Brother with special needs sectioned, advice please.

[Quietlifedreamer]

Evening,
does anyone have any advice, top tips for how to get the most support for the future? My brother has been sectioned, even though we are all devastated and feel terrible that he’s going through this, there was no other way to keep him safe. We have been trying for years to get him more support, we work very hard as a family to meet his needs and are not trying to fob him off on anyone else. Other than having a loving family, he is incredibly lonely and is very vulnerable to the wrong types of people taking advantage of him. He doesn’t want to live with any of us, he wants his independence but is in many ways he’s like a 10 year old boy trying to exist in an adults world. Please no judgement on him not living with any of us, he doesn’t want to and we all work so hard to keep him safe but he wants to live his life. His situation is so complex and unique. My poor mum hasn’t had a full nights sleep in at least 20 years, she’s at breaking point, I am trying to step in as much as I can but I have young children and am unwell.
Now that he’s been sectioned we are hoping this might be a chance for us to get him better access to support for after he comes out,
Sorry for rambling, we are all so distraught and sleep deprived. Any advice gratefully received. TIA

I’ve been sectioned multiple times. Unfortunately it is really just a holding pen for the very unwell. He will see a psychiatrist and they will look at medication. I’ve never had therapy or anything when in hospital, just the weekly psych meeting and differing medications.
You need to really push for support when he comes out because it is often very inadequate. Last time I came out I saw somebody from my MH team the next day then heard nothing/saw nobody for two weeks.
Happy to answer any questions you might have x

What a tough situation for you'll. Firstly all of you need some sleep. He's somewhere safe right now, and will be being checked on, so please do try to rest, and your mum too. In a way, you can't do anything right now so try to park thinking about it (easier said than done, I know, a friend was sectioned very much against her will but it was the best thing for her). I went in to see her, it was distressing, but necessary for her wellbeing to be there.

it may not work first time, be prepared for that. it didn't with her. 3 times. But she's doing well now. It can help. It's more a process than a quick fix with some people.

But rest and all take care of yourselves for the moment.

It sounds as though you feel he might benefit from assisted living support. You would need to contact adult social care about this. I’m assuming the special needs your title refers to includes learning difficulties of some kind along with maybe physical difficulties. Charities like Thera often provide the support which can include 24 hour!1-2-1 or 2-2-1 care depending on the needs identified. All the best.

I am a senior social worker in adult social care team.

Sorry to hear you're going through a challenging time. It sounds like your mum has gone above and beyond and undoubtedly should not feel any shame whatsoever. She sounds like a warrior!

My advice would be to request a Care Assessment from your local authority although I would hope that an assessment of his needs would be part of the discharge plans for him.

If he is sectioned under section 2 of the m MHA then that'll be for assessment and treatment, if it progresses onto a section 3 then he will get all of his care for the rest of his life for free - jointly funded by NHS and Social Care. This is called s117 funding.

Hopefully he will receive treatment and be able to live in supported living or if more support is needed, then it could be a placement which has the more care input and he will go on to live a fulfilling life and you/mum can have the relationship you want to have with him and enjoy him, and let carers do the tricky parts- Your mum will head for carer burnout.

Your mum can also request a Carers Assessment from the local authority too.

Best wishes!

My ds with autism and ld was sectioned a few years back. I would start focusing on what he will need when he comes out. Be his advocate. Make sure the hospital know he has a loving family. Attend meetings. Call and visit. Get the social worker involved. Also look after yourself. I took anti depressants as it was pretty awful for me too.

Sorry I have no advice, good advice above though, but I really hope you all get the support you need

Your mum needs a carer's assessment & your brother a social worker.

My poor mum hasn’t had a full nights sleep in at least 20 years, she’s at breaking point

Had a similar situation here & I swear they had "capable mother" stamped on his file plus she was too ashamed to ask for help. She got sick & I had a newborn & after yet another inpatient stay they finally set things up for my brother - I assume they couldn't discharge without it as neither of us were available to be responsible for him.

Honestly a good social worker is worth their weight in gold, I really hope you can find the help you need 💐

Oh my goodness, I didn’t expect to get so many amazing responses! I’m sorry I’m only responding just now! Thank you all so much!
I went to see him today with my mum. Someone crashed into my car on the way home so it’s been another full on day.
my mum was told there is a lengthy waiting list for a needs assessment, earliest appointment is the 27th April! They are all maxed and apologised. It’s so difficult to fight for what he needs when everyone we speak to is so busy, we don’t want to offend anyone. We managed to grab a dr at the facility today to say there is a waiting list, he said he could try to push from their end of things. I will look into all the areas suggested on this thread so far, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you all taking the time to respond.
if there are any more words of wisdom please keep them coming this way and thank you again.
if anyone knows anything about how we could find him some kind of buddy support that would be incredible, he’s very lonely other than having his family.
thank you again!!

I should add in response to questions about his various needs,

he is type 1 diabetic
has controlled nocturnal epilepsy but has frontal lobe damage from before the drs got his fits under control which has damaged his short term memory,
coeliacs, which makes the diabetes tricky
autism
ocd
very dyslexic
very dyspraxia
has dyscalculia
all of these on their own mean he slips through the net in terms of support but combined together makes life very difficult for him and my parents. He has qualified for full PIP which is amazing because he genuinely can’t hold down a job, not just medically but because his autism means that he tends to cause problems. He’s so sweet and loves to help others but believes that he is more capable than his bosses and tries to tell them what to do, or will tell them that he played on his phone for an extra 10 minutes when he should have been working etc, he just doesn’t understand social cues. In general he has all these wonder ideas that he feels he’s got to achieve to impress people such as travelling around the world on his own, we don’t want to hold him back but he genuinely wouldn’t survive on his own. He’s been offered groups to go to with his autism but he comes back very sad because they (no offence intended) are often at the higher end of autism, non verbal etc and because he believes he is fine he understandably doesn’t want to be there.
Some men pretended to be his friends and he was so happy, he told us he was learning to garden with them, it turned out they were forcing him to do hard labour for them unpaid and frightening him that if he told they would hurt him and his family, he ended up smashing his own hand with a hammer in the middle of the night to try to get out of the situation. That is a condensed version of one of many traumatic situations he’s been in over the years.
I’m so sorry I haven’t responded to any of you individually and I’m so sorry to the ones who have experienced their own trauma, I wish you all the best xx

How old is he? being the family of someone with complex mental health and special needs can be incredibly difficult.

it sounds like a residential home could be great for him. Somewhere where he will be supported to live as independently as possible and have peers and community involvement.

He’s in his early forties but is definitely more like a 10-13 yr old mentally. If he was in a residential home, would it be with people of similar ages and needs as him? We definitely need help but don’t want him to be unhappy either. I hope that doesn’t sound ungrateful.

If he has frontal lobe damage this can lead to changes in personality and lack of impulse control. Which can make life even harder for him to cope with. I hope you and your mum can get some rest.

Sorry to hear this. As well as a social care assessment he should have a Care and Treatment Review:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/learning-disabilities/care/ctr/

Yes, agree with the above - please call for a CTR as this is to prevent hospitalisation or reduce the duration of hospitalisation for people with autism and/or learning disabilities.