Lack of Adult Autism Facilities Separates Families In Scotland

Our autism heartache tells the story of the Browe family in Scotland that must travel 600 miles to visit their adult autistic son Darren in England because Scotland lacks specialist care facilities for autistic adults. The story describes the severity of the son's condition and the difficulties faced by traveling such distances to visit their son. Sometimes after traveling 600 miles they don't get to see him because he is having a bad day. The evening times report that such families are not unique in Scotland: "A UK autism charity says more than half the adults with autism in Scotland do not receive enough support to meet their needs and face having to move away like Darren."

The situation in Scotland is not unique to that country either. Here in New Brunswick, Canada, we are still exporting autistic adults to the United States because we do not have dedicated residential facilities for autistic adults and nothing suitable for severely autistic adults. We have placed an autistic youth on the grounds of a corrections facility simply because we have no facilities. An autistic adult has resided on the ward of a hospital in Saint John. Our province takes no action to address this need regardless which party is in power.

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Kaufman To Sell Son-Rise In Scotland

Scotland on Sunday reports that Raun Kaufman is off to Scotland to sell parents of autistic children on his Son-Rise program. The article quotes several voices urging caution with respect to Son-Rise and Mr. Kaufman's claim including Dr Richard Mills, director of independent charity Research Autism:

"Anecdotal reports of recovery are not evidence. There have been no independently conducted, peer-reviewed scientific trials of the Son-Rise method so we cannot recommend it to parents."


The MADSEC Autism Task Force Report (2000 Rev.) described Son-Rise as:


page 6:

• Without scientific evaluation of any kind: Greenspan’s DIR/”Floor Time,” Son-Rise.

page 54:

Discussion

There have been no peer-reviewed, published studies of The Son-Rise Program’s effectiveness or outcome statistics. Son Rise: The Miracle Continues chronicles the experiences of Barry and Samahria Lyte Kaufman as they created a program to meet the needs of their young son, diagnosed with autism and an IQ under 30. According the Kaufman (1997), their son currently has a near genius IQ, and no traces of his original condition.

Conclusions

There have been no studies of the Son-Rise Program’s effectiveness. Researchers should consider investigation using research protocols. Professionals considering Son-Rise should portray the method as without scientific evaluation of any kind, and should disclose this status to key decision makers influencing the child’s intervention.

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Autism Crisis In Scotland - Invisible Autistic Adults

In Scotland Lacks Autism Services I commented on an article on healthcarerepublic on July 6, 2007 and the lack of services for people with autism in Scotland. That article, Call to find autism early in Scotland, focused on guidelines published by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) calling on doctors to look for signs of autism in children and adolescents, including problems with social interaction and play, speech and behaviours. The article also expressed the doubt of many professionals in Scotland that early diagnosis would make much difference because of the lack of autism services available in Scotland.

In Revealed: ‘invisible’ adults living with autism, the Sunday Herald today reports, on an impending report by the National Autistic Society, the lack of services for autistic adults in Scotland, their dependency on family members for support and the isolation in which many spend their lives:

"Issues in the report include limited access to diagnosis, with 56% of those surveyed saying they found it hard to get their condition recognised. One adult said: "The GP did nothing. She didn't see any point in diagnosis for an adult."

But even after diagnosis many say they do not get the support they need. One participant in the survey commented: "I have had little or no support ever - my mother has done everything."

...

Bill Welsh, president of the Edinburgh-based Autism Treatment Trust, said the plight of many adults with autism had been "swept under the carpet", yet one child in 100 in the UK was diagnosed with the condition and the cost to society for each autistic child was estimated at £4 million. He added: "A major social, health and financial problem is upon us and urgent action is required."

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