Autistic mum’s baby taken into care

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Autistic mum's baby taken into care

Jul 7 2007 by Shipton, Western Mail

THE grandfather of a baby taken into care immediately after he was

born is accusing social services of discriminating against his

daughter because she has a form of autism.

The baby's 21-year-old mother has Asperger's Syndrome, a condition

associated with problems concerning social and communication skills.

The grandfather, who lives in South Wales but cannot be identified

for legal reasons, said, " Within hours of the baby being born two

weeks ago, social workers arrived at the hospital and served papers

on my daughter saying they would be applying for an interim care

order. She was beside herself.

" Two weeks before what should have been the happiest day of her life,

we as a family attended a case conference where Monmouthshire County

Council placed the unborn baby on an `at risk' register. Their

argument was that because she has Asperger's Syndrome, she is at risk

of getting post-natal depression, and that there would therefore be

the likelihood of her neglecting the baby.

" In my view, all this stress sent my daughter into labour four weeks

early.

" At the court case, the odds were obviously stacked against us and

the interim care order was granted. My daughter has gone with her

baby to a foster carer in a remote part of South Wales, which it

takes several hours to get to by public transport from where we live.

Both her partner and me are greatly restricted in the times we are

allowed to visit. "

Next Wednesday a further court hearing is due to take place, by which

time the mother and her baby will have been transferred to a family

assessment centre in the west of England.

The grandfather said, " When my daughter asked what arrangements would

be made to bring her to the court hearing in Wales, she was told it

wasn't their responsibility to ferry her around.

" My daughter's mother and I – we are no longer together – have both

offered to have her and the baby stay with us, but that has been

rejected, even though we have a very good support network in our

extended family, including two nurses, a qualified nanny, two nursery

nurses and a recently retired policeman.

" In my view, by doing all this to a disabled person, Monmouthshire

County Council is breaching the Disability Discrimination Act, the

Mental Health Act, the Children's Act and the Human Rights Act. "

The grandfather said that when his daughter was at school, it had

taken years to get the authorities to accept that his daughter had

special educational needs.

" Eventually, after a long struggle, she was given a statement of

special educational needs in the last term before she left school.

She can also be abrasive, but she is very bright. Within three weeks

of my teaching her how to play chess, she was beating me. And you

wouldn't find a more caring, affectionate person with kids. Everyone

who knows her is flabbergasted that the baby has been taken into

care. "

A spokeswoman for Monmouthshire County Council's social services

department said, " In order to retain confidentiality, we cannot

comment on specific cases. However, we would say that we judge each

case according to the circumstances of the individuals involved and

the welfare and best interests of children is our paramount

responsibility. "

Understanding is key

Asperger's Syndrome is named after Hans Asperger (1906-1980), an

Austrian psychiatrist and paediatrician. He observed four children in

his practice who had difficulty integrating socially. Although their

intelligence appeared normal, the children lacked nonverbal

communication skills, failed to demonstrate empathy with their peers,

and were physically clumsy.

Dr Asperger called the condition " autistic psychopathy " but stated

that, " We can show that despite abnormality, human beings can fulfil

their social role within the community, especially if they find

understanding, love and guidance. "