Every day, Maureen Francella visits her son Steven at a psychiatric hospital and every day, he asks if he can come home.
“Are you taking me home yet? Am I better now? Did I break things? Are you angry with me?” he asks his mother.
“It’s tough to leave him. I have to say, ‘I can’t bring you home,’” Francella, told Global News.
Steven, 36, has severe autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and he often experiences moments of stress and frustration, becoming violent towards himself and others.
Francella and her husband, who are both 60, are unable to take care of him at home. He currently resides at psychiatric ward at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ont.
Steven was brought to the emergency room after a particularly bad episode, and Francella had him admitted to the psychiatric ward for what was supposed to be a short stopover before a long-term care facility. He’s been there for 14 months.
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Francella is terrified Steven will never get into another care facility, given the long wait times and limited space.
“We’ve been [on the wait-list] for a very long time, long before he was ever admitted to [the emergency room],” she said.
It’s a reality for dozens of families across Canada: Once a child turns 18 — an adult in the eyes of the government — they typically lose access to a lot of government funding and services intended for children. Autism services are currently a provincial jurisdiction, but many adults like Steven end up in psychiatric wards where they don’t get the care they need.
Steven’s mom is terrified he will never get into another care facility, given the long wait times and limited space. (Photo courtesy of the Francella family)
Courtesy of the Francella family
For a few years, Steven lived in a group home during the week, going home to his parents on the weekend. The arrangement worked for three years, but then Steven started becoming more violent, self-injurious and prone to destruction of property. He was home one weekend with his mom and a support worker when things took a turn.
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“I was putting groceries away and he was sitting on the sofa, interacting with his support worker,” Francella said. “He suddenly got up, started biting himself, hitting the walls, [he] broke the television and smashed the lamp. He tried to put his head through patio doors.
“We looked at the damages and [his injuries] and his support worker said to me, ‘Maureen, you can’t continue to do this.’”
Francella couldn’t give Steven the type of care he needed, but she doesn’t think the psychiatric ward is the right place for him either.
“The number one treatment of patients [at the psychiatric hospital] is medication, but Steven has been overly sensitive to all medications he’s ever taken in the past, even Tylenol,” said Francella. “He’s been given very large doses of a number of medications here, [and none] had a positive impact.”
In the clinical setting of a hospital, Francella said Steven is also missing out on the type of human interaction and socialization he craves.
“He should be in a supported home of his own [and] that could look … many different ways,” she said.
Mainly, Francella said Steven needs a safe and comfortable home that offers 24-hour support.
The age of 18 isn’t a ‘magic number’
Many types of autism support greatly decrease or even stop altogether when a person turns 18. According to Dr. Evdokia Anagnostou, senior clinician scientist at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto, this is the wrong approach.
“Autism is a developmental condition. By definition, you don’t stop having autism when you turn 18,” she told Global News. “There’s [nothing] magical about the number 18. People a day under 18 will get quite a bit of service, and the day they turn 18, the services start decreasing rapidly.
“The adult sector is not as well-developed as the childhood sector for autism.”
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In her view, there need to be way more support available for adults with autism, and among other things, they should address housing, employment, healthcare and recreation.
“What is a good life for a person with autism? … All the things that we consider to be part of a good life when we don’t have autism,” said Anagnostou.
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“There is a cliff parents talk about after their kids transition out of their childhood system, and it comes from this lack of a well-developed adult sector that meets the needs of the kids so that they can have a good life.”
1:43 Halloween both challenging and rewarding for people with autism
Halloween both challenging and rewarding for people with autism
Without these services, families can experience burnout and people on the spectrum can fall through the cracks.
It can also lead adults with autism to homelessness and other risky situations.
“We know that people with autism are over-represented in our homeless population. We know that people with autism are over-represented in long-term care facilities,” she said.
There’s very little data on autism in homeless populations, but a 2011 survey conducted in Wales by the National Autistic Society Cymru reported that 12 per cent of their adult participants disclosed being homeless at some point in their lives.
“It’s fair to say that the sector is experiencing quite a bit of distress. The families are experiencing quite a bit of distress and [so are] the individuals with autism,” Anagnostou said.
Transitioning to adulthood
When a person with autism turns 18, a lot of things in their life change very suddenly.
Community worker Jennifer Bodiguel, the co-ordinator of the Transitioning to Adulthood program at New Heights School & Learning Services in Calgary, says continuity of care can make a world of difference.
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“Going from childhood into adulthood, almost everything changes,” said Bodiguel. “You don’t have your pediatrician, you don’t have your high school teachers, you don’t have some of the funding childhood gets you.”
1:53 Families say adults with autism need more support
Families say adults with autism need more support
The Transitioning to Adulthood program aims to lessen the blow, and “almost all” of the students at New Heights have signed up.
“Clearly, the parents are really wanting support,” Bodiguel said. “I look at our transition program as a bridge [to supports that are out there].”
The program focuses on four main areas: employment, education, independent living and social environments.
“The thing about individuals with autism is that they [typically] thrive in routine and fear the unknown. Graduation and adulthood is the ultimate fear of the unknown. They haven’t a clue what’s next,” she said.
Bodiguel often finds herself accompanying members of the program to outreach programs or job fairs, just to help them feel comfortable with someone they recognize nearby.
“I’m just trying to be that familiar face for them [so they can] access what’s actually out there.”
Call for a national strategy
There are gaps in care throughout the system, but according to Autism Canada, the major problems are the availability of post-secondary programs, employment, innovative housing solutions, mental health support and support with medical health conditions commonly associated with autism.
Mental health support is crucial. Seventy per cent of individuals on the spectrum have a comorbid mental health condition (like anxiety, depression, psychosis and suicidality), with 40 per cent having two or more disorders.
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“For a family with a young child, they may be able to choose between a handful of early-intervention or social skills programs in their community. However, as one grows up, the selection decreases significantly if available at all,” Autism Canada said in a statement to Global News.
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The group is a national coalition of organizations and individuals committed to securing a federal strategy for ASD funding and policies, and it has spent the last 12 years creating a recommendation for the government.
According to CASDA chair Debbie Irish, the current system — which calls on each province to create its own autism strategy — results in inconsistent care for Canadians with autism, varying widely between jurisdictions and leaving whole communities vulnerable.
Francella agrees — the government needs to make drastic changes, and fast.
“It’s extremely traumatic to go day in, day out, knowing that nothing is changing and being scared every day that Steven might end up being here for a very long period of time,” said Francella.
“I believe the government should be supplying money to help everybody — not just autistic individuals — but anybody with a disability who requires a home. No one should have to remain in a hospital that doesn’t need to be in the hospital.
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“Every person out there should have the supports and services they need for their child, teenager or adult to live a happy independent life.”
PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.
Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.
The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.
The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.
Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
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