Richard Boyd Barrett Demands Housing Priority for Child with Autism
Richard Boyd Barrett addressed a housing case concerning David and Nicole's five-year-old son with autism, arguing the child must be rehoused urgently due to safety risks and barriers to therapy. He criticised a decision from Donnery at Downs that autism's prevalence should prevent medical prioritisation and urged guidance from the Minister for Housing to councils.
The family live in a 29 square metre masonette that is damp and cramped. The speaker highlighted dangerous concrete steps at the property and said the child has serious sensory processing issues and is a flight risk.
Occupational therapists, medical professionals and school staff have advised that the child must be moved to enable development and occupational therapy. The speaker said those assessments indicate the current conditions prevent necessary treatment and put the child at risk.
The speaker quoted Donnery at Downs as saying autism is too prevalent in the community to be given medical priority. He called that response outrageous and argued that prevalence is not a reason to withhold priority when a child is in danger.
The speaker said he will raise the matter with the Minister for Housing about issuing guidelines to councils. He added that he expected councils to have enough flexibility to prioritise cases where a child's safety and treatment are jeopardised.
Case details
The family live in a 29 square metre masonette that is damp and cramped. The speaker highlighted dangerous concrete steps at the property and said the child has serious sensory processing issues and is a flight risk.
Professional assessments
Occupational therapists, medical professionals and school staff have advised that the child must be moved to enable development and occupational therapy. The speaker said those assessments indicate the current conditions prevent necessary treatment and put the child at risk.
Council response cited
The speaker quoted Donnery at Downs as saying autism is too prevalent in the community to be given medical priority. He called that response outrageous and argued that prevalence is not a reason to withhold priority when a child is in danger.
Calls for ministerial guidance
The speaker said he will raise the matter with the Minister for Housing about issuing guidelines to councils. He added that he expected councils to have enough flexibility to prioritise cases where a child's safety and treatment are jeopardised.
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Transcript
T-Shock, David and Nicole have a five-year-old son with autism, and an older son, and they live in a masonette, which is 29 square metres, absolutely tiny, rank with damp, but because of his autism he's got serious sensory processing issues, he's a flight risk, but there is very, and I know these flats well, very dangerous concrete steps, which are a serious risk to him. Now, occupational therapists, medical professionals, school people have said he has to be got out of there, he can't develop, he can't do his occupational therapy if he's living in these conditions, but Donnery at Downs say autism is too prevalent in the community to give it medical priority. Now, that's outrageous, right? That's outrageous. The prevalence of a condition is not a reason to say it's not a priority if the child is in danger, right? If the child is in danger, it is a priority to get the child out of danger. I would like intervention on that. I would agree with you, that is a very strange response to say the prevalence of autism is a spectrum, it's a continuum. So you have high-functioning autism, you have people who are very severe and profound with autism, and the counsellor should be able to use the general guidelines it has in respect of health more generally and needs. So I'm at a loss as to why a counsellor can say in this case that child needs prioritisation and a proper house to facilitate the treatment and life of that child. And that's something, I will go back to the Minister for Housing in respect of maybe guidelines to be sent to councils in that respect. I wouldn't have thought it necessary. I thought the councils have enough flexibility to do this. Thank you.