Published on 12, July, 2020
My Son is 23 and was diagnosed with autism when he was in secondary school.
He moved into his own flat through Covid with help from carers 2 hours a day. They were supposed to get him out of the flat and help him with the day to day things like cleaning teeth and showering, learning to cook etc. However they just turned up and asked what he wanted to do, he shrugged his shoulders and they left after half hour.
For over a year now he has had no support at all, he literally comes out on a Saturday to go out for tea with me, i work full time so cant be there all the time. He spends the rest of the time in his flat playing on his Playstation.
I spoke with him a couple of months ago about maybe trying to go back to college and he went to an open day which was overwhelming for him with people he didn't know and very crowded. This situation gives him anxiety, he wants to try do something as he has told me a couple of weeks ago that he is worried about his future and this upset him.
I have tried to see what help he can get but i am not getting anywhere, he used to have a great social worker before covid but them he left and through covid his new social worker made commitments but failed to commit to them. She saw him once in 3 years and kept cancelling, then due to him no longer having carers in due to us paying for them not doing anything she signed him off leaving us with no help at all.
Sorry for the long introduction but i am now at my wits end and hoping somebody on here may have a few answers for me. I hate to see my son so unhappy. He needs to learn life skills and maybe find groups that he can attend slowly to meet others. He likes to know what is happening before he can do anything, not knowing will mean he wont do it.
Thanks to anyone who can give any advice
Could supported living be any help? I've known many people with various disabilities who struggle on their own but supported living even as a temporary measure has helped as you get support from someone who checks in regularly and finds you help to do activity that will help you be more independent and confident
It may or may not be a help to your son but perhaps something to look into as an option
It definitely sounds like he would do with help from a support worker who will take the time and not just give up
Forget that bro. I have been there done it supported living sucks more than living alone with no support.
It depends on the situation .. from what I've seen your probably correct unless the person is not wanting to live alone or has no family
It's not a situation I'd like as I'm guessing from your response it can be bad ... I live in a flat my self and despite people saying flats are great I disagree ... you can hear neighbkurs all the time they lime to interfere and they do t Carr also you lose plenty of your private space
I would assume a HMO/supported living must be worse but again it's something that would need full research and consideration not something I'd jump into st all but if it's worse than it seems I wouldn't know as it not something I'd consider my self i like my own space