Autistic man to be released after 21 years in hospital
Page 1 of 1 [ 9 posts ]
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,389
Location: Long Island, New York
04 Oct 2022, 8:35 am
Quote:
[b]An autistic man who has been held in a secure hospital for 21 years has been told he can finally go home.[b]
Tony Hickmott, 45, was sectioned after he had a mental health crisis in 2001, and despite a long fight by his family, he has not been released since.
Last year, a judge criticised his detention, telling authorities to find a home near his parents, in Brighton.
A care team for Mr Hickmott is now being assembled and he is expected in a new home in his home town, next month.
Mr Hickmott has been held in a secure Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU) designed to be a short-term safe space used in a crisis. It's a two-hour drive for his parents, Pam, 78 and Roy, 82.
There are about 2,000 people with learning disabilities or autism detained in specialist hospitals across England and a BBC investigation revealed 100 of them, including Mr Hickmott, have been held for longer than 20 years.
Last year, a select committee of MPs backed calls from campaigners to end the scandal of autistic people being wrongly detained, saying such hospitals should be closed by 2024.
In 2013, psychiatrists agreed Mr Hickmott was "fit for discharge" but authorities failed to create a care package with appropriate support in the community. Last December, Pam and Roy took the case to the Court of Protection.
There, a senior judge ordered managers at the NHS and Brighton & Hove City Council to stick to a rigorous timetable to find Mr Hickmott a home, condemning their "egregious" delays and "glacial" progress.
A whistleblower who worked at the ATU as a support worker between 2015 and 2017 also told the BBC Mr Hickmott was the "loneliest man in the hospital", living in segregation with little or no stimulation.
Mr Hickmott has to speak to staff through a hatch, the paint worn thin from countless knocks and bangs.
A photo taken on his birthday shows his TV encased in a Perspex box, his cards lined up on top. Mr Hickmott isn't allowed to use the remote control and has to ask carers to change channel.
This year, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Mr Hickmott's hospital - which we are not naming for his care and wellbeing - was failing to meet people's needs.
Inspectors halted further admissions because they believed "people would or may be exposed to significant risk of harm".
The report highlighted staff shortages, a lack of training and an increase in restrictive interventions. It reported how relatives of patients said their loved ones were heavily medicated and had few meaningful activities to enjoy.
In June, the government published draft reforms to the Mental Health Act to redefine "mental disorder" so that it no longer included autism.
If enacted, the changes will also require authorities and the NHS to provide sufficient resources to prevent autistic people reaching crisis point and then having to stay in an institution because there is nowhere else to go.
Tony Hickmott, 45, was sectioned after he had a mental health crisis in 2001, and despite a long fight by his family, he has not been released since.
Last year, a judge criticised his detention, telling authorities to find a home near his parents, in Brighton.
A care team for Mr Hickmott is now being assembled and he is expected in a new home in his home town, next month.
Mr Hickmott has been held in a secure Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU) designed to be a short-term safe space used in a crisis. It's a two-hour drive for his parents, Pam, 78 and Roy, 82.
There are about 2,000 people with learning disabilities or autism detained in specialist hospitals across England and a BBC investigation revealed 100 of them, including Mr Hickmott, have been held for longer than 20 years.
Last year, a select committee of MPs backed calls from campaigners to end the scandal of autistic people being wrongly detained, saying such hospitals should be closed by 2024.
In 2013, psychiatrists agreed Mr Hickmott was "fit for discharge" but authorities failed to create a care package with appropriate support in the community. Last December, Pam and Roy took the case to the Court of Protection.
There, a senior judge ordered managers at the NHS and Brighton & Hove City Council to stick to a rigorous timetable to find Mr Hickmott a home, condemning their "egregious" delays and "glacial" progress.
A whistleblower who worked at the ATU as a support worker between 2015 and 2017 also told the BBC Mr Hickmott was the "loneliest man in the hospital", living in segregation with little or no stimulation.
Mr Hickmott has to speak to staff through a hatch, the paint worn thin from countless knocks and bangs.
