Prisoners in their own home

THIS desperate Dublin mother has told of how she and her severely autistic son have been

“prisoners

? in their own home for the last four weeks.

Gayle Murphy is at her wits’ end and feels that she and her 10-year-old son, Luca Murphy Boucher, from Luttrellstown, Dublin 15, have been let down by the Government and the services that cater for children with autism.

Luca’s condition is deteriorating at a worrying rate. He has a limited vocabulary but cannot form sentences. He is terrified to leave the house and is now beginning to self-harm.

The heartbreaking and exhausting situation means that Gayle, who is Luca’s sole carer, is struggling to cope.

“We’re very alone and have effectively been rendered prisoners in our own home,

? the single-mother told Northside People.

“I hadn’t been able to leave the house to get food, money or prescriptions because he won’t leave the house.

“Only for the help of neighbours and the Irish Autism Action (IAA) I don’t know where we’d be.

“All Luca wants to do is put on his pyjamas or have a bath because it assures him that we’re not leaving the house.

“He’s developed a fixation with water recently.

?

Luca wakes each morning at 6am and goes to bed at 10pm. However, because of his hyperactivity, he often wakes several times throughout the night and for several hours. Some nights he doesn’t even sleep.

The situation has been exacerbated by a recent breakdown of the relationship between Ms Murphy and a religious order which had provided a day care placement for Luca for four hours a day up until early May.

“I really feel that Luca hasn’t been given the intervention supports that he needs and deserves,

? Gayle said.

“I haven’t been happy with the care he’s received.

“As a result he’s regressing. He began to pull his hair out and because of his frustration he’s literally turning his pain on himself and self-harming.

“He squeezes his arms and mine because he can’t feel the pressure.

“It’s an absolute disgrace that things have come to this.

?

Gayle recently turned to Irish Autism Action for help. From last week, staff members from the IAA have stepped in to provide Gayle with a few hours of emergency respite on an interim basis.

“Because Luca has been indoors for weeks it’s going to be next to impossible to get him out the front door again,

? Gayle explained.

“My priority is obviously to keep him safe but this situation cannot go on like this. The IAA support is on an emergency interim basis, it’s not a solution.

“The child is getting no exercise so it’s no wonder he can’t sleep. Untold damage is being done to him.

“His mental health will suffer as will mine,

? she added.

“He’s a 10-year-old boy – he’s a very, very strong boy who’s up to my shoulder in height so it can be hard to manage him sometimes and added to that is the sleep deprivation.

“No human beings should have to live like this. I don’t know how we as a society should think this is acceptable.

?

Ms Murphy said she has sent a number of letters to the Minister for Health but has yet to receive a satisfactory response.