Liz kendall cruel autism / afhd

BrainfartsHere
BrainfartsHere Online Community Member Posts: 37 Connected
in Autism and neurodiversity

Is it true Liz Kendall wants those with autism/ ADHD aged 18-24 either in work or education by April.?.Absolutely worried sick ..Being disabled my self ..My almost 24 Yr old lives at home ,has autism, coupled with anxiety, depression and self harm ,which has ceased for now..This pressure could send her into meltdown .What will they stop their monies ? ..She was bullied for over a yr ..police were involved ..It broke her 💔 Why are they not helping those with autism etc

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  • luvpink
    luvpink Online Community Member Posts: 1,999 Championing

    Liz kendall cruel autism / afhd

    BrainfartsHere

    Hi we will know what the government plans are tomorrow.

  • BrainfartsHere
    BrainfartsHere Online Community Member Posts: 37 Connected

    We know that..but this is cruel beyond belief if true

  • luvpink
    luvpink Online Community Member Posts: 1,999 Championing

    Yes I know.

    You would get more information and advise if you post on the main benefits thread at the top of page one.

  • anisty
    anisty Online Community Member Posts: 820 Trailblazing

    Autism is a spectrum. At one end of the scale are autistic people who are non verbal and who have behaviours which can be need 1:1 handling. They need help 24/7.

    I really don't think Liz Kendall or anyone else is ever going to cut off support for these autistic people.

    At the other end of the spectrum, there are people who manage to work full time all their lives and earn a good living - Sandi Tosvig, Chris Packham to name 2 of many well known people living with autism who i very much doubt claim pip.

    And then in between the 2 extremes is the remainder of the autistic population. I don't know your daughter so i will talk about mine. Especially as my daughter probably fits the category Liz Kendall is wanting to target.

    Diagnosed with autism after an awful time in high school and then an overdose at 16.

    My daughter, however, is cognitively able. She could not thrive in a large high school with all the social pressures of that but, for her, her overdose was her hitting crisis point and autistic burnout.

    Had we kept her at school and tried to route her onto university, i have no doubt she would have lunged from one MH crisis to another but we took her out of school and, for the past year she has been on a theatre course at college just 3 days each week.

    She is so much happier, planning for the future and there's no reason that she shouldn't be able to find work in future and an independent life.

    I have a son aged 26 who is also autistic, double enhanced PIP and was LCWRA group. When i read his medical report for LCWRA he was only 21 and i found it pretty upsetting that no one was going to help him find work.

    So i found some for him myself. He has 2 voluntary jobs and 6 hours/week paid supported employment. He does have a learning disability and will need help all his life but his confidence has soared through his work. He can have longer conversational exchanges and has learned how to work the coffee machine! Took 5 years, but still!

    And i have another son who is not diagnosed with autism or adhd but likely has both. He does have periods of depression and is on anti depressants. He went through a period of lying in bed most of the day and sleeping all funny hours. Not healthy at all. He was losing confidence so i got him into voluntary work to start with and now he is in full time paid and doing loads better.

    Only my son in supported employment is on benefits.

    Many, many people with autism can work and have so much to offer. And of course PIP is an in-work benefit. When autistic people have the opportunity to try work in a properly supported environment that is not overwhelming, their confidence increases as they learn new skills.

    Having autism doesn't mean you can never have the opportunity to work and need to stay home isolated.

    It's not money that helps autism in itself. It's getting support to learn the skills that build independence. That then reduces pressure on the individual and mental health can improve.

    Work can actually be the support, especially for young people like your daughter. When she's in a better place mentally, she might try some voluntary work to start with and it could really help. Work does not need to be full time or difficult to travel to. Just an hour or two once or twice a week can really be great for young people's social skills.

  • MW123
    MW123 Scope Member Posts: 1,135 Championing

    @anisty

    Autism is a spectrum, and everyone’s needs are different. It’s wonderful to hear about the progress your children have made, especially your son’s confidence through work. For many, with the right support, work or education can be a huge boost to independence and well-being. It’s all about gradual steps and finding what works for each individual. While not every journey is the same, your story will undoubtedly inspire hope in many parents that their children, too, can find paths to fulfilment and independence.

