“The ‘New’ Life of Ryan” 17th March 2023.

Hello lovely readers,

Another week has gone by since my last blog and it’s been an up and down week, in more ways than one. The weather has been all over the place, there was a crisis at the BBC and a budget which, as usual, did nothing for people with autism and LD. When is someone in power going to help all these poor people?

In general, Ryan has had a really good week, with one exception. On Wednesday Peter and I went round to his house. He was in a good mood, but kept pestering me for a video game for his playstation. He isn’t allowed violent video games as they make him agitated and he responds badly. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want them of course! We had to say no to him and he wasn’t happy. Then he wanted to go for another drive out. He had only just got back from a 2.5 hour drive so his house manager said no. When he was told no again, he had a meltdown. The staff managed him brilliantly, so I say thank you to all of the staff concerned Dorinda HM, Alisha, Anthonia and last but not least Mihaela for the amazing way you cared for him. You were all brilliant.

Apart from that one incident, Ryan has had a great week. He has been settled and happy, and has gone out and about, driving and walking, plus all the usual things around the house. His favourite visitor is still the local cat, who visits daily. Ryan loves the visits, and the cat seems to love visiting! It is so good for Ryan, whatever his mood he responds immediately and is so gentle and loving. I don’t know who’s cat it is, but thank you as it is fabulous therapy for Ryan.

Ryan’s lovely house manager, Dorinda, has been saying that Ryan has been opening up a bit more about how he is feeling. This is great as it helps everyone to understand his triggers. I hope he carries on, as he has never opened up about how he feels, what annoys him or causes him anxiety. One day he will open up about his years as a psychiatric patient, and what really did go on, and how he was treated.

One of his lovely team, Alisha, had these kind words to say about Ryan 👇 😀

“I first met Ryan in November 2021. I have seen Ryan on good and bad days. Ryan is fantastic in every way, shape and form, and I see more of the real Ryan every day. He used to take time to adjust to new people, but recently I have seen a change and he greets them very positively. It’s lovely to see Ryan progress to such a funny and generous person. When he goes into the community, he is forever saying “morning, how’s your day?” Sometimes Ryan struggles with anxiety but it doesn’t last long. He has taught me so much, and I thank him for making me a more caring person. Every day is different with Ryan, but when we give him a task he always completes it. I am getting upset writing this as I am so proud of him. I would like to thank all his staff, past and present, for being a wonderful team. Thanks to Sugarman Health and to Sharon for the opportunity to make a change in someone’s life”

Beautiful words, Alisha, and I know you mean them. Thanks for all you do, and that goes to all of the staff too. I am so happy we have got such a nice team. I want the very best for Ryan, as he has forfeited so much of his life already. I am also a worrier, so your messages and texts to update me on how he is mean so much much to me, it’s difficult to explain, but only a parent of a child who has autism LD etc will understand. I know what my son was like before the forced feeding of anti-psychotics, (most of which are very harmful). Ryan is a kind soul, he is very affectionate, and although he’s been mistreated in the past by those who were meant to care for him l know he doesn’t harbour any grudge. On the other hand, l am not so forgiving and if you hurt my children l will never ever forget or forgive you.

As you know my son takes the anti-psychotic Olanzapine which can cause urinary infections etc, so l hope Ryan’s GP will want to prescribe him omega 3/ cod liver oil, as l’ve been reading how good this can be for the gut.

That’s all for this week, so please join me next week for another blog charting my son’s new life,

Sharon (Ryan’s Mum)

#Ryansreleased

#Autism

#Learning disabilities

#Depression

#Mentalhealth

#HomesNotHospitals

#Justiceforall

#Communitycareisthebest