Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi , finally my 17 yr old has been diagnosed.
ASD with low processing and understanding. Diagnosed at Great Ormand Street. They say son needs to be referred to Youth offending team . anyone know what they do ?
Also I think although son looks like he can understand and deal with issues such as health and money ,he can’t and I was wondering how I keep being his legal parent beyond 18 yrs . So I get included in anything that involves my son ? please could someone advice what is required and how to do it ? huge thanks.
One would assume that youth offending teams relate to criminality of some sort - but that’s not a medical referral so I am a little perplexed on that one unless I’m totally misunderstanding this.
As for power of attorney, it’s a tricky one as at very least you’d need one or more letters from professionals recommending this on the basis that your child lacks the capacity to safely make decisions for themselves on money etc. Without that I doubt banks would agree because there needs to be some burden of proof to satisfy them. I would however say to be careful that you don’t stifle too much of their independence as at some stage, without being morbid, you won’t be around to manage money etc - so I wouldn’t recommend this as a long term solution.
Thank you for reply. My son has been used by local **** (can’t think of suitable term !) kids to shop lift and hold onto a knife and drugs in order to make friends and not understanding the position he was in and unable to communicate through fear of all they promised to do to him if he told.
He also had a moment with a young lady that became uncomfortable as he did not understand go away, he followed her more to find out why !
the police said next time regardless of ASD he will be treated as an adult, which scares me to death as I guess he’s mentally around 8 . Hence youth offending team.
Contrary to what the police say, whilst the courts can try a youth as an adult the police don’t have that jurisdiction - there are obligations they must follow (PACE guidelines) and if they don’t they can render an entire case null and void through not following due process as a conviction would be deemed unsafe and thrown out of court. This includes ensuring that an appropriate adult (usually a family member) is appointed and present at all key parts of a child’s time in custody - the role of the appropriate adult is to ensure that the person in custody understands what is happening and understands their rights etc and to raise concerns if they feel a person is being manipulated by the authorities. Critically and this is really relevant if anything happens with your son after he turns 18, any person who exhibits a mental illness or limited capacity to understand what is going on must also be appointed an appropriate adult, and given your sons diagnosis if they failed to do this you’d have a strong case to get any charges thrown out of court. This is all part of the PACE guidelines. So saying he will be dealt with as an adult is wrong and if it happened in the last 12 months I strongly suggest you submit a complaint - in part to have the officer held to account but also to evidence the sort of threats they have made to your son.
Anyone under 18 must be dealt with by support agencies as a youth as until they are 18 they are legally defined as a child. Beyond 18 to 21 they are still dealt with as young offenders in most instances rather than being subject to adult prison. However this said, whether a court chooses to try someone as a youth or adult in this window is subjective. Sadly autism isn’t really considered much in terms of mitigation unless a report produced for court by a professional which essentially states that he lacked the mental comprehension to understand his actions, however the only charge with which courts have to legally consider diminished responsibility is murder, for all other offences it is very much optional although a judge should give it some weight - it’s an absolute travesty that courts can say and do this and it means a disproportionate number of people with autism can end up behind bars due to either being manipulated by others through their condition or through criminality linked to how they manage their condition. I think it’s important therefore that he engages with professionals and collectively you find a way to turn this around so the young offenders team could be helpful but I think you need him also to understand the harsh realities of what could happen if he gets I. With the wrong crowd again.
As for the power of attorney - it may be worth contacting the bank he is with and asking a generic question about what they need in order to give you that, or if indeed they can.
Good call - I’m sorry if it scared you, I’m just trying to be as open and honest as I can about the situation.