  • Catherine21
    Catherine21 Posts: 5,577 Championing
    anisty

    Your children are very very lucky they have you now imagine parents that don't encourage you laugh and belittle you call you miss piggy who will amount to noting let you stay out all hours and don't worry for you welfare from the age of three my mum taught me to call my dad fat pig I was always the one they picked on to distract from punch ups between themselves drinking having friends over getting drunk saying where's miss piggy she in bed making pig noises first OD I took I was 12ish put in care then another story begins having to become street wise masking to fit in I remember when going to school on the way I'd hide in bushes I couldn't face it not understanding I was autistic from such a young age masking trying to fit in labelled a trouble maker left school everyone getting jobs and me trying I'd be in and out of jobs as you could then so many jobs the only time I held down a job for a few years was when I was married he was a bully but I was secretly drinking to cope could go on undiagnosed autism has ruined my life yes if I had love and encouragement I could of amounted to many things I'm 53 tired I'm safe at home if they push me I'm really scared of the person I become when pushed to the brink labour doesn't care when trauma is so deep rooted it needs an exorcism all this talk and plans of get britain working has made me look deep I really don't have the capacity I really don't people are like get a cleaning job they just don't get it to walk out ny door would be like entering the twilight zone days I'm meant to go in I will hide in bed my brain is not wired for the social structure of society

  • MW123
    MW123 Scope Member Posts: 1,135 Championing
    Catherine21

    I understand your perspective, but I think today’s reforms are actually about helping people avoid feeling like you do in middle age. The goal is to support individuals, particularly younger ones, to build their confidence and find pathways to work or greater independence.

    It's about giving people the tools and resources they need to thrive, instead of feeling left behind. With the right support, the aim is for people to feel empowered and not stuck in the difficult situation you face today, because sadly, you didn’t get the support and help you needed earlier in life.

    Hopefully, younger people who want to try these schemes will end up with their own money and, eventually, a financially secure future, not stuck waiting for a government to decide their financial fate, but having control over their own lives.

    I am certainly not sticking up for this government, but I truly believe it is better and cheaper to invest in children and young adults than to bear the cost of trying to fix broken adults who, sadly, are sometimes beyond repair.

  • Catherine21
    Catherine21 Posts: 5,577 Championing
    MW123

    When you look internally and know you won't make it I can mask but it doesn't last long I really hate being like this I really do

  • anisty
    anisty Online Community Member Posts: 820 Trailblazing

    I hear you @Catherine21 and, yes, of course it does make a big difference that my kids have me. Not only am i not disabled myself, I'm also a trained speech and language therapist (though i have not done that for many years now) and that helped me fight for my kids through the school system.

    I haven't suffered the trauma you suffered and am very fortunate in being mentally stable and well.

    But i do have some insight into your suffering as i intimated to you on another thread - i was brought up in domestic violence but, fortunately, my dad worked away for months at a time so we did have long, settled periods with my Mum who was excellent and then awful times when my Dad was home.

    Some similarities to your situation - my dad used to get my brother and me to move furniture behind the living room door to block my mum out and call her names - lot of food thrown up the walls. Dad a heavy drinker, lost work and driving licence.

    As you know, my mum was a suicide when i was 20. I was very fortunate in being quite astute and, in those days, there were higher education grants (not loans) and i managed to get away and make a new life.

    Then, i had a baby at 26 and that's what caused me to have that bad psychosis that needed ECT. I on a psychiatric unit for a month with all kinds of psychiatric illnesses.

    And i do totally remember what it was like to be psychotic!

    My brother was 18 when my mum died and didn't fare so well - homeless most of his life. I should think he is dead by now. I haven't seen him since the mid 90s but he was alive during the pandemic still in a tent and bad health. He will be 56 now. He is almost certainly autistic and started to attract the attention of the Police in his teens. He was in and out of psychiatric units in his 20s with multiple overdoses.

    I shouldn't think he's fit for much work, wherever he is!

    Childhood trauma is life lasting for sure. In my case, it seems to have given me a determination and resilience that's seen me through a few tough times. But it broke my brother.

    I'm sorry it has had such a devastating impact on your life too, and hope you do have some happy times. You know, i do believe that inside every one of us is strength and character that can do incredible things. People do come through the most desperate of circumstances and go on to find joy in life.

    @MW123. I agree with you. It's tragic what's happening to young people. Poverty, education, the pandemic - all these factors have had an impact. But, many, many disabled and poorly young people could be doing something.

    And, if they are too poorly to do anything right now, they can have hope that they can go on to do things in the future.

