I am a mother of a 27 year old with cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus and severe learning disabilities.
My daughter has been referred to the mental health team via GP as she is crying daily short outbursts regards other tenant in her 24hr supported living home verbally abusing her and the fact i have recently got over low stage cancer. The issue is my daughter is being referred for medication review and counselling- my daughter cannot comprehend much of what is being said to her, it either goes straight over her head and i need to rephrase and explain or she completely misinterpretes 90% of questions and conversations.
This would not be helpful for her at all, needless to say involvement with mental health services is not the right decision at this time or ever at all.
Any advice please would be very much appreciated
My advice would be to ensure your daughter is assisted by a clinician who has training and experience of mental health issues in learning disability- she may not have capacity to consent to the referral but if you are concerned about the changes in her presentation this requires careful assessment monitoring and consideration as to best interventions. There are alternatives to medication and counselling for folks with severe learning disabilities but work to understand explore and make sense of what is happening in its broadest context is an important first step.
Is there a learning disability team in your area?
No there is no learning disability team, this is my concern as i am a mental health practitioner myself and have been for 20 years.
I am aware that we are trained in mainly our own specialism unless dual or tri trained etc and i wouldnt want her supported in a mental health team provision as they quite possibly would be a huge lack of knowledge and experience
Hi
I wonder whether looking at the cause of her distress would help her in the longer term? If she is living with someone who abuses her, and she is distressed in her own home, then they are incompatible housemates, I would say - and her human right to ‘gain and sustain a safe and secure home and community in which to live in peace and dignity’ are being compromised. What are the options for moving into a different living arrangement?
I wonder given that there are house mate issues if your daughter has a social worker /care manager who is overseeing the placement and reviewing her needs regularly?
If she doesn’t then there are grounds to ask for a fresh social care assessment given her distress and a need for another look at the situation to see if there are options for her.
