#ActuallyAutistic
.
#StolenLives
. Son with LD, autism, epilepsy and ADHD. Locked in PICU. Research associate at Man Met (LD). Activist/campaigner. Views my own
We are tired of the
@WelshGovernment
telling us that we are unique cases and therefore not worthy of their time. We at Stolen Lives believe that every person - and every family-matters. And we believe in Homes, not Hospitals.
We celebrated my Dad's 70th birthday over zoom. We had so much wanted to be together for this event, especially as my Mum was dying of cancer. I can't even begin to tell you how angry I am.
#DowningStreet
#CarrieAntoinette
Children in need become adults in need. I wish people would care about my adult disabled son as much as they cared about him when he was a child. He is in such need.
#BBCCiN
In a week when George Webster became the first CBeebies presenter with Down's Syndrome the court decided that it was quite alright to abort babies with Down Syndrome up to birth. One step forward, many steps back. Thanks for that.
Seeing the autism community come together against Spectrum 10k makes me feel proud. Feel a bit sad by the NT silence that pervades Twitter, esp among those who work within the field.
It's 9 years today since BBC Panorama exposed abuse at Winterbourne and nothing has changed. We continue to fail the many people with a LD and/or autism living in inpatient units. It's all talk, empty promises and no action. We really should be ashamed.
Jack was one of the ones that we hear less about, the 'came close, 'the almost died.' Months on, he is still recovering and I continue to fight on his behalf with the ongoing investigation all because he received poor quality care due to his LD.
Been given permission to post this. Posted today. Why is this still happening? So much work still needed to be done with GPs in Wales.
@ImprovementCym
@Paulriddfound
@PauletteHamilto
My son is trapped in a mental health hospital (not because he has a mental health condition) but because of a lack of appropriate care, support and housing in the community. Thanks for that. Absolutely shameful!
BBC news reporter has just spoken to a 15 year old girl who has crossed into Poland with her brother who has a learning disability. Their parents are still in Ukraine 😢
@jeremycorbyn
My son won't be receiving any GCSE results today due his LD. This doesn't mean that he hasn't achieved in the last two years. It's such a shame that there is no way of formally marking his achievement. This must change.
We even had Welsh actors coming out to support us yesterday. Thank you, Owen Teale, best known for his role as Ser Alliser Thorne in the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.
#StolenLIves
Cllr Hammersley responds to being told that children with SEND were institutionalised with "they must have had better ways of dealing with them. Let's go back to some of those ways"
Just been on to the phone to a learning disability liaison nurse (can't say what about), but I can say that they are doing a great job right now in extremely difficult times.
It is really important that as many people as possible sign this petition.
So, Please Sign The Petition-Doesn't take long. Thank you.
Petition: Stop the detention of learning-disabled and autistic children, young people and adults in hospitals.
One of the last things my Grandad with Parkinson’s dementia said to me after making me laugh was ‘I will never be dead while you are alive’. He meant that love never dies and ties us to each other. I believe you have this advert wrong.
My beautiful mum, Lynne (age 68 years), passed away in the early hours of the morning after her long journey with cancer came to an end. I am so going to miss her.
People with learning disabilities already live in mini institutions in the community where they are warehoused, confined, coerced, controlled and then there are those locked away in hospitals. Let’s not pretend it’s not already happening.
Here’s the moral of the victorious campaign to stop disabled people being institutionalised: resistance is not futile.
My
@guardian
col. on Bristol council’s u-turn and holding onto hope (and fury).
🚨 Harrison Road planning application REJECTED
I supported local residents in opposing this proposal, as it would have caused increased noise, parking, and a change in the character of the property, which would have negatively affected the area.
Read my letter in full 👇🏿
Thank you so much for writing this
@ianbirrell
. The silence from
@UKLabour
, the media and LD and disabled charities hurts, especially when you have a son with a LD locked away in a hospital due to a lack of appropriate support and homes in the community.
When a Labour MP celebrates blocking five homes for people with learning disabilities on the basis they would undermine community cohesion, what hope is there of ever seeing such citizens embraced in the heart of our society? My
@theipaper
column
My friend's young LD disabled son has just come out of hospital after 9 weeks of fighting Covid-19. He is still on the road to recovery, but this is truly great news...😀
It’s one year since J was sectioned. It was the worst day of my life. Recently, it has felt like I have been reliving it. I have nightmares, flashbacks, I break down in tears. I will be glad when July is over.
Meeting with
@hef4caerphilly
and
@davidabbottbris
and
@griffiths_janis
to discuss unlawful and avoidable sectioning of people with LD and/or autism, and the lack of suitable provision which can lead to people becoming locked up and kept it in hospitals.
