Evicted for behaviour of SN son!

[Blu]

Did anyone see the article in the Guardian yesterday, following a woman who has been evicted from her house under an 'ASBO' (Anti-social Behaviour Order) because of the behaviour of her son who has ADHAD (?). Social workers planned alternative housing but it fell through at the last moment, and the son would be coming home from school to find himself homeless. (the woman could stay with her sister, but she wouldn't accept the son in case she was evicted too!).

The woman did seem to have difficulties staying on top of things...but it made me think we live in scary times. She is the first person to be evicted under this new gvt legislation.

Now THAT is scary!

How old was this son?? Had he perhaps been repeatedly violent to the neighbours?

Yes, he was a teenager, and had been out in the night making noise, and probably was a major nuisance to neighbours. BUT it would seem to me that help and support at an earlier stage was more appropraite, not eviction and alienation.

I read it - he sounded awful. She had earlier been offered a residential place for him (when he was younger I mean - he's 15 now) but turned it down because she didn't want him "taken away". I don't have a lot of sympathy with them, actually, help was offered, repeatedly I think, she couldn't control him but wouldn't let him go somewhere he might have changed. It's too late now and what kind of life will he have?

this is it.

I think that's fair comment, Jan (and thanks for doing the link), but I felt sorry that it was the Mum's own experiences that had put her off letting him go into care, and the whole pattern will now repeat as the boy will get no more constructive help now. Sad for him, and a problem for those who encounter him, and because of that I feel that more support earlier, and now, would be more effective than legislation which was actually created to deal with deliberate thugs.

Well, yes, that's true, Blu, have been thinking about her life since I posted - poor thing probably has no faith in Social Services and would look on all attempts to help with suspicion.
What a vicious circle. Presumably he won't take his Ritalin because he likes being "bad".

I suppose there isn't a chance that the shock of coming back from school and finding no home to go to might knock some sense into him? I wonder if the Guardian might follow up on this one?

what a ridiculous situation.

Where teenagers are involved, surely they should be making court orders which make accepting help from social services compulsory instead.

It may be too late for this lad I guess (don't know enough about ADHD), but even here it seems incredibly unconstructive to simply evict someone. The kid has to live somewhere. Maybe the govt should pinch the Tories' idea for assylum seekers and ship anti-social neighbours off to an island somewhere?

As it goes though Blu, I think that there is some cause behind the behaviour of pretty much any "deliberate thug", be it ADHD, personality disorder, whatever. Don't think it's particularly constructive to make exceptions for those who happen to have a diagnosis really - the whole policy stinks.

read this with very mixed feelings. Th boy was obviously a complete antisocail nightmare- but the person who seemed to be suffering was his mother. SS in general are crap and whilst a residential place may have been best for him I can see why his mother didn't want it (often they are other end of the country and sometimes run for 52 weeks a year). She faily obviously hadn't coped with him (but then ADHD is very difficult to cope with when you have a lot of support, no money problems etc, so I wouldn't want to be too judegmental about that). I also thoguht it was disgusting that SS wouldn't offer alternative accomodation- it looked as though the pair of them would end up on the streets. Also agree that the problem with the eviction is that he's just going to go and be horrendous elsewhere.

Not sure what the answer is, but I suspect its a SS that works, is able to offer help to people in their own homes, and a system that people aren't too scared to go and access help from.

Well if this is new policy I hope they start with the other teenage "anti social" thugs that are hanging around our street corners terrorising people.
Or was this woman a "soft" target????

Ah, it's not new, I just reread the piece more carefully -

"Last month, a few hundred miles away from Ms Annable and Shane in Westminster, the prime minister gave an impassioned speech calling for local authorities to make more use of Asbos. In 2002 there were 2,246 evictions clearly attributed to Asbos. For the government, it is not enough, it wants councils to evict many more anti-social tenants and anti-social children."

This was the first eviction since the speech by Blair. And the Guardian will be continuing the story :

"In a unique project, the Guardian will be following them, getting to the heart of the reality of the political arguments, to discover how Asbos work in real life."

It's not new jan. Someone was evicted from the other side of our town under this new ruling. They have still been rehoused in the same town though just a different housing estate which I think is just moving the problem somewhere else, maybe even close enough for them to keep terrorising the same people.

Am i being thick.... but what if you live in your own home (not a council house) and 'the neighbours don't like your ADHD/ Asperger's/ Autistic/ etc etc child's behaviour' ???....do they write to your bank to request that your home get repossessed....or are us 'mortgage bearers' SAFE from such awful treatment?? Hope so seeing that i have 3 boys - 2 autistic (1 also has ADHD....SO I KNOW HOW HARD ADHD IS) and one ius showing either 'attention seeking behaviour' or has ADHD too.... not much hope for me or our neighbours....!