A photo taken on his birthday shows his TV encased in a Perspex box, his cards lined up on top. Mr Hickmott isn't allowed to use the remote control and has to ask carers to change channel.
This year, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Mr Hickmott's hospital - which we are not naming for his care and wellbeing - was failing to meet people's needs.
Inspectors halted further admissions because they believed "people would or may be exposed to significant risk of harm".
The report highlighted staff shortages, a lack of training and an increase in restrictive interventions. It reported how relatives of patients said their loved ones were heavily medicated and had few meaningful activities to enjoy.
In June, the government published draft reforms to the Mental Health Act to redefine "mental disorder" so that it no longer included autism.
If enacted, the changes will also require authorities and the NHS to provide sufficient resources to prevent autistic people reaching crisis point and then having to stay in an institution because there is nowhere else to go.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
04 Oct 2022, 11:07 am
ASPartOfMe wrote:
BBC
Quote:
[b]An autistic man who has been held in a secure hospital for 21 years has been told he can finally go home.[b]
Tony Hickmott, 45, was sectioned after he had a mental health crisis in 2001, and despite a long fight by his family, he has not been released since.
Last year, a judge criticised his detention, telling authorities to find a home near his parents, in Brighton.
A care team for Mr Hickmott is now being assembled and he is expected in a new home in his home town, next month.
Mr Hickmott has been held in a secure Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU) designed to be a short-term safe space used in a crisis. It's a two-hour drive for his parents, Pam, 78 and Roy, 82.
There are about 2,000 people with learning disabilities or autism detained in specialist hospitals across England and a BBC investigation revealed 100 of them, including Mr Hickmott, have been held for longer than 20 years.
Last year, a select committee of MPs backed calls from campaigners to end the scandal of autistic people being wrongly detained, saying such hospitals should be closed by 2024.
In 2013, psychiatrists agreed Mr Hickmott was "fit for discharge" but authorities failed to create a care package with appropriate support in the community. Last December, Pam and Roy took the case to the Court of Protection.
There, a senior judge ordered managers at the NHS and Brighton & Hove City Council to stick to a rigorous timetable to find Mr Hickmott a home, condemning their "egregious" delays and "glacial" progress.
A whistleblower who worked at the ATU as a support worker between 2015 and 2017 also told the BBC Mr Hickmott was the "loneliest man in the hospital", living in segregation with little or no stimulation.
Mr Hickmott has to speak to staff through a hatch, the paint worn thin from countless knocks and bangs.
A photo taken on his birthday shows his TV encased in a Perspex box, his cards lined up on top. Mr Hickmott isn't allowed to use the remote control and has to ask carers to change channel.
This year, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Mr Hickmott's hospital - which we are not naming for his care and wellbeing - was failing to meet people's needs.
Inspectors halted further admissions because they believed "people would or may be exposed to significant risk of harm".
The report highlighted staff shortages, a lack of training and an increase in restrictive interventions. It reported how relatives of patients said their loved ones were heavily medicated and had few meaningful activities to enjoy.
In June, the government published draft reforms to the Mental Health Act to redefine "mental disorder" so that it no longer included autism.
If enacted, the changes will also require authorities and the NHS to provide sufficient resources to prevent autistic people reaching crisis point and then having to stay in an institution because there is nowhere else to go.
Tony Hickmott, 45, was sectioned after he had a mental health crisis in 2001, and despite a long fight by his family, he has not been released since.
Last year, a judge criticised his detention, telling authorities to find a home near his parents, in Brighton.
A care team for Mr Hickmott is now being assembled and he is expected in a new home in his home town, next month.
Mr Hickmott has been held in a secure Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU) designed to be a short-term safe space used in a crisis. It's a two-hour drive for his parents, Pam, 78 and Roy, 82.
There are about 2,000 people with learning disabilities or autism detained in specialist hospitals across England and a BBC investigation revealed 100 of them, including Mr Hickmott, have been held for longer than 20 years.