I attended the Chief Social Care Officer for Wales listening session for unpaid carers this afternoon. It was thoroughly depressing. Stories were heartbreaking, with carers literally on the edge. Support had been reduced or taken away altogether.😭
These figures don’t include private hospitals and it is hard to know just how many incidents go unreported. People with learning disabilities, for example, may be less likely to report.
I so love my son...he will always keep me grounded
Me: So yeah, Mum's a Dr now
Jack: So where's your tardis?
Me: Well, I don't get a tardis
Jack: What? What kind of Dr is that? Borrrrrrring!😂
Jack went to the hospital today for a minor procedure and did really well because reasonable adjustments were put in place and because he was supported well by his staff. It's so lovely to report a good news story. 😀
My one abiding memory of visiting Parliament was seeing
@KeeleyMP
stand up and highlight (yet again) the scandal of locking up people with LD and/or autism in hospitals. So alone; yet unwavering in her convictions and fight. What a loss to our cause.
#StolenLives
That is the second time I have read a document that states that my son received support from social services and/or was placed in residential care because 'his parents worked full-time.' I find such comments deeply offensive and upsetting.
This
#LearningDisabilityWeek
#StolenLives
(Wales) will be sharing pictures of our locked up children.
You cannot be seen, heard or feel valued when you are locked away.
We want homes, not hospitals.
'He loved going on holidays.'
I am not a fan of
#LearningDisabilityWeek
for a number of reasons.
You cannot be seen, heard and valued when you are locked away.
You are non-existent. Everything stolen.
That is the message of our
#StolenLives
campaign this week.
Tonight was the first meeting of Stolen Lives, a group of families who have come together to fight mental health injustices affecting people with learning disabilities and/or autism in Wales. Watch this space.
Sad news re the death of Tommy Pilling from covid. I know many will focus on Tommy and Maryanne being the UK's first couple with DS to marry, but hopefully one day we won't be speaking about 'DS Syndrome marriages' at all, just people in love.
@DrFrancesRyan
@josierones
Disappointing. A missed opportunity to also interview those people with learning disabilities and their families on why they take issue with the documentary's title.
Well done to all those who fought to get people with learning disabilities prioritised for vaccination up and down the UK. And let's not forget that people with learning disabilities themselves were a key part of this fight.
Another bank holiday weekend where my learning disabled son continues to suffer in his PICU prison because of a lack of suitable community provision. Shame on you
@HywelDdaHB
@PrifWeinidog
#FreeJC
We are tired of the
@WelshGovernment
telling us that we are unique cases and therefore not worthy of their time.
We at Stolen Lives believe that every person - and every family-matters.
And we believe in Homes, not Hospitals.
NSC 'are confident it is an isolated incident.' I wouldn't be so confident, especially as your staff witnessed this abuse and allowed it to go on for more than a year. It took a carer visiting from another residence to report it.
@TheNationalStar
Sick of the benefit claimants bashing. This from a LBC caller just now ‘If they have mental health issues just let them go to institutes (meaninginstitutions)…Bloody hell and no challenge
@LBC
@NickFerrariLBC
Hello tweeps, i'm just swinging by to let you know that the inquest into the death of Sammy Alban Stanley starts tomorrow at Kent Coroners Court.
I'll be live tweeting on
@SammyInquest
.
Please let me introduce you to Sammy
1/
1) As well as shining a light (again) on the inhumane way in which we treat people with autism and/or LD, patient A's story (told in the Sunday Times) has also shone a light on how far we need to progress regarding public attitudes towards people with
I have autism, as do three members of my family. I have the pleasure of knowing and working with many compassionate, wonderful people with autism. This is not nice.
Lockdown was the brainchild of a bunch of men on the spectrum.
They lacked the emotional intelligence to feel or anticipate the appalling consequences of criminalising human contact.
They still have the gall to claim it was the right plan.
My column:
The Covid Inquiry gets
Thank you Sioned for raising this and for mentioning the protest . Can we also do something about the awful merging of mental health hospital provision with specialist LD inpatient provision.
@Llais_Wales
Learning disability is not a mental health issue.
Yet the new First Minister included learning disabilities under the portfolio for mental health.
This must be addressed without delay, and I explained why today in the Senedd.
@LdWales
@MencapCymru
@DisabilityWales
@AllWalesPF
I gave evidence to the CYPE (Welsh Gov) inquiry today - Do disabled children and young people have equal access to education and childcare? I am shattered
There are people with learning disabilities and/or autism from Wales who are living in hospitals. This is a human rights scandal which has been ignored for too long. Please sign and share our petition.