I dont think they can evict you if you own your own home....may be wrong though

They could possibly ban you from entering your own street, so that technically you'd have to move but I think this would be unlikely. Not trying to worry anyone though.

dunno mrsf- but some friend's tried to get planning permission for a house in a residential area- they have an autistic kid- and yep the council received letters saying that this area "was not a suitable area for autistic children' (possibly becuase its full of intefering old people methinks).

the eviction orders are just for council houses I think.

it will be for tenants. u have to sign a tenancy order. mine states things like i wont cause a nuisence to my neighbouurs and will keep my kids/pets under control. tho i dont know what the fish and hamsters are gonna do heh.
as long as u dont break your tenancy agreement, and neither does anyone living in your house, then u should be fine.

I reckon theres good grounds for 'discrimitaion against tenants' here!!!

for a court to evict a family - the housing association has to do an awful amount of work. the law is on th side of the tenants - and when you are sufering at the hands of teenage thugs out of control walking around in gangs smashing windows and cars and your housing oficer says " fill in a diary sheet" most tenants want to screem. the fact is that the amount of evidence a housing asociaion needs to get to court is enourmous - and even then its unlikely the housing association will win. its likely that this lad will have been causing trouble in his area since he was very young.

when you get a HA property like missdee says you have a tenancy agreement which even states you are responsible for the visitors to your property and that everyone EVERYONE is entitled to the right to peacefully enjoy their home.

it really is the last straw when it gets to this stage - my husband as a community worker works with a housing officer - when he delivers ABC's ( acceptable behaviour contracts) becuase when your talking to a kid who is eleven - the threat of tenancy isnt real but the threat of not going on next weeks outing or summer holiday activities or playing basketball with the "pros" or whatever activity is going on - that is a real threat - it has to be a carrot and stick approach - curb your behaviour - come to the activities which are provided specifically for children just like these as diversionary tactics.

lets face it social services are so bound in tape and boged down in work - that some litle twot causing a nuisance on an estate ( even if he does have adhd) wont rank high on the list.

my husband has helped in the delivery of an ABC to a severely disabled boy who drove his battery powered wheelchair on purpose into cars and scratched them wantenly and has the foulest mouth.

the fact is his mother is an alchy and the kid gets chucked out after school and isnt let back in the house til its very very late. unfortunaltey theres always a shitty story behind every case. but i can asure you that the burden of prove lies with the landlord the law is on the side of the tenants - often to the utter annoyance of said tenants who dont understand that if the law was changed in favour of easy eviction - that they are treading a very very thin line with regard to their own tenancies

it is an agreement that ALL tenants must sign. my neighbours are in breach of their tenancy, she has made our lives hell in this block. we hjave filled in diary sheets upon diary sheets, have made fone calls, called the police, enviromental health and got nowhere. yes, this girl may have some learning differculties, but it doesnt give her the right to make eveyone elses life unbearable. i have the right to live peacefully here, but when i hear 'westlife' blaring thro my bedroom wall at 7am till 10pm i think someone is being unreasonable. when their friends openly smoke drugs in the car park during the day when my kids want to play and theres not much we can do about it, tell me what i'm meant to do.

are there any other SEN mums out there feeling 'dissapointed' by what everyone is saying ...there is no doubt that noone should have to like in HELL.... but please spare a thought of us mums of the 'behaviourly challenged' who have to walk down the road each day watched by the 'rest of you' when our child does 'something' that 'doesn't quite fit'.... are you the same ones that stand behind me in Tescos when my son is screaming and pulling me around....? ...yes i know...you'd like to say out loud what your thinking which is " that's disgraceful ,and how could a mum allow her son to treat her like that....i know what he needs.....'
My son has ADHD and Asperger's and i am finding some of the comments on here very offensive- YOU are the parents who don't invite my son to parties, you are the parents who avoid me in the playground. To say that 'even if he has ADHD' or that lad running his wheelchair into cars etc....well, not all SEN kids are the same as not all 'Normal' kids are 'mummy's little angels' and ...luckily i'm not an 'alcoholic' mum locking my kids out the house- but i was raised by a mum so abusive that i CHOSE to lock myself in the bathroom- for safety. Hope i've put my message across in not too much of an angry way....I'm just sad to be reminded of what 'everyone else' thinks of our SEN kids. We have enough battles...we don't NEED this

CUSTARDO- do you have personal experience of 'hidden disabilities'?

I agree with Batters that I too am much better informed about special needs issues than I was thanks to mumsnet. Also all along I have thought that this eviction thing is not a solution. It is just shifting the problem while causing the mother a lot of anguish and hassle.

I agree with mrsf. As those of you who follow the SN threads will probably know, my ds1 (3.5yrs) has just been diagnosed as autistic. If you were to see him in the street you would probably think he was either very well-behaved, because he doesn't whine and complain - or a spoilt little brat because he throws himself to the floor and screams (sometimes because the lighting in the shop hurts his eyes, and the buzzing of the lights drives him to distraction. For now this is okay because people are used to small children having tantrums but people will not be so tolerant as he gets older. We manage through a mixture of luck and the support of our local pre-schools support service. I wonder how many MNers, if told to choose between their home and their child, would choose their home? This woman has been seriously let down by the system. With better support and practical help this could have been so different. Too many people think ADHD is just a fancy term for spoiled brat.