Last year, a select committee of MPs backed calls from campaigners to end the scandal of autistic people being wrongly detained, saying such hospitals should be closed by 2024.
In 2013, psychiatrists agreed Mr Hickmott was "fit for discharge" but authorities failed to create a care package with appropriate support in the community. Last December, Pam and Roy took the case to the Court of Protection.
There, a senior judge ordered managers at the NHS and Brighton & Hove City Council to stick to a rigorous timetable to find Mr Hickmott a home, condemning their "egregious" delays and "glacial" progress.
A whistleblower who worked at the ATU as a support worker between 2015 and 2017 also told the BBC Mr Hickmott was the "loneliest man in the hospital", living in segregation with little or no stimulation.
Mr Hickmott has to speak to staff through a hatch, the paint worn thin from countless knocks and bangs.
A photo taken on his birthday shows his TV encased in a Perspex box, his cards lined up on top. Mr Hickmott isn't allowed to use the remote control and has to ask carers to change channel.
This year, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Mr Hickmott's hospital - which we are not naming for his care and wellbeing - was failing to meet people's needs.
Inspectors halted further admissions because they believed "people would or may be exposed to significant risk of harm".
The report highlighted staff shortages, a lack of training and an increase in restrictive interventions. It reported how relatives of patients said their loved ones were heavily medicated and had few meaningful activities to enjoy.
In June, the government published draft reforms to the Mental Health Act to redefine "mental disorder" so that it no longer included autism.
If enacted, the changes will also require authorities and the NHS to provide sufficient resources to prevent autistic people reaching crisis point and then having to stay in an institution because there is nowhere else to go.
And some people claim autism is a gift that shouldn’t be cured maybe they should swap places with this man
_________________
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends upon the unreasonable man."
- George Bernie Shaw
04 Oct 2022, 11:14 am
carlos55 wrote:
ASPartOfMe wrote:
BBC
Quote:
[b]An autistic man who has been held in a secure hospital for 21 years has been told he can finally go home.[b]
Tony Hickmott, 45, was sectioned after he had a mental health crisis in 2001, and despite a long fight by his family, he has not been released since.
Last year, a judge criticised his detention, telling authorities to find a home near his parents, in Brighton.
A care team for Mr Hickmott is now being assembled and he is expected in a new home in his home town, next month.
Mr Hickmott has been held in a secure Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU) designed to be a short-term safe space used in a crisis. It's a two-hour drive for his parents, Pam, 78 and Roy, 82.
There are about 2,000 people with learning disabilities or autism detained in specialist hospitals across England and a BBC investigation revealed 100 of them, including Mr Hickmott, have been held for longer than 20 years.
Last year, a select committee of MPs backed calls from campaigners to end the scandal of autistic people being wrongly detained, saying such hospitals should be closed by 2024.
In 2013, psychiatrists agreed Mr Hickmott was "fit for discharge" but authorities failed to create a care package with appropriate support in the community. Last December, Pam and Roy took the case to the Court of Protection.
There, a senior judge ordered managers at the NHS and Brighton & Hove City Council to stick to a rigorous timetable to find Mr Hickmott a home, condemning their "egregious" delays and "glacial" progress.
A whistleblower who worked at the ATU as a support worker between 2015 and 2017 also told the BBC Mr Hickmott was the "loneliest man in the hospital", living in segregation with little or no stimulation.
Mr Hickmott has to speak to staff through a hatch, the paint worn thin from countless knocks and bangs.
A photo taken on his birthday shows his TV encased in a Perspex box, his cards lined up on top. Mr Hickmott isn't allowed to use the remote control and has to ask carers to change channel.
This year, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Mr Hickmott's hospital - which we are not naming for his care and wellbeing - was failing to meet people's needs.
Inspectors halted further admissions because they believed "people would or may be exposed to significant risk of harm".
The report highlighted staff shortages, a lack of training and an increase in restrictive interventions. It reported how relatives of patients said their loved ones were heavily medicated and had few meaningful activities to enjoy.
In June, the government published draft reforms to the Mental Health Act to redefine "mental disorder" so that it no longer included autism.
