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News › Mental health authorities 'no help to autistic teens'
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Mental health authorities 'no help to autistic teens'
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Posted by sylvia on Monday, August 03, 2009 (17:44:41)
Adelaidenow By ANDREW DOWDELL
SUICIDAL autistic teens are locked up in detention centres or released unsupervised because the system does not regard them as mentally disabled, a court has heard.
Coroner Mark Johns today opened an inquest into the hanging death of 18-year old Asperger's Syndrome sufferer Rowan Wheaton, who died at a residential care facility in April, 2006.
His father, Simon Wheaton, yesterday told the court he was staggered to find out that the health system did not regard autism sufferers as disabled.
"In South Australia if you are only diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder you are not regarded as having a mental disability and therefore you are excluded from funding and access to organisations," Mr Wheaton said.
Mr Wheaton said the family waged a lengthy and frustrating battle to obtain care for their son as his obsessive and suicidal behaviour worsened in early 2005.
"We were worried for Rowan's own safety and for the safety of others ... I didn't want to see another Port Arthur massacre situation occurring," Mr Wheaton said.
"We took him to Flinders Medical Centre because we weren't aware of any facility for autistic people in this state and it turned out we were right, there was none," he said.
After a lengthy battle with red tape, the Wheatons negotiated a spot for their son in a secure ward at the Women's and Children's Hospital - but said staff were resentful about his presence.
"We were threatened on more than one occasion that Rowan would be thrown out on the street if we didn't come and pick him up," Mr Wheaton said.
"It was a blackmail situation, but we were aware of other situations where they actually did it. It wasn't just a bluff."
Mr Wheaton said he met numerous other families who had suffered "terrible experiences" in trying to get help.
"Other parents had had their children placed into juvenile detention, not because they should have been there but because there was nowhere else to go," Mr Wheaton said.
In late 2005, Rowan was admitted to a residential care facility at Christies Beach, run by an organisation known as Southern Youth Junction.
The teenager hanged himself with a sock at the home on April 21, 2006, after his release from six weeks on suicide watch in the Flinders Medical Centre.
Mr Wheaton said he had been worried that the single carer employed at the home would not be able to properly monitor his son.
"To this day, I regret being too worn out to have kicked up sufficient fuss to have something done before it was too late," Mr Wheaton said.
Mr Wheaton said carers for autistic people were underpaid and often worked outside hours to help their clients.
The inquest is continuing.
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Posted by sylvia on Monday, August 03, 2009 (17:44:41) (909 reads)
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