Croydon Care provider welcomes Human Rights report on treatment for young people with Autism
Croydon Care provider welcomes Human Rights report on treatment for young people with Autism
Croydon based specialised care provider, Frontier Support, has welcomed the findings of the recent Joint Committee on Human Rights report. The report examines the impact of being detained in mental health hospitals on young people with learning disabilities and/or Autism.
The findings condemn the “horrific reality” of the conditions under which these young people are detained. It also calls into question the treatment they receive in mental health hospitals, “inflicting terrible suffering on those detained and causing anguish to their distraught families”
Frontier Support provides imaginative, specialist care and support to people with a variety of needs. These include Learning Disabilities, Autism, Aspergers, Epilepsy, Mental & Physical Health issues and Challenging Behaviour.
Frontier Support’s CEO, Tony Piercy, said: “The report contains a great deal of distressing witness testimony about how young people have been detained, often miles from home and family. Unsurprisingly, their behaviour then escalates and is often met with physical restraint and/or solitary confinement.
“At Frontier, we support people with very challenging behaviour every day. Except we do it in homes of their own as part of a supported living programme. Many of the people we support actually moved from these hospitals directly into their own homes. And we (and their families) quickly see tangible differences in their behaviours and their enjoyment of day to day life.
No physical intervention
“It’s extremely sad to still be hearing about restraint and isolation. We have a no physical intervention policy and find creative ways to support vulnerable people. That might mean changes to their environment to reflect their sensory needs – one lady struggles with bright or multiple colours so our team dress accordingly and her home decor is deliberately muted. We also use positive risk taking strategies to give people control of their lives – a gentleman who transitioned to us from an institution like those in the report, was used to being kept behind a locked door but now lives without any restrictions to his liberty.
“Yes, these things require thought, planning and continuous assessment. But the results speak for themselves.”
Person centred care
Frontier Support believes that person centred care – with the greatest regard for the individual’s choices, abilities and wishes – is the way forward. The company aims to help people to live as active and socially inclusive lives as possible. This extends to recruiting staff with similar interests to the people they support. A recent recruitment campaign searched for people interested in reggae, wrestling or rapping!