My 13 year old son, James, has been experiencing increasing difficulties with social interaction & communication, particularly since his transition to mainstream secondary school in September 2013. He has been largely absent from school since March 2014, despite transferring to a special school in January, & has become increasingly withdrawn & isolated. At our last CAMHS session today, the psychiatrist told James (without prior indication to myself or my husband) that if the current situation did not improve within 2 to 3 weeks, she would refer him to an inpatient unit. She specifically stated she did not feel James was depressed & his difficulties were solely related to his ASD. Neither my husband nor I feel an inpatient environment would be appropriate for James & fear he would suffer further if he were taken out of the family home. We also feel the psychiatrist was using the prospect of an inpatient admission as almost a threat to ourselves & James, that if we did not sort things out, the matter would be taken out of our hands. Obviously we are deeply concerned. James was formally diagnosed with Autism last July & has not recieved any support or therapy thus far. He is on anti-anxiety medication & melatonin. He will not engage with the pscyhologist or psychiatrist at CAMHS, neither of whom are ASD specialists. We really feel that the CAMHS team do not know how best to help James or have his best interests in mind. We would be grateful for any advice or support you may be able to offer. Thank you.
