An Inverness woman who campaigns for better support for children with autism now claims a council is failing her vulnerable nephew because he is in limbo between child and adult services.
Sylvia Mackenzie took Lewis Maclean into her Culloden home in January after he left his home in Forres due to difficult family circumstances, following the death of his mother in October last year.
The 17-year-old was diagnosed with ADHD and autism about three years ago but went through much of school without the support he needed.
Mrs Mackenzie has been pleading for weeks with Highland Council’s care and learning team for a support worker for him to help with choices about housing and employment training opportunities.
A council spokeswoman said they could not comment on individual circumstances but that their care and learning service “works with families through ongoing discussion to identify and agree appropriate packages of support.”
But Mrs Mackenzie said she is “frustrated” with the length of time it is taking to make progress and says she is “cracking up with the whole situation.”
She added: “I am living in the living room because I had to give my nephew my bedroom.
“He is rebelling just now. He now wants to work away and is getting fed up stuck here, and he really needs the help because he can not go on living like this. They should be helping to get him into an environment he needs to be an adult.
“His key worker should have been allocated a long time ago. They are saying he is not an adult until he is 18 (in September). He is not a child but an adult. It’s a big fault. This is why it’s so crucial to get them into the system at a young age, to avoid all of these problems.”
The Calman Trust, which offers young people housing support, training and employment opportunities and general support, was initially called in but they told care and learning services that Lewis’s needs were higher than the young people they usually work with.
Care and Learning reconsidered and said they felt a support worker from adult services would be appropriate.
At the end of March an e-mail from the Care and Learning district manager said that, although a support worker had been identified, that person was off work.
