BBC I player 'I am not ok '

[Hydrangea58]

This was very distressing watching, as the parents of autistic children were trying to cope with violent outbursts from their sons.

They all said much the same thing - they needed help and no one was listening.

The families were assessed as needing overnight respite care, but nothing was being delivered.

It gave me a clear understanding of just how difficult it must be for these families, and I'm sure there must be many more struggling in the same way.

Do you think there is any real support out there for these families, or can nothing be done?

Bump because I'm interested in people's opinions.

I haven’t seen the programme, but there’s certainly more that could be done. Often the support isn’t timely (or provided at all without huge pressure), takes significant effort to secure and then enforce, and sometimes the first (and second, third…) type of support/provider isn’t always the right support.

The SN boards are quieter so replies take longer.

One of the families did manage to secure 2 nights of respite care, but on the first night they called the mother early to say that she needed to pick him up as they couldn't cope with him. So the poor mother was still in the same situation.
It was horrible to watch. The parents were being injured on a regular basis by their sons who were growing bigger and stronger than they were.
Surely there must be some real, effective support out there?

watching, as I am in this situation with DD. I watch the program before giving my thoughts.

I watched this with OH the other night. It was really upsetting. I have a son with ASD and probable SLD but is manageable due to being 5. It didn't do much for my anxiety. It really seemed like the parents were just left to get on with it and as is often the case, made to feel bad when they can't cope. It really us unfair and I do wonder what the support is like for families who have an elderly relative with similar presentations (but probably not as strong physically).

I wonder if the families had been supported with medication for these children. I'm not advocating for children being sedated all of the time, but if there is a real risk to the family members and the children are really distressed and hurting themselves, surely it is the best of the two options. I have found a lack of support by our consultant in this area too. Not even able to have a conversation about it to talk about options. I wouldn't want to medicate now, but I just wanted to know what there was available if things got bad. I just don't think they realise the extent of what people deal with. There is an NHS initiative STOMP which maybe puts them off prescribing.

It would really bloody help if they acknowledged the SLD at an earlier age and not say it is too early. I'm still not able to get a diagnosis for my 5 year old. If we diagnose earlier, interventions could get put in place earlier.

I have worked on MH wards and there would be a team of people trying to manage this behaviour, not just an exhausted mother. I really felt for them. Even if you work with challenging behaviour and think you are an expert, it is not the same as living with someone with it.

The sad thing is if these children end up in residential care it costs so much more than if the local authorities just did their bloody job in the first place and provided some respite.