Hi All,
But has anyone had any success in getting the DFG or having minor adaptions in the house.
I would need to have rails and prehaps a small wet area in my bathroom, as my current mental health and Autism are making it very difficult for me to currently use them plus there's damp which increases my anxiety further.
I would be assessed by an OT but my local council has trained their OTs in Autism yet, so there may be problems with this.
Anywho, any advice?
urspecial
I have now had a response from our council as follows:
"Thank you for your email. If you feel that the level of noise coming from your neighbours property is of an unacceptable level, which someone without a sensitivity to noise would also find unacceptable, Environmental Health can take action against those creating the noise pollution. If you would like advice or information from an Environmental Health Officer, you can telephone Environmental Health on...
With regard to the level of noise that you experience due to auditory sensitivity it is not always helpful to reduce the normal sounds of life by sound proofing a property as this can lead to increased sensitivity and exacerbate rather than improve the symptoms of the condition. Evidence suggests that the best form of intervention for this condition is 'treatment based on the notion of desensitization, where the sound intensity is increased from a low level gradually over time' and this treatment approach should be used in conjunction with Psychological input in the form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. With this in mind I would suggest that you seek further advice on dieselisation from your GP in the first instance."
Obviously this is not an acceptable response. Firstly, she missed my point, that many of the noises would not cause a problem for the average person, or at the most, an irritation. Secondly, I listed examples of the noise and as they are mainly day-to-day living noises, you cannot complain about those - what council on earth would take action against neighbours for talking, coughing, sneezing. The walls are too thin, as an ex-LA house it is therefore their fault anyway.
Thirdly, she is talking rot about desensitisation. Having lived all my life with AS and existed in society, being exposed to lots of noise, my auditory sensitivity has worsened, not got better. I think I know more than some random NT who has done a study, what I need. As they replied quickly to my email, no doubt other autistic people have asked for the same thing and they had this paragraph ready to copy and paste into emailed replies.
To my knowledge, noise desensitisation is not a therapy that the NHS provides anyway, and even if it were, for my children it is not a practical solution - plus I am in no way able to attend therapy at the moment.
Prolonged exposure to noise that is above comfort levels can lead to tinnitus, which is debilitating and anxiety causing - and incurable. My father suffered with this (I believe he was on the spectrum) and it caused him much distress. I don't want to end up with that.
I have made all the above points in my response to the council, informed them autistic people should not be discriminated against due to having a neurological disorder as opposed to e.g. a wheelchair-dependent condition and that autism is a legally recognised disability. I told them I will not be fobbed off and that I intend feeding into scrutiny panels on adult services regarding my experience of support for autism. I insisted they email me an application form.
I will update when I get a response.
PS I chuckled at "dieselisation" do you think my GP will know what that is if I ask for it!
I have now had a response from our council as follows:
"Thank you for your email. If you feel that the level of noise coming from your neighbours property is of an unacceptable level, which someone without a sensitivity to noise would also find unacceptable, Environmental Health can take action against those creating the noise pollution. If you would like advice or information from an Environmental Health Officer, you can telephone Environmental Health on...
With regard to the level of noise that you experience due to auditory sensitivity it is not always helpful to reduce the normal sounds of life by sound proofing a property as this can lead to increased sensitivity and exacerbate rather than improve the symptoms of the condition. Evidence suggests that the best form of intervention for this condition is 'treatment based on the notion of desensitization, where the sound intensity is increased from a low level gradually over time' and this treatment approach should be used in conjunction with Psychological input in the form of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. With this in mind I would suggest that you seek further advice on dieselisation from your GP in the first instance."
Obviously this is not an acceptable response. Firstly, she missed my point, that many of the noises would not cause a problem for the average person, or at the most, an irritation. Secondly, I listed examples of the noise and as they are mainly day-to-day living noises, you cannot complain about those - what council on earth would take action against neighbours for talking, coughing, sneezing. The walls are too thin, as an ex-LA house it is therefore their fault anyway.
Thirdly, she is talking rot about desensitisation. Having lived all my life with AS and existed in society, being exposed to lots of noise, my auditory sensitivity has worsened, not got better. I think I know more than some random NT who has done a study, what I need. As they replied quickly to my email, no doubt other autistic people have asked for the same thing and they had this paragraph ready to copy and paste into emailed replies.
To my knowledge, noise desensitisation is not a therapy that the NHS provides anyway, and even if it were, for my children it is not a practical solution - plus I am in no way able to attend therapy at the moment.
Prolonged exposure to noise that is above comfort levels can lead to tinnitus, which is debilitating and anxiety causing - and incurable. My father suffered with this (I believe he was on the spectrum) and it caused him much distress. I don't want to end up with that.
I have made all the above points in my response to the council, informed them autistic people should not be discriminated against due to having a neurological disorder as opposed to e.g. a wheelchair-dependent condition and that autism is a legally recognised disability. I told them I will not be fobbed off and that I intend feeding into scrutiny panels on adult services regarding my experience of support for autism. I insisted they email me an application form.
I will update when I get a response.
PS I chuckled at "dieselisation" do you think my GP will know what that is if I ask for it!
