Why not the same outrage at the NAS care home abuse story as at Oxfam?

[sickofsocalledexperts]

Just that really. There was terrible abuse of vulnerable autistic and learning disabled adults at the National Autistic Society's Mendip House in Somerset. They were ridden round like horses, fed chillies, slapped and thrown in the swimming pool - all "for a laugh" and by NAS staff in a residential home that they had themselves accredited. The NAS first tried to "bury the bad news' by unveiling it via a new Twitter account with only 21 followers last Friday (marking a new low in PR strategies). And then, when that strategy backfired in spectacular fashion with a huge online backlash, they earnestly promised to be totally transparent and produce a full timeline about who knew what when . This, almost amazingly , they also tried to sneak out on Wednesday with little fanfare and using the same link (it's still up on Facebook, so if you weren't looking, you wouldn't know a new statement has been issued). Jeez, who's doing their PR?

Now sh*t happens, and bad apples turn up in institutions, but it's how quickly and how transparently you deal with them that says whether your organisation prioritises a) making damn sure this kind of abuse never happens again by shining a bright light on what went wrong or b) covering their arses.

As mum to a boy who is autistic and learning disabled, and could never tell me if someone was being nasty to him behind closed doors, I"m appalled not just by what happened at Mendip House but also how they've handled it. It's both dumb and cynical.

Also think the new statement contradicts their earlier PR positioning - that action was immediate once head office were informed of the abuse, but that sadly there were two years before that when "local management" didn't report the abuse upwards. The new timeline is playing some very silly games with wording, which gives me even less confidence that this is in fact true.

Were these poor people left at the mercy of abusive practice for 2 years because the NAS is basically a shower of shi*e?

Two things are for sure: 1) they've damaged their brand even more with this sneaky PR strategy and 2) my beloved boy will set not one foot over the door of an NAS-run school or home.

www.facebook.com/NationalAutisticSociety/

You have annual deputy fees to pay but it isn’t renewed as such.

We have the financial one and are half way through the process of getting the health and welfare one (helped by the Hospital psych who has written nice things about us on the application - he’s a good man; there are good people out there).

Surely there should be more respite places, this would give parents a break and also get their adult children used to being away.
Very few parents will be able to care forever, and the time will come when a care home might be the only option.

The deputyship confuses me
We have nothing in place, but i am included in all aspects of dds care consultations.
The only thing i have is the dla apointee stuff

It relies on the professionals including you though samcro. They should do but after takeover ds1’s previous providers (who had always been really good and open and transparent) blocked our access to his records without warning (amongst other stuff). They could not have done had he still been a child as we had parental responsibility (even when he became a looked after child).

And although everyone did go with our choice we were told prior to interviews that because we didn’t have deputyship the SW would have the final say over which providers were appointed (we would have gone to the Court of Protection to challenge thatbif they hadn’t gone with our choice - it is so important to have the right people).

Happy to zzz - but it’s only relevant if your young adult doesn’t have capacity. And they should be supported to make as many decisions themselves as possible.

We're going through CETR with our d's.........He has an independent advocate to make his wishes known but any decisions ultimately lie with me.

My wish is for him to remain at home until he's around 25 then move onto supported living using carers who have already worked with him from our home supporting him at home and in the community.

I'll be fully involved choosing all his staff, from interviewing them to training them. The hope is they'll basically become an extended part of our family in the hope we'll be able to retain them long term. They will be my son's family in our absence basically, he doesn't have anyone else. And no one to look out for him when We're dead.

Capacity isn’t about independence though. So to get deputyship you needs capacity assessment first of all. That needs to say that the person does not have the ability to understand & weight up and remember information or communicate their choice. In ds1’s case the psychiatrist has said he can communicate choices to some extent (true - he can choose activities etc). But capacity is largely based on intellectual type skills. If someone has capacity then as an adult they can make their own choices (even if unwise).

If someone doesn’t gave capacity then they should be supported to make as many decisions as possible and should have that ability assesed for every decision. If they cannot make a specific decision then a best interests meeting needs to be held where the decision will be made. Without deputyship the final decision maker is automatically a SW type Professional or doctor or nurse for more medical decisions. With deputyship the deputy becomes the decision maker.

I susiect your son will be deemed to have capacity for most decisions. If doesn’t have the ability to manage money it is easy to become his DWP appointee. That gets looked at automatically at 16 if he receives DLA.

its odd we have never been left out of any decisions concerning dd.
the only time I was a bit behind was when a DOLS was put in place.\was ok as i agreed with it,

We only had problems (so far) when ds1’s old providers were taken over.

But Ds1 is very complex and therefore very very expensive. It means that many significant decisions come with a financial cost and so I want the protection of having to be involved.

The mental capacity act is clear that making poor decisions does indicate a lack of capacity.

Parents naturally want what hey believe is the best for their child. The difficulty comes when the adult child’s wishes do not match with what the parents believe to be best. I have seen parents of the adults I work with trying to override their child’s decision on the basis of ‘capacity’ because they think it’s the wrong choice.

Sometimes I even agree, where the person has chosen not to do something and is therefore missing an opportunity for example. But the choice is there’s and must be respected. Anything else is abuse of power.

*does NOT indicate lack of capacity!!!!

Devilishpyjamas thanks for your explanation. I get it now. I am assuming dd is deemed as having the capacity to make choices.
she does often make the wrong one and then we have to use the in her best interest route,
as in the other day when she refused to allow a part to be changed on her powered chair. I knew that she didn't getwhat would happen if it wasn't changed, so told staff to over rule her.

Zzzzz I wasn’t speaking to you personally so there’s no need to be offended?

And as for finding it weird, think what you like, but I work with adults with severe learning disabilities every day, conduct mental capacity assessments and have been involved in best practice decision. I was speaking from experience as I have have seen it happen, as have many of my colleagues.

Anyone ‘clocking in 9-5’ is in the wrong job!! I never stop thinking about the people I support, and how I can support them better

And it’s not about being ‘qualified’, it’s about being able to step back sometimes and see things objectively an in an unbiased way. Most parents can and do do this. But I have come across those who sadly can’t because, as is totally natural, they are too emotionally close to the situation.

I feel so upset by this. Like many people on here I have a friend with a son who is Autistic and she worries not about who he is and his personality traits but about how the world will treat him when he is an adult and she is no longer able to look after him.

People who engage in this kind of behaviour should be looking at VERY VERY long sentences. As a deterrent AND as a fair means of treating filth in the way it deserves to be treated.

Treating the most vulnerable people in society in this way is sick...it's just unforgivable. They should have tattoos on their foreheads so everyone knows what kind of people they are.

Fuck their human rights. They gave them away.

Zzzz me too unfortunately

i sometimes think the idea that professionals know best is often the cause of a lot of problems,.
it takes ages to get to know someone with severe ld's. yet often someone who has met them once (sometimes not met them at all) will say stuff that is beyond wrong. this happened to us a while back and was bizarre, lucky for me the care home saw it my way.
but if someone doesnt have a "me" then what , bad advice is followed.