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3000 LIVES CAMPAIGN

what makes Mathew tck. For example, had led to his crisis and consequent
a few weeks afer Mathew had lef the sectoning. All the professionals involved
ATU the staf from his new home took acknowledged that Mathew’s was not an
him to the beach because they knew he isolated case. It concluded that ‘a crisis
loved the sea. He has a highly structured could have been predicted and potentally
and predictable day that reduces his prevented.’ The report identfed ‘missed
latent anxiety. His days are packed with opportunites’ that pointed to a
meaningful actvites, such as walking the complete failure in joint working and
therapy dogs, buying his own clothes, communicaton between Educaton,
organising his house ’Film Night’, playing Social Care and Health Services.
football and looking afer horses. He has It identfed ’lessons to be learnt’
just started a voluntary job at the local within each service, urging that every
football league club and has enrolled for professional and organisaton
the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. Afer a involved in Mathew’s care should
busy day, the low-arousal environment of refect on their role.
his home is reassuringly personalised but
also calming to his senses. ’Early interventon’ has long been an
educaton buzz-word. Sadly, Alistair Burt’s
Mathew’s medical treatment is Case Review identfed – as for so many
overseen, as an outpatent, by a specialist other children with autsm – that
psychiatric team. His complex profle of Mathew’s journey throughout the
co-morbidites have been diagnosed and educaton system was riddled with
the underlying cause treated. Mathew is obstacles. The case review spoke of
no longer prescribed any ant-psychotc the SEN department’s and mainstream
medicaton at all – only ant-anxiety oral school’s ‘adversarial approach’, and that’s
medicaton. This level of care of course exactly how it felt to us as parents, as
does not come cheap. However, it is we won a series of tribunal batles to get
cheaper than the eye-wateringly Mathew assessed and have a statement
expensive ATU, and a far more efectve issued, and batled to fnd a mainstream
use of funds, with real outcomes. school prepared to take him. By the
Such costs could potentally have been tme Mathew was eight, no mainstream
avoided entrely if Mathew had not school could meet his needs. A lack of
reached a crisis point in the frst place. in-borough specialist autsm provision he reached crisis point. It is hard to know
meant that Mathew ended up in an out why this was. One professional suggested
Thanks to Mathew’s campaign gaining a of borough residental placement. that we were turned away because of
great deal of public and media support, misconceptons that verbal children
Social Care Minister Alistair Burt BREAKDOWNS cannot be severely afected by their
commissioned a case review into what According to the case review mainstream autsm. Another suggested a percepton
school professionals and Lambeth SEN that middle class parents could aford to
Department should have accepted health pay for their own respite – if true,
professionals’ assessments and read the an unacceptable and inaccurate value
documentaton. They were critcised for judgement. Social services failed in their
not acknowledging, understanding and duty to assess the individual needs of the
providing for Mathew’s needs. child and to provide adequately for
Our experience of the educaton system those needs.
was of placement breakdowns, multple
exclusions, long delays and incredibly Mathew is one of the (relatvely) lucky
slow responses. The LEA agreed ones – he had parents who could fght his
Mathew needed a specialist setng, corner. There are many who don’t.
but was unable to ofer a suitable Please do not lose sight of them.
placement. Poor communicaton between As Christne Lenehan (1) made clear,
educaton, health and social care meant these are your children too, we all need to
that Mathew was not known to local keep up the fght to enable all young
services and did not receive a Care and people to have their needs properly met
Treatment Review untl six months afer early on and not to wait for a crisis to
he was sectoned. happen and all the trauma that goes
with it.
Social Care did not acknowledge our
Within 24 hours of leaving the ATU,
Mathew was out in the community. He is requests for help untl it was too late,
no longer contained, no longer restrained, despite a diagnosis that Mathew was 1. Christne Lenehan, (2017)
no longer secluded and no longer forcibly ‘severely afected’ by his autsm, with all These are our Children, DoH
injected with ant-psychotc medicaton. the functonal implicatons this carried. htps://www.gov.uk/government/up-
He is safe, happy, healthy and learning. Mathew was not even registered with loads/system/uploads/atachment_data/
the Children with Disabilites Team untl fle/585376/Lenehan_Review_Report.pdf
www.cl-initatves.co.uk Community Living Vol 31 No 2 | Winter 2017 13