Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi am an adult with high functioning autism
Am been bullied by the neighbors they also tried to use physical violence they have been telling lies about me and incited hatred they have invaded my space. I have children and they displayed aggression towards them. They vandalized my car and van costing thousands of pounds. They keep on provoking me and then they start to film me. Although I have told the Authorities and they know I have been diagnosed with Autism they have shown no interest at all I have had no help at all so these bullies are now very confident. I have found lots of web sites with information about autism and bulling but there does not seem to be any direct intervention to stop the discrimination and persecution and bulling. Does any one have any ideas
Are there any factors making the situation harder to address?
I've sat on both equality and local community groups and even chaired one for some years. On these I've heard the different points of view of police, social workers and councillors about problem areas.
So first of all are you living on an estate to which difficult tenants are moved, or where there are regular issues of crime, anti-social behaviour, or high unemployment or large numbers of malcontents etc.? Because in those areas protection of vulnerable people seems to fall down badly.
It is quite common for special needs housing to be inside problem housing areas - simply because if councils try to put special needs housing in better residential areas the NIMBY (not in my back yard) lobby makes it impossible. So you often get flats or small unit housing for disabled in the worst possible of locations.
It depends really on the character of the council and social services and police in your area.
As IntenseWorld has suggested, the police hate crimes unit is your first port of call. However they vary, and some forces really do not address this properly. What you are describing is hate crime, within the letter of the law the police must prevent it and prosecute offenders, but the grim reality is some will make endless excuses for not doing so. The usual one is that the perpetrators are not committing a crime the police can act on, or they cannot act without witnesses, or various other fibs.
Kep a record of what is going on. You may need the detailed case history to get this resolved. You will then need to give times, dates, details of what happened and what was said. If there are witnesses record who these were. They may not be willing to be winesses but if they turned a blind eye, and it comes to court action that could be to your advantage.
Even if the local hate crimes officer is useless, report every incident and get an incident number every time (an official reference number including the date which the police are obliged in law to provide, whether or not they think a crime has been committed). Report the incidents to the hate crimes division rather than the general incident line. Also if there is a disability action group in your area, report the incidents to them - they may have an advocacy officer who can act.
Is there an autism group (parents group, NAS group etc) in your area? Involve them. It gives them ammunition as well.
Is there a community action group, neighbourhood watch, or something of the sort in your locality. The local library will know. They might not be being helpful, but involving them puts them on the spot. Find your local councillors, both district and county (they will be listed with contact details on your council's website). Get them involved.
How do these neighbours know you have autism? In situations like this you sometimes find that social services or police have been indiscrete, or even quite openly gossipy - you know there's a weirdo two doors down..... It might sound horrific, but it really does happen.
This has cropped up many times when problem families are rehoused in a new area for a fresh start. Invariably some official in the system will pass the word round. This really does happen - a lot. It is not a nice world out there.
On the other hand you must try to avoid drawing attention to the fact yourself. The feebler police forces will try to use it against you that you "asked for" the attention. It isn't so in law, but if you have a rubbish police force in your area, that's one of the excuses they'll come up with.
This business of filming you worries me. Are they filming you when your children are present? You cannot actually photograph or film people without their consent, and this has been an issues when communities have tried to deal with antisocial elements by filming it, because it is a contravention of the rights of the individual filmed - this despite the fact the police often instigate this directly by saying people need proof. You can have security cameras on your property but they must not intrude on other people's privacy.
So I do need to ask why they are filming you? It might be to intimidate, but it might be that your reactions give them ammunition against you. So do be careful they aren't getting something they think they can use against you on film.
However if they are filming you without your consent, and especially if your children are present, they are the ones breaking the law.
The last point is that communities will try to remove any undesirables. If the community you are in thinks your autism is a threat, they will try to remove you and your family.
It is what this government seems not to understand regarding disabled people not working and claiming benefits - its not whether or not people are willing to work, but whether they are allowed to work, or their jobs made difficult, by bullying and ostracisation that the Disability Discrimination Act doesn't cover. It is the same with residential neighbourhoods. They will react against having anyone living near them with any kind of mental health issue.
It may be appalling, but its the nature of "our" society.