My Ds has been in a psychiatric hospital for 4 years

[Sammysees]

I know there has been previous threads on this topic. I thought you may have questions about what it’s like for a parent with a child (young adult) in long term psychiatric care. AMA.

Did you have sole PR, or was he section 20 care?

That must be very difficult

did he have a difficult up bringing (not suggesting it was your fault)

do you visit and have a relationship now?

How old is he? Do you visit?

It was section 47. Transfer from prison.

He has autism. High functioning so extremely intelligent. Was bullied horrendously both physically and mentally. He didn’t have a difficult upbringing and was the model son. I have a great relationship with him and visit every week. I am divorced from his dad (since he was 2). His dad visits every other week.

He is now 22. Yes I visit every week.

Pleased you have a good relationship OP.
is there a chance he will be released soon? Do you worry about that or do you think he could live independently?

I don’t think he will be released soon. He is not ready and I can’t keep him safe. He thinks he can live independently but I don’t think he can. Not yet anyway. Supported living may be an option in the future.

I'm very curious about this as I thought my son would be going somewhere similar after his suicide attempt but it turns out the threshold of being admitted is much higher than I had always assumed.

So my questions (if you're sure you don't mind)

What is your son's diagnosis?
How old is he?
How often do you visit him?
Do you wish he was at home or do you feel "relief" that he is safe and being cared for by professionals? ( I'm asking this because when my son was in hospital I missed him desperately but when he came home the responsibility of looking after him was very scary).
Is he with other people of a similar age or a similar illness or is it a mixture?

What was he in prison for?

Do you think he will one day be ready to leave psychiatric care?

What do you think could have been done differently when he was younger to prevent him ending up there?

Diagnosis of autism with co-morbidity of anxiety and depression.
He is 22
I visit every week
I am so thankful that he is now safe. The worry before he was sectioned was off the scale. I slept outside his bedroom door every night with one eye open.
He is with other people who have autism.

Buying something illegally to kill himself.

I hope so! But it is also a very scary prospect.

I'm sorry to hear that.

For the school to have done something about the bullying. They ignored it. I moved him to a different school but it was too late by then.

What is it like where he is? Are you happy with it?

Do they have an outdoor space, go on trips etc, how does he find it?

Is he happy there? May sound like a weird question but it sounds like he’s suffered a lot, has he found a bit of peace?

Btw I’m sos sorry your son experienced what he did and felt the way he did. It’s awful and I wish schools took a much tougher line on bullying than they do.

I'm glad he has gone good support, sorry to hear about both the bullying and the suicide attempts OP

I myself have had episoes of psychosis and been told bullying and trauma can trigger it. Must be even worse for someone with extra vulnerabilities.

As you can imagine it isn’t great but he is safe and most of the staff are amazing. The card and treatment he has received has been life saving. Literally! The ward is nice. He has his own en-suite room. He has a tv and there is also a communal lounge and kitchen.

I wouldn’t say he is happy but he feels safe. For the first time in 10 years. I hope in time he can be happy again.

What does he enjoy doing, what are his interests?

It was pretty shocking the way he was treated by the head of the school. After his first suicide attempt he didn’t go back. The school didn’t even ring me to see how he was.