Post 19

Jacob was brain damaged at birth and is epileptic as well as being on the autistic spectrum.

He has severe challenging behaviour and was at a residential school until 18 and I wanted him to stay there another year but because of his aggression he was permanently excluded.

He went into a mental hospital for an assessment and ran off which was terrible. I was tearing my hair out because he really can’t cope on his own. He looks completely normal but he doesn’t speak so how could he manage? He turned up eventually but we never found out what had happened to him. That was the worst time and I’ve been through a lot.

I went to see a lot of schools but they all said they couldn’t cope with Jacob so we eventually settled on a home for disabled young people which seems to work well for him. They focus on living skills. I know that he will never be able to live independently but if he can cook for himself and manage his own care that will be something.