I am in desperate need of advice. My son (20) is being detained under section 3 of the mental health act. He was suffering from paranoia / psychosis, believed to have been caused by heavy cannabis use since age 15. He has recently been diagnosed with ASD/Aspergers and believes that antipsychotics will damage his brain permanently. He has spent 10 days in seclusion and now is facing 3 criminal assault charges (2x common assault and 1x ABH) for attacking the 3 people who forcibly injected the medication (at the moment the restraint was withdrawn). For the last 3 weeks he has had no further medication, but the dr wants to medicate, saying that the paranoia is still there. I disagree with this, and believe that what is being described as paranoia can easily be explained by entrenched black and white thinking caused by ASD. Can I prove this somehow?My son has said he will attack again if he's given medication. At this rate he will come out of hospital with a long string of convictions. How can this progress? Is ASD a defence? Does the hospital have a duty to stop him being able to attack given the high risk of him doing so? He is so stressed and anxious, which is making everything so much worse.
This is my first question on this forum/website, as although I have known for ages that A had ASD, he has not wanted a diagnosis. It's only since he's been in hospital that I have managed to make this happen (since the assaults and time in seclusion).
Any advice would be very much appreciated. It feels like my world has collapsed. Thank you
