Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Jillie]

Good morning. My husband and I have battled for nearly 6 years with our 35 yr old son who has been diagnosed with Schizophrenia and undiagnosed high functioning autism (according to the psychiatrists). He is also vision impaired.  He lives on his own but doesn't look after himself and lacks daily living skills. He lives a very isolated life, has no friends, refuses to get help and displays no insight (or most probably denial) to his illness. He is under the mental health act (again) to ensure his compliance to receive a monthly depot. So I'm hoping to get some advice here on this forum on how to help our son connect with the community.

[MIFANTCARER]

Good morning @Jillie 

In response to your post seeking advice in gaining community access for your son, there are various drop in centers where he can go in and talk amongst peers who are in the same situation like himself.  If you are in Northern Territory he can come to Miplace at the MIFANT but other states there are various organisations: -   Sydney - One door mental health, SA - Skylight, Wellways - Melbourne and Tasmania, MIFWA - perth, MIFA - Queensland.

These organisations can assist you and your son by creating support plans that suits current situation.  Also as this is a community that will always have open doors for both you and your son.

Lots of blessing for both you, your family and your son.

[Jillie]

Thank you for your reply. I have been in contact with MIFWA but they can't do anything for my son without his permission. His case manager and psychiatrist have tried to convince him to be tested for autism to then be able to access services etc but he says he is not interested.  He refuses our help and outside help.They have advised me to allow them to apply for state guardianship over my son to get him to comply.

[MIFANTCARER]

Hi @Jillie 

Thats a hard one.  State gaurdianship is an option but there a good points and bad points.  Maybe you should seek legal advice before considering anything.  You can try and contact Advocacy organisations that can give you other options that maybe suitable.

My thoughts and prayers for a better solution

[AussieRecharger]

Hi @Jillie 

Is there any way you could break down the reasons why he is not interested and what does he spend his time on now?  

Does he have trust issues or does he have a worry that he won't enjoy what you are offering? 

I am not sure what your negotiating skills are like but if you feel like you could use some tips, I could recommend some tips from Chris Voss on youtube.  My vague guess is to try to link his curiosity with an outcome he is looking for.  It might take you a while of back and forth to nail down what he is naturally curious about but it may give you leverage. One example is if he like animals, There is some NDIS services for animal therapy. 

I wish you good luck.  

[Jillie]

Thank you for your reply. My son's interests were limited growing up due to his vision impairment.  Was into making computer games, reading sciencefiction books and swimming for exercise. He has a double degree in Computer Science but has never worked (on a disability pension). Unfortunately, when he is unwell with  schizophrenia he cuts off all ties with us and the rest of the family. He has no time for the mental health services and refuses to engage with them or anyone else. He is currently reading Quantum physics books and formulating theories for the creation of the universe. This consumes his time when he is able to function. He is very unwell even though he was recently in hospital for 5 weeks and still being treated. So I guess you can say that our negotiating skills are very poor at the moment.

[Gwynn]

While he's in contact with the hospital, perhaps a mental health OT might be useful to start the ball rolling on meaningful activities for your son aside from universe creation theories?