Can someone give me advice?PLEASE Please?I dunno where to turn.

[Wee-Mee]

Hi everyone.If anyone remembers(you probably don't I'm not important:( ) well I had posted a few things about my partner having ADHD and Autism aswell as anxiety and depression etc and him being in prison.

Well,after alot of problems he was settled(as best you can be I suppose) in the mental unit at the prison.

It still wasn't ideal. Social workers were cut,so he doesn't have one,the nurses are there are NOT good at all..no one is speaking to him,he's left on his own and to make it worse..he go tin a fight with another inmate and now he has been separated into another hall,a larger hall with folk with no disabilities or anything and having the autism and such,he's freaking out. He had a knife to his throat and all that happened was he was put on suicide watch in a cell for 24 hours then papped to whatever other hall this is. This was 2 days ago and I haven't heard from him. He was phoning twice every day. :( Me having my own anxiety and depression problems,I'm finding this really hard. And I find this sort of treatment of ANY of the inmates that are there with probems unacceptable! I know prison is punishment etc but not everyone in there are downright hard murderous criminals and I'm feelingmyself losing it,anxiety is getting way up there again,heart palps and stomach problems... :( :weep: :weep: I dont know where to turn. Can someone please advise me?There must be some sort of rights? I don't even think the lawyer is that bothered anymore. I jsut want to help my partner :(
Thanks muchly
Amyx xx

[gypsywomen]

have you had a word with prison sociel worker i am sure they have one

[Wee-Mee]

They have been dropped! :( His mum had a good communication with one in there a while back and then she got let go. Apparantly the council are cutting alot of the jobs :( x

[Going home]

I suppose he's being treated in this way because he's actually been sentenced rather than just being on remand. If he's been found guilty of a crime and sent to prison for it they'll treat him like a prisoner, not as the man you love...hard as that is for you to bear I know. Though the fact that they did put him onto the mental ward means that they'd assessed him as having some mental problems. There must be a reason why he was sent to prison rather than to a mental hospital outside. If his solicitor thinks its worth appealing then he or she will surely?

[Wee-Mee]

He has Autismn ADHD depression and ansiety and although it's not an excuse I would have thought that there were atleast SOME sort of support within prison walls to help more vulnerable prisoners. He was sentenced to GBH after getting into a fight. The ins and outs are so complicated and just seeing Fight and GBH just makes him sound like an animal but he's not. He is someone with no support whatsoever. I mean,they let him out on bail for 5 weeks after being convicted.Surely someone so bad wouldn't have been allowed? But then put him back in jail after the appeal.

Before I got some sort ofhelp I was in alot of trouble too. I just don't know what to do. The families outside of prison don't get treated particularly peachy either. I just don't know what to do. He is in til January and I need to know he is okay. And no one helps :(

[Going home]

I can't believe he has absolutely nobody...surely every prisoner has somebody to represent them? I know its hard for you to accept his sentence, but if he's been in trouble before for GBH then it was probably inevitable he was sent to prison. They would have taken his medical history into account and any medication he has to take would be monitored in there too. But if he's still getting into fights inside the prison then they'll do what they have to do to control his behaviour....are you saying that every fight he gets into is the fault of the other person and not your boyfriend?

I'm also not sure just how much of his mental health problems the court would have deemed to be serious enough to avoid prison. ADHD, depression (unless perhaps its bi-polar) and anx would have probably been ignored, but true Autism should have been recognised...unless its a very mild form. Its unusual to have ADHD and Autism at the same time, I always thought it was either one or the other that's diagnosed not both.

WeeMee, I think you might have to accept that he is there to serve his sentence, bad as that might be for you there's nothing you can do to change it really, just be there for him while he's in there and when he comes out.

Take care
Anna xx

Anna xx

[Wee-Mee]

He has his lawyer but because he is serving his time,he's not a big priority for him at the moment. I accept that he has to serve his sentence.what I don't accept is the prison's treatment of not acknowledging his problems.

He's not got a criminal record,the person that he was in the fight with has been in frequent fights but because he was the injured party my partner was arrested. I'm not making out my partner is an angel.All I want is to know he is okay or if anyone here knew advice or anywhere I could turn. I don't agree that I can't just not do anything.

I'm not trying to get him released,I know he has to be "punished" but he needs support and he's not getting it. I'm crying now. I feel utterly ignored and let down bvy everyone at the moment,and it is only recently I've notcied a fair few programs deidcated to showing what autism is like.. In my partner his adhd is worse than the autism but it impairs how he communicates with people..even myself. But we managed..til this.

[Going home]

With no criminal record and first time in court that seems an excessive sentence. I'm surprised he didn't get it suspended as a first offender, especdially with a view to his mental health too. What is it you're asking for to help him?

[Wee-Mee]

I think so too. The lawyer AND the social worker at the time wanted to suspend it and the judge really didn't want to hear it. I think his view on any mental health problems were null and void. I just want support for him within the prison. He repeatedly tells me he's on his own,he's needing to talk to someone,and no one is there.

His mum got in touch withan organisation "the autistic society" and a woman from there was to go see him and a nurse who spoke with him previously told this woman not to bother that he was "fine".

He's not fine. And neither am I with worry :weep: :weep:

[pussy cat]

hi ya - have just been reading through your letter & replies & yes although he is in there to be punished he also deserves to be medically cared for which appears to be missing.i have no experiance of prison procedure but my advice would be that as it appears that no-one is taking any interest including his solicitor how about phoning the govenor of the prison & don,t be fobbed off-demand that someone sees him,asseses him & reports back to you - also how about the prisoners association ? they are suppost to liase with the families-be persistant & firm that you want answers - good luck xx:winks:

[pussy cat]

hi ya again,forgot to say try going into the chat room here - i know from past conversations in there that there are some people who have been in prison & could probably shed some light on his situation-just ask if theres anyone who knows anything about prison procedures-anything is worth a try xx

[ladybird64]

Hi Wee mee

When you wrote about your partner before there were quite a few of us that gave you contact numbers for families of prisoners..did you contact them and what did they advise?

I do understand how upsetting it is for you not being able to find out what is happening but Im afraid that is just the way things are, as you say prisoners families are not a priority and they have no "rights" as such in regards to finding out what is going on inside the prison.

I have a close family member who was in prison a year and a half ago. She does have a drug problem, or rather had, but had already been diagnosed with a psychotic illness (recently diagnosed as schizophrenia), she did not have any treatment for her mental health apart from her medication.
She wasn't transferred to a specialist unit so at least your partner is on the system as having a psychiatric need.

Unfortuantely your fella isn't doing himself any favours by getting into fights when he's in there, that will just make him a target.

It is wrong but there are many people like your partner who have mental health problems and who end up in prison, all you can do is to get in touch with the welfare organisations for support.

Have you been to see him? Would it be possible for him to send a VO to the woman from the autistic society?

To be honest it sounds to me like his ADHD is more of a problem than his autism, not many folks with autism want to sit and have a conversation on a one to one basis with others!

Anyway, I hope the situation improves for you soon.