If enacted, the changes will also require authorities and the NHS to provide sufficient resources to prevent autistic people reaching crisis point and then having to stay in an institution because there is nowhere else to go.
Tony Hickmott, 45, was sectioned after he had a mental health crisis in 2001, and despite a long fight by his family, he has not been released since.
Last year, a judge criticised his detention, telling authorities to find a home near his parents, in Brighton.
A care team for Mr Hickmott is now being assembled and he is expected in a new home in his home town, next month.
Mr Hickmott has been held in a secure Assessment and Treatment Unit (ATU) designed to be a short-term safe space used in a crisis. It's a two-hour drive for his parents, Pam, 78 and Roy, 82.
There are about 2,000 people with learning disabilities or autism detained in specialist hospitals across England and a BBC investigation revealed 100 of them, including Mr Hickmott, have been held for longer than 20 years.
Last year, a select committee of MPs backed calls from campaigners to end the scandal of autistic people being wrongly detained, saying such hospitals should be closed by 2024.
In 2013, psychiatrists agreed Mr Hickmott was "fit for discharge" but authorities failed to create a care package with appropriate support in the community. Last December, Pam and Roy took the case to the Court of Protection.
There, a senior judge ordered managers at the NHS and Brighton & Hove City Council to stick to a rigorous timetable to find Mr Hickmott a home, condemning their "egregious" delays and "glacial" progress.
A whistleblower who worked at the ATU as a support worker between 2015 and 2017 also told the BBC Mr Hickmott was the "loneliest man in the hospital", living in segregation with little or no stimulation.
Mr Hickmott has to speak to staff through a hatch, the paint worn thin from countless knocks and bangs.
A photo taken on his birthday shows his TV encased in a Perspex box, his cards lined up on top. Mr Hickmott isn't allowed to use the remote control and has to ask carers to change channel.
This year, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Mr Hickmott's hospital - which we are not naming for his care and wellbeing - was failing to meet people's needs.
Inspectors halted further admissions because they believed "people would or may be exposed to significant risk of harm".
The report highlighted staff shortages, a lack of training and an increase in restrictive interventions. It reported how relatives of patients said their loved ones were heavily medicated and had few meaningful activities to enjoy.
In June, the government published draft reforms to the Mental Health Act to redefine "mental disorder" so that it no longer included autism.
If enacted, the changes will also require authorities and the NHS to provide sufficient resources to prevent autistic people reaching crisis point and then having to stay in an institution because there is nowhere else to go.
And some people claim autism is a gift that shouldn’t be cured maybe they should swap places with this man
Was Autism the issue here or was it, perhaps, the communities response to Austim and failure to support this person. Sounds like the community did not want to help this person so they locked him away and threw away the key.
lostonearth35
Veteran
Joined: 5 Jan 2010
Age: 50
Gender: Female
Posts: 11,870
Location: Lost on Earth, waddya think?
04 Oct 2022, 11:24 am
That's not a hospital admission that's a prison sentence. You wouldn't need to put me in a hospital that long because I'd be dead in a month just from being there. Just reserve a chamber for me at the morgue. 
No seriously, I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown just from spending barely a week at a home for severely mentally disabled people after my diagnoses. It was not an aspie-friendly place, even my NT mother was uncomfortable coming over because the people there all wanted to touch her and invaded her personal space. The mental health care in my province is either non-existent or stuck in the 1940s. If it wasn't for the love and emotional support of my family members I'd be lying in a ditch somewhere.
05 Oct 2022, 1:45 am
UK must be a scary place to live for people on the spectrum. I would hate to get locked up if I had a mental breakdown and had no family aupport. I wonder if you just need a simple diagnosis to be locked up.
_________________
Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses.
05 Oct 2022, 3:07 am
League_Girl wrote:
UK must be a scary place to live for people on the spectrum. I would hate to get locked up if I had a mental breakdown and had no family aupport. I wonder if you just need a simple diagnosis to be locked up.
