Why Can’t I See My Disabled Son?
by Vanessa Gray 20 year-old Charlie Gray I am delighted that some attention is being given to relaxing the barbaric rules designed for elderly people in care homes. Those of us on Twitter have had an almost daily diet of absolutely haunting pictures and videos of family members trying to connect with dementia sufferers who are incarcerated in care homes, through windows and gates. Thankfully, the new Care Home Guidance has relaxed the criteria so a family member can visit. Although with 43 Perspex screens and full hazmat gear (only a slight exaggeration!), I am not sure how much comfort these visits will be to the already confused resident or to the visiting family member. What many don’t realise, though, is that these very same rules also apply to young, fit and physically healthy mentally handicapped adults in care homes. This is despite the fact that we know the average age of people dying from Covid is 82. I have a beautiful, gentle, handsome, fit 20 year-old son called Charlie, with severe mental disabilities, autism and an atypical form of epilepsy. He moved into a care home last July and attends a college locally for special needs autistic students. All was going very well and we used to have him home pretty much every weekend. Never could we have imagined...
