Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everyone I need advice on whether my nephew has been discriminated against under the Equalities Act 2010 or Auitsm Act 2009 by his local council. I did ask this on another genreal forum but felt no one really replied. So have signed up here to get some specialist advice.
My nephew suffers from autism, which causes meltdowns (anger outbursts) and self-harm in relation to sensory overload from noises.His support worker contacted the council's adult and social care team to request an occupational therapy assessment to establish if soundproofing could help reduce noise and provide a safe space to go when needed. All adaptations carried out in this council area if you are a tenant there are free and do not require an application for a disabled facilites grant. An OT called back from the council today and explained that because his needs arise from a sensory disability and not a physical one, the funding policy for the revenue budgetdoes not cover soundproofing or sensory issues.
I'm understanding that autistic people are protected under the Autism Act and the Equality Act 2010 from discrimination against their disability, regardless of whether it is physical or not.
Could anyone provide any insight as to whether this is true or if the Council has the legal right to decline an OT assessment?
A big thank you in advance to anyone who can help shed light on this situation.
Maybe your Council need persuading, typically, they are seeking fob you off. Perhaps you should point out to the Council that autism is not a mental disability, it is a physical disability of the mind.
In my long experience in dealing with the council on many noise and ASB issues long before my autism diagnosis long before Covid, you are simply wasting your time, as not only will the council try to tell you that your perception of excessive noise pollution and nuisance is deemed to be wrong in thier opinion, they will even try to take legal action against you for raising the issue and for making the complaint, on the grounds that the complaint is frivolous, libellous and slanderous (this is a particular problem with Leftist/Labour controlled councils) - save yourself the hassle and bother and just buy yourself a pair of noise cancelling headphones, as you will get nowhere with the council - and if you try to push it, they will involve the police to threaten you with arrest and to force you to drop the case, because if this happens, you will get nowhere in court - this has been my own personal experience