over. She did not give up and would not let it go. And it worked.

That must have been some time ago. Street triage lost funding years ago. You might get an AMHP on the phone to give advice but you won't find mental health nurses out on the street with police anymore. It's all Right care, Right Person now.

May I ask please? My son is classed as smi for dla purposes not diagnosis. He has severe autism and learning disability. He is transitioning to adult services. He isn't violent. I've read a lot in the press about adults like him being sectioned because it costs too much to fund them properly to live in the community. How bad do things have to be really for this to happen? Would it more than likely happen if we said we couldn't cope and needed urgent help (we wouldn't do this i'm just wondering if by not doing it, it gives us some safeguard)?

I’ve witnessed somebody being sectioned by the police. Who was actually just off their tits on MDMA but the police wanted them off the street sent out the way so a 136 it was. The mental health nurse was a disgrace as well.

I hate to be this person, but ASD and ADHD aren’t mental health conditions.

I think MH has become much less stigmatised, which is a great thing, but there does seem to be a swell of frankly pretty normally mentally functional people desiring to want to be diagnosed with ASD or ADHD later in life, often for no good reason - likewise parents chasing a diagnosis for children who in essence are doing fine and just going through childhood stuff.
The problem with that is that it overwhelms the system, meaning those really in need of support to get through life, or just the next day are getting lesser care than they could.

I’m glad you’re doing well. I don’t blame you for keeping it to yourself. So much easier that way.

True.

A lot of it is social media virtue signalling anyway. ESPECIALLY on LinkedIn 🙄

Functioning well with a job and family. It's part of my life but no different from people living with other long-term serious physical illnesses.
Just suddenly have moments when I mention something about severe mental illness, sections, detentions etc & realize I've shocked people.

I have schizoaffective disorder, a type of bipolar disorder. I don't tell people my diagnosis.

It really depends on your condition.

Psychosis is not Instagrammable.

😃yes!!!
Or when you're itching to correct someone and realise that that will show them that you know WAY too much about our!

I was sectioned in the 1990s after going into hospital voluntarily and then wanting to go home. I didn’t even know what sectioning was and I wasn’t told that I would be sectioned if I wanted to leave. It’s very different these days as there is less stigma about MH issues and even seems to be trendy to have them 🤷‍♀️