#StolenLiveshttps
It's bereaved parents like
@PaulaMc007
who despite their suffering and loss fight on, and in so doing help to ensure that young people like my son receive the care and protection that they are entitled to.
The community nurse and dentist came to the house today instead of Jack having to go to the hospital. The dentist herself couldn't believe the difference...just a little bit of preparation/reasonable adjustments and it was like being with a different boy. 😀
Read through my son's new healthcare plan this morning and it states that 'he has mental health issues because he is grieving.' What?? When are we going to stop pathologizing/medicalising grief in people with LD? It's only natural that he should mourn the loss of those he loves.
“When you're not perceived by other people and your social needs are so deprived…you don’t actually know you exist”
@AQuinnUnbroken
is such a powerful advocate, but it must be mentally exhausting having to continually revisit your own trauma.
“When you're not perceived by other people and your social needs are so deprived…you don’t actually know you exist”
Alexis Quinn who was held for 3 years in a mental health facility due to her autism speaks to
@vicderbyshire
about her experience.
#newsnight
Jack would tell you that this is not what living with a LD is like. Whatever role people here play in achieving a fairer and more inclusive society for people with LD should not detract from the wide-ranging change that is needed to ensure equal opportunities for all.
Meet the
#MencapMythBusters
. 👋
18 people who will show the world what living with a
#LearningDisability
is like. 👍
Ambassadors who want to challenge wrong ideas. 🙅♀️
Activists who will campaign for change. 🙌
Listen. 📣 Ask. 🙋♀️ Learn. ❤️
👈
@Dienekes_
When we finally saw our son, who has a learning disability, after 15 weeks and 1 day of being apart, we were told that we would have to dress in PPE and no touching. When my son saw me and ran in for a hug I hugged him.
'Being singled out for being different has a big psychological effect on our children'
Actor Sally Phillips spoke to
#BBCBreakfast
after her son Olly, who has Down's Syndrome, was prevented from entering a trampoline park without a letter from a GP
It says something about how people with learning disabilities and/or autism are treated when you are struggling to keep up with and retweet all the shitty stories coming out.
Huw's mum Karen highlights the challenges when a young person has LD and autism, and issues like constipation are attributed to their behaviours rather than being assessed for an underlying health condition.
Great day in Blackpool with
#SelfAdvocacyWorks
with
@sarasiobhan
and Prof Chris Hatton. Great to meet my fantastic co-researcher
@firstmcr
Nemo. Thank you to all the people who took the time to speak with me about learning disability research and other issues.
We need more investigative journalism like this and I hope we see more as we go into 2022. We must not stop until the inhumane treatment of autistic and/or LD people has ended.
Just been talking with my Dad. He is 73 with progressive multiple sclerosis. He has been on strike, but next week will be his first protest. He will be bringing a chair because he can’t stand for long. He is making his placard tomorrow.
#StolenLives
Day 3
#LearningDisabilityWeek
#StolenLives
Wales
Homes, not hospitals
'The caged bird sings with a fearful trill,
Of things unknown, but longed for still,
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.' M.A.
'He likes to be free like a bird.'
Day 4
#LearningDisabilityWeek
#StolenLives
Wales
Homes, not hospitals
In denying our loves ones a home, their human rights have been violated.
Living and leading a normal life simply stolen!
Difficult week with Jack being unwell, worrying NEWS scores, and fighting on a serious issue that is impacting Jack’s quality of life. And feeling like things are terribly shitty and exhausted families are doing all the fighting.
Great to see the
#StolenLivesProtest
on the front cover of the next edition of
@CommLivingMag_
But even better that it is people with learning disabilities who take centre stage. That is how it should be.
What's new later this week apart from a new govt?
Our new edition! We cover what the national priorities should be, how the summer of sport can be more inclusive and lots more, live here from Friday:
2nd anniversary. You died on 20th April 2022 at 22.22.
Among your returned belongings one random playing card, the 2 of hearts.
Be at Peace x
#Ayla
#Grief
#AutismNotPD
#PdInTheBin
@adamfare1996
It greatly concerns me that there are so many people with autism or with learning disabilities and autism locked up in hospitals. It suggests we are failing people with autism and I would like to see research that aims to understand and address this issue.
1. Late to the post-protest party (I crashed afterwards)...BUT what an amazing day. What an incredible turnout.
Thank you so much, everyone. You should all be so proud.
Many people with learning disabilities and/or autism from Wales are trapped in hospitals due to a lack of appropriate housing and support in their community.
Please sign and share our petition.
This is literally the price that people with learning disabilities and their families have to pay when people with learning disabilities are locked up in hospitals miles and miles away from their family home.
@BIHRhumanrights
#article8