Fife Family Move To Be Near Autistic Son

A Fife family have been forced to move to England to be near their severely autistic son.

Tianze Ni's parents Nina and Clinton say he's stranded in hospital, and an independent doctor's recently recommended the 17 year old be allowed to go to a residential school or college.

Fife Council said it couldn't continue providing care for the teenager at a specialist school in Alloa after he had a violent outburst.

Tianze's mum Nina's calling for the UK government to provide funding to establish a care home for the teenager.

Her petition - signed by 16 and a half thousand people - was handed in to Downing Street this week.

Nina said: "We used to live in Fife, with Tianze together happily, but in May 2014 Tianze was moved to a hospital in Middlesbrough over 200 miles away for assessments. 

"It was only supposed to be for a maximum of 12 weeks but he is still there - it has now been over 10 months. 

"Since there is no residential placement in Scotland ready for him, he was stuck in mental health hospital in Middlesbrough after finishing the assessment in August.

"Every week we've had to travel 400 miles round to see my son - it is 12-14 hours total journey for a two hour supervised visit. 

"It is not only exhausting but also financially difficult. 

"My son misses home so much. He loves music, so he has written a song called "Back Home" that he sings everyday to me. Every time, when we finsih this two hours visit , we have to say goodbye and it is heartbreaking."

"Severely Let Down"

Nina says Tianze wakes up every morning at 4AM to cross another day off the calendar, counting the days until he can get home. The teenager spent his birthday and Christmas under supervision in the hospital.

She added: "When Tianze is stressed, his behaviour can deteriorate and since he has been away from home his self-harming has gotten worse. 

"Currently his two arms and one of his legs are full of marks - which were not there before he went to hospital.

"The doctor in the hospital has declared that Tianze's condition has deteriorated after 6 months there, due to the additional time he has stayed in an inappropriate environment . 

"In Summer last year, these professionals were trying to find a residential school for him, but at end of October, the doctor in that hospital said he is no longer fit for a school but just fit for another hospital. 

"The Government promised people with autism would be given the best possible care in their communities. Instead Tianze has been severely let down by the institutions who are supposed to be helping us and he needs to be back with his family where he belongs.