.

Wow, this post frightens me, NAS9231.

That is THE worst thing that can happen for your son. The absolute worst.
You've just laid out how he has no family but you; what do you think it would do to his already fragile mental health if you, his only family and support, suddenly weren't there? The support of a social worker is an extremely poor substitute for the support of a parent. 

This is not the way to go about getting him help; in fact with no adult left to fight the system (which as you have rightly noticed is weighted against autistic people) for him he's more likely to get dropped by the wayside. 

Children's homes are another issue altogether if you're not there to look after him. They're underfunded, more often than we would like to think driven by what is cheapest rather than what is best for the children in their care and often house children with serious issues who could even end up being a danger to your son in their own right, especially as he is autistic and vulnerable. 


The NAS's autism helpline is a great resource and accessible on your lunch break by phone or anytime via the online enquiry form.

https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main/contact.aspx

They also run a 24-hour parent to parent service so you can access that support-group style help at a time that suits you https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/parent-to-parent.aspx 

And please get some help for yourself too, because you need to be helped out of this place of hopelessness and despair for your son's sake as well as your own. 
https://www.samaritans.org

I know it's incredibly rough and the system is grossly unfair, but his mum not being there is exactly what your son does not need.
Please call one or all of the numbers above.

Wow, this post frightens me, NAS9231.

That is THE worst thing that can happen for your son. The absolute worst.
You've just laid out how he has no family but you; what do you think it would do to his already fragile mental health if you, his only family and support, suddenly weren't there? The support of a social worker is an extremely poor substitute for the support of a parent. 

This is not the way to go about getting him help; in fact with no adult left to fight the system (which as you have rightly noticed is weighted against autistic people) for him he's more likely to get dropped by the wayside. 

Children's homes are another issue altogether if you're not there to look after him. They're underfunded, more often than we would like to think driven by what is cheapest rather than what is best for the children in their care and often house children with serious issues who could even end up being a danger to your son in their own right, especially as he is autistic and vulnerable. 


The NAS's autism helpline is a great resource and accessible on your lunch break by phone or anytime via the online enquiry form.

https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/main/contact.aspx

They also run a 24-hour parent to parent service so you can access that support-group style help at a time that suits you https://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/parent-to-parent.aspx 

And please get some help for yourself too, because you need to be helped out of this place of hopelessness and despair for your son's sake as well as your own. 
https://www.samaritans.org

I know it's incredibly rough and the system is grossly unfair, but his mum not being there is exactly what your son does not need.
Please call one or all of the numbers above.