Not quite locking up all mental health patients.
As far as I’m aware it’s those considered a risk to themselves or others.
Sad fact is autism sometimes causes aggression.
From what I can gather those who are locked up following a meltdown causing threatening or destructive behavior.
So probably parents calling 911 when their teen or 20 something son starts throwing the family tv across the room or grabs a knife.
Police and mental health units come out and it’s goodbye for a long time.
There is anti psychotic meds that limit aggression but they have horrible side effects which is why it’s sometimes a struggle to get schizophrenics to take their meds.
Truth is having an atypical brain can be far from beautiful a lot of the time.
Away from the silly ND blogs and YouTube videos being on the front end of severe autism as a victim or carer can be savage, cruel and brutal
_________________
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends upon the unreasonable man."
- George Bernie Shaw
11 Oct 2022, 12:03 am
carlos55 wrote:
League_Girl wrote:
UK must be a scary place to live for people on the spectrum. I would hate to get locked up if I had a mental breakdown and had no family aupport. I wonder if you just need a simple diagnosis to be locked up.
Not quite locking up all mental health patients.
As far as I’m aware it’s those considered a risk to themselves or others.
Sad fact is autism sometimes causes aggression.
From what I can gather those who are locked up following a meltdown causing threatening or destructive behavior.
So probably parents calling 911 when their teen or 20 something son starts throwing the family tv across the room or grabs a knife.
Police and mental health units come out and it’s goodbye for a long time.
There is anti psychotic meds that limit aggression but they have horrible side effects which is why it’s sometimes a struggle to get schizophrenics to take their meds.
Truth is having an atypical brain can be far from beautiful a lot of the time.
Away from the silly ND blogs and YouTube videos being on the front end of severe autism as a victim or carer can be savage, cruel and brutal
Well if an autistic person is violent, I support them being locked up. Their families members shouldn't be getting abused or threatened by them. I pity families who have to deal with a violent kid. I had the privilge to stop being abusive when my mom told me she will send me away if I didn't stop. Honestly I wish the US did this. No one should be unsafe in their home.
We even lock up mentally ill people when they commit a crime.
_________________
Son: Diagnosed w/anxiety and ADHD. Also academic delayed.
Daughter: NT, no diagnoses.
11 Oct 2022, 1:19 am
League_Girl wrote:
carlos55 wrote:
League_Girl wrote:
UK must be a scary place to live for people on the spectrum. I would hate to get locked up if I had a mental breakdown and had no family aupport. I wonder if you just need a simple diagnosis to be locked up.
Not quite locking up all mental health patients.
As far as I’m aware it’s those considered a risk to themselves or others.
Sad fact is autism sometimes causes aggression.
From what I can gather those who are locked up following a meltdown causing threatening or destructive behavior.
So probably parents calling 911 when their teen or 20 something son starts throwing the family tv across the room or grabs a knife.
Police and mental health units come out and it’s goodbye for a long time.
There is anti psychotic meds that limit aggression but they have horrible side effects which is why it’s sometimes a struggle to get schizophrenics to take their meds.
Truth is having an atypical brain can be far from beautiful a lot of the time.
Away from the silly ND blogs and YouTube videos being on the front end of severe autism as a victim or carer can be savage, cruel and brutal
Well if an autistic person is violent, I support them being locked up. Their families members shouldn't be getting abused or threatened by them. I pity families who have to deal with a violent kid. I had the privilge to stop being abusive when my mom told me she will send me away if I didn't stop. Honestly I wish the US did this. No one should be unsafe in their home.
We even lock up mentally ill people when they commit a crime.
The tragedy is sometimes it just comes with the territory.
More severe autisms cause violence and aggression sometimes where the person with it has limited control over their actions.
Even aspies can be violent and aggressive though with a bit more control over their actions.
I was never violent to my parents as I channeled my stress in different ways more internally maybe but I’ve read other aspies don’t.
_________________
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends upon the unreasonable man."
- George Bernie Shaw
Page 1 of 1 [ 9 posts ]
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