Autistic Hull man goes home after 15 years in hospital

The BBC reports that:

“A man with autism who has spent nearly half his life detained in a mental health hospital has been released after a long campaign by his mother.

Ryan Clarke, 32, had been in hospital since 2006.

His mother, Sharon, from Doncaster said he was “over the moon” to return home after 15 years.

In July the National Autistic Society (NAS) said the number of autistic people confined to mental health units in England was a “national scandal”.

Mr Clarke was admitted to hospital over concerns he would self-harm.

He was originally diagnosed with schizophrenia, but received a revised diagnosis of autism when he was 28.

Until Monday he had spent the past five years in a forensic psychiatry unit, which also cared for patients with criminal convictions.

Mrs Clarke said her son was “ecstatic” to have been discharged and would now live independently in his own accommodation with carers.

“He was over the moon, he loved it,” she said. …”

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