Autism and hospitals

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I would your autism effect you in a hospital? What accommodations would you need? Would you be open or closeted? What is living in a group home like? Do you think they should be nicer to autism pacients in mental hospitals? If you have been to a mental hospital how did they treat you? Any one ever treated for autism in a mental hospital? What about rules like no electronics in mental hospital? Would you see staff as helpful or hurtful?

Unless you have excellent insurance or are very wealthy and can afford a really nice (private) psychiatric facility to receive help, I personally think regular, run-of-the-mill psychiatric hospitals do more harm than good.
I'm speaking from the U.S - other countries might be different. My statements do not reflect the viewpoints of everyone. They are simply my own observations and opinions.
From my own personal and professional experience, staff at psych hospitals don't really care if you're autistic, schizophrenic, bipolar, etc. Their job is to quickly stabilize you with medication and release you to an outpatient provider before your insurance kicks you out of the hospital.
Because there is always a shortage of beds, you will have a bedroom roommate in a psych ward. Staff can't help much if you have sensory issues; they can't leave a bed empty. There are always people waiting to be admitted. That means you could share a room with someone who has outbursts, talks to themselves, snores, or doesn't like to shower.
Mental health disorders and developmental disabilities do not discriminate. Nobody chooses to have autism, bipolar, schizophrenia, etc. Ironically, psych wards are set up like prisons - as if those who are afflicted with mental health related issues have committed some sort of crime. Doors are locked on regular psych wards, privacy rarely exists, staff has all of the authority, doors to bedrooms and bathrooms are generally unlocked, staff routinely checks on everyone every 15 minutes or so 24/7, and you are stripped of any object that, on the outside, may provide comfort, but inside the ward, may be used to inflict harm (that means electronics with cords).
On a side note, I would like to say that there are many people who have benefited from stays at psychiatric hospitals. If someone is suicidal, have sunk to a new low and feels utterly hopeless, or are a danger to others, psychiatric hospitals can provide people with help through medication, short-term therapy, and a relatively safe environment (if you don't mind sharing a living space with others whose conditions may be more severe).
Many times, people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals involuntarily and are removed from society. This further solidifies the notion that to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder is similar to committing a crime (this doesn't include individuals who have mental illnesses but do try and commit true crimes).
Sorry for the long post; I have unfortunately witnessed many people fall through the cracks of the mental health system.

I haven't ever been hospitalized before (in a psychiatric sense, that is), so I can't really offer any personal experience as to what it is like, but Jen dear, why do you ask? Is everything all right?

I'm high functioning. I've never lived in a group home. I've never been to a mental hospital. I can only speak as an autistic visitor to relatives in regular hospitals. I'll focus most of what I say around my experiences visiting with a sick and injured female family member.

I've had to stay overnight on multiple occasions in hospitals. I have no idea how anyone gets better after being sent to the hospital. No idea at all. My family member has some autistic traits, but was never formally diagnosed, so when she was cleared she all but jumped at the chance to go home every time. Partly, it was lack of sleep that made her feel that way. The doctors and nurses came in every fifteen minutes every hour of the day to do whatever they had to do. With very few exceptions, they'd wake the patient (and me) up to ask questions. The only real counter and sink in the room was positioned next to and behind the chair for overnight visitors. This meant that whenever a doctor or nurse needed to get something for her to drink with her medicine, they either had to ask me to pass it, or get it themselves, and whenever they had to wash their hands, they were right there too. The chair itself would not recline fully because I wasn't heavy enough. It had wooden arms which meant I couldn't curl up on it to sleep as well. Even though it couldn't recline, it was still in the way because there was limited space, and it was next to the counter with the sink. The lights and beeping from the machines were right next to the bed, so they didn't bother me as a visitor, especially compared to all the other stuff, but if it had been me in that bed, there'd be no way for me to rest without headphones and a sleeping mask. I rotated visitation with other family members because I really couldn't sleep at all. I went the long way home because traffic was lighter, and I really wasn't safe to drive at that point.

The funny thing is, they had a no talking on cell phones rule, so the patients could sleep.

