Autistic adults are “not being treated like human beings” in a “disgraceful” system lacking support, local parents have claimed.
Families in Fife and Dundee say years of cuts have left them dealing alone with often challenging and aggressive behaviour, without help from social services.
One family told The Courier their lives were left in a state of daily chaos after waiting almost three weeks for emergency respite.
The situation became so bad the mother was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
Another parent who lives in Tayport in Fife, said she feels the system is completely broken and worries there is no safety net for her and her 21-year-old autistic son.
She said: “No one will do anything unless things are at crisis point. I feel like I would have to drop dead or for my son to be seriously harmed for anyone to care.
“Over the years support from Fife social workers has shrunk to non-existent due to a cut in funding, I believe.
“In the past social workers had been able to point to some third party organisations who were sometimes able to help in one day or another which have also shrunk considerably.”
Many say services dry up when youngsters turn 18, causing symptoms to flare-ups from a lack of focus or routine.
When parents struggle to control aggressive and challenging behaviour, they are left “suffocated and alone”, according to one Dundee mother with a 21-year-old autistic son.
She said: “I ended up in the Murray Royal (Perth psychiatric hospital) for four nights because the council just wouldn’t help.
“I felt so guilty leaving my adult daughter to deal with it but all I needed was a rest.
“It was so bad that I feared someone could get physically hurt.
“My son was lashing out. It was like he was possessed by a demon, I’d never seen him like that. The police and an ambulance had to come to the house. It was horrendous.
“It took 19 days before he was finally taken to stay somewhere so I could get emergency respite. That is disgraceful.
“They said he could be taken to Carseview (mental health unit at Ninewells Hospital) but he has the mind of a child, he wouldn’t cope somewhere like that.”
She added the “amazing” charity The Inclusion Group stepped in to provide respite when Dundee City Council would not.
She said she complained three weeks ago to the local authority about the time taken but is yet to hear back.
Another Dundee woman said her son, also 21, has not had a social worker assigned for the last seven months.
“I’m sick of banging my head against a brick wall. It’s things that should be automatic.
“He’s a human being but it doesn’t feel like he’s being treated like one. We have no way of knowing if it’s ever going to get any better.”
Dorry McLaughlin, CEO at charity Scottish Autism, echoed the concerns.
She said: “The lack of services available to support autistic adults, which is even more acute during this pandemic, has been an ongoing issue which needs to be addressed.
“Whilst there is support available for autistic children across Scotland this tends to drop sharply once they reach adulthood.
“While organisations like ours are investing in additional adult services, we have limited resources and are currently unable to provide the level of support autistic adults frequently ask us to.
“With local authorities facing severe financial constraint going forward, we are really concerned this will create even more barriers to providing better adult services.”
A Dundee Health and Social Care (HSCP) spokesperson said: “We have been working in line with Scottish Government Guidance throughout this pandemic.
“We have kept in contact with people who are not receiving their usual services due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and have utilised new and innovate ways to support some of the most vulnerable people in the city.
“It would be inappropriate to comment on any individual circumstances, however we would encourage anyone with concerns to contact us directly.”
David Heaney, divisional general manager at Fife HSCP said: “While we do not comment on individual cases, throughout this pandemic we have continued to provide an initial service to those people who are not known to social work services.
“For those people known to the service, we have ensured all service users and carers understand that if there is an immediate risk of harm to the service user or carer, appropriate support is offered, if this is not already in place.”