  • Catherine21
    Catherine21 Posts: 5,577 Championing

    Anisty why no I take my hat off to you for being an amazing mum you have overcome so many obstacles I think I've sat and vestered over the years no way criticism of you I think I've done alot of looking inwards at myself my life with all this change opened some wounds so sorry if I seem defensive it's not meant I have much respect for you x

  • anisty
    anisty Online Community Member Posts: 820 Trailblazing

    Not at all @Catherine21 - i owe my stability to being a bit older than my brother and being a girl. And my Mum was mentally sound too so i did have lots of very 'normal' experiences in my childhood. We lived in the same house right through and i went to the same primary and same secondary.

    My mum had come from a very poor working class family but had had the benefit of passing the 11+ and going to grammar school. She was a nurse before marrying my Dad.

    So she was very pro-education and i did have the benefit of growing up with lots of books in our house.

    There's no doubt it's all that time spent with my Mum in those early years that set me up for life.

    And Church!! Lol i'm not religious at all really now as in i don't go to church or anything but my Mum used to put us to Sunday School and church things to get us out of the house when my Dad was home and i really, really did believe God was looking over me.

    In fact, i always have had a feeling i am guided in life and i'm sure it must come from all that early messaging. I went to a church school too and really prayed hard that things would get better at home.

    My mum started suffering a lot of abdominal pain when i was 14 i think. She was back and forth to the doctor, hospital etc but they said it was psychosomatic. She made a very rational decision to end her life. It was more like euthanasia really as she chatted it all through very sensibly and she really had explored all options trying to get rid of the pain. She was fed up with her life but didn't have clinical depression or any mood disorder.

    She had a theory my dad was slowly poisoning her and i think her theory held more than a bit of water as, funnily, she started to feel this pain just as she was getting back out to work to get money together to leave my Dad.

    He didn't want to lose ½ the value of our house so had refused a divorce.

    Honestly, my life was pretty crazy really - how i turned out so normal i really don't know😂

    But i think it's down to me being bonded well with a good Mum who had my best interests at heart.

    And i haven't done anything totally amazing in my life. I became a self employed childminder which worked well for me and fitted in with my kids. But i'm very ordinary now really.

  • BrainfartsHere
    BrainfartsHere Online Community Member Posts: 37 Connected

    They aren't including autism,mental health in the pip so far..hopefully next week ,the white paper,will be more clear on who can't claim pip ..Bit it seems if you don't get pip ,you don't keep your health element..Therefore labelled unemployed..After seeing liz kendall saying in the express " the young unemployed will be pushed to join the army" its not looking good..I was a mental health nurse for yrs ..Mother of five 23,37,40,44,47 nan to three 18,20,25..My disability is neurological and has progressed faster..As I've said my oldest two sons have had serious accidents..One paralysed, other broken neck..My oldest daughter 37 has autism, dyspraxia ..She gets a job walks out ..My youngest as mentioned autism,Depression, anxiety and self harm(which broke my heart) removing their health element, as they've suggested no claim for pip ,no health element..Shes on LCWRA as a risk also.So will likely lose that...they keep saying support will be given.What support ?.They've rushed this plan with no consideration ,no impact assessment. It's all very concerning

  • BrainfartsHere
    BrainfartsHere Online Community Member Posts: 37 Connected

    I forgot to add My oldest granddaughter & grandson have autism and dyspraxia

  • Andi66
    Andi66 Online Community Member Posts: 916 Championing

    So why aren't mobility included in this point .

  • BrainfartsHere
    BrainfartsHere Online Community Member Posts: 37 Connected

    @anisty my youngest daughter as I mentioned has autism, depression and crippling anxiety, self harms ..That's not something you mention ..My youngest was a high achiever and a good job until the brutal bullying .I wont explain all here . At no point have I said autism was an excuse not to work,although some can't ..All five of my children 23,37,40,44,47 work and have worked good jobs..The older sons as I've said had serious accidents resulting in one being paralysed, he's had grade 4 pressure areas, so is on an air bed most of the day..He's also been diagnosed with parkinsons recently..My son with the broken neck has two 4 inch screws holding his head on ..The odontoid peg on C2 shattered and C1 was in three pieces..He's a high risk and unemployable Insurance won't cover him ..Well done for all you've achieved..Let's hope the support for autism continues ..as it doesn't look good with them already saying autism will be refused pip ..No pip looks like we lose our disability elements..let's hope this doesn't get passed ,and disabled are finally protected and left alone

  • Fuji
    Fuji Online Community Member Posts: 108 Empowering

    https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/news/our-response-to-the-government-s-proposed-changes

    Looks like the national autistic society are going to fight it. Will see if the government actually listen to them.

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