If I have to go there again, I'm bringing my new camping cot.

You had to use a phone to call in food for the patient, so I had to put aside my terror of cold calling and talking to strangers every time the patient was hungry. It would have been so much easier to order by computer. The hospital had free WiFi.

Another time, in a neuro ward, a faulty fire alarm went off. Whoever had chosen the alarm system, had chosen a system with sirens and flashing lights. It took them almost 20 minutes to stop the alarm. Both my family member and I became nauseous from the lights. My family member who was there for headaches and seizures, threw up. I gave her my sleeping mask and headphones that I had been smart enough to bring that time. How is that a good idea in a neuro ward?

I have decided, based on my experience and doctors in the US insisting women give birth on their backs, that if I ever give birth, it won't be at a hospital.

Unless the hospital or group home is trained or specialized in Autism you are treated the same as someone with mental illness.

not true for everyone,am a long time resident of institutional and residential care [most of them terrible abusive places]and have only ever lived in two that specialised in autism [specificaly the severe or profound ends of it with acompanying intelectual disability].
all the others were specializing in intelectual disability but they still got a lot of training in autism as its one of their biggest groups.

as for the original topic,the needs of mine are so complex that am unable to sit here and describe them all, theyre all written in a official document called a hospital passport [used by severe autism and intelectual disability services over here],and this is then given to the doctors so they know what theyre dealing with.

the ID nurse from the hospital will visit home before any admittances to the hospital and bring with her PECS of the hospital and easy read symbol based stuff to go through.
am given a single room to self and have got own support staff from home with self as hospitals are not able to give constant care nor the time to do the personal care am in need of.
am allowed to wear own clothes, even when going for operations,have to make the room look like bedroom at home as much as possible.
am told that am not allowed to leave before discharge even when am very distressed because do not have the mental capacity to make a balanced decision,and they have the right to then phone the police if run off.

as for mental hospitals,the nearest have been in to that was an intelectual disability acute hospital-was detained there for four months for safety and treatment of extreme challenging behavior.
the hospital was weirdly styled like a modern cruise ship on the inside but like a prison on the outside.
the bedrooms had a bed in,a wardrobe without doors and a table-but these were all the same wood and moulded together into the wall so there was nil chance of being damaged,all bedrooms had a wetroom with a toilet in,doors were unlockable.
the bedroom windows were unbreakable,found that out the hard way with skull;had many a concussion from it.
the matresses were rock hard and having a spinal nerve injury from the twenty hours of police restraint and the daily restraint of the hospital staff was in absolute agony.

was thrown to the floor every day in a rough pin down restraint and sat on top of with their knees forced into ribs so it was hard to breathe.
every time had refused their demands or did something they considered wrong they woud trigger their panic alarm which runs throughout the whole hospital and is extremely loud and the team woud come and pin down and woud be dragged into bedroom with the door locked,or woud be dragged into the seclusion unit which just has a padded bed and is boiling hot and stinks of sht because one of its regulars was a constant poo smearer.

was one of only three people there who had constant support staff to ourselves,the rest had to share staff.
at night time we were herded to our rooms and they woudnt let us stay up like any regular adult,but noticed if helped them out with mopping the wing they forgot about forcing to bed for a while.

there were sometimes oportunities of going out in the big van-car they have,but the person had to have a section seventeen form signed by the pyschiatrist and what areas they specificaly were allowed to go to, horrible stuff;it took along time just to get a place added to it,eventualy was allowed to go out to sainsburys with two support staff.

there was always people kicking off in the hospital, and it was usualy us residents who got the punches or foot in our back before they were thrown to the floor.

those of us with less severe intelectual disability were not understood well,and the autism of mine wasnt understood;they didnt recognise the sensory issues that had with noise and allowed the lounge tv to be blasting throughout the whole hospital,upon being asked if it coud be turned down because of the sensory issues;even by the specialists and parents;they woud say its not fair on the residents who are hard of hearing,
what gives them a better right than someone who hears to much? have always hated this elitist attitude towards the hearing spectrum.

so very glad am out of there but it did help greatly, dont like admitting that because it was hell.