Expert: Paul Johnson - 6/9/2010

Question
I had come home from work at about 5:30 the other day, and a neighbour stopped me to tell me something about my 22-year-old son, who has Asperger's syndrome. They told me he'd been taken to hospital and put on medication for schizophrenia after complaining of a "shark in his insides". He was diagnosed as being delusional and put on medication for this.

I went to the hospital immediately, and told the doctor that this wasn't a sign of medication, it was a favourite childhood book of his that referred to animals injuring parts of the body as ways of being ill was his understanding, that he had Asperger's syndrome, but the doctor was insistent my son is schizophrenic.

My husband is furious with the doctors over this, and I am too.

How am I meant to deal with this? As I write this, they are refusing to release him, claiming that they can hold him as long as they like under The Mental Health Act 1983. (I live in the United Kingdom).

What should/can we do about the situation?

Answer
Hey Rachelle

Thank you for your question. It was both interesting and challenging. I will preface my answer with a statement that your direct question is more legal than psychological.

There is some similarities between Autism and Schizophrenia. How I feel they contrast is beyond the scope of my answer. Both however are characteristic of thinking that can be described as beyond that of conventional wisdom. The general population has a certain parameter of what is commonly thought of as "normal" and acceptable. When an individual says and acts outside this imaginary box/boundary they are thought to be "crazy". Without anything substantial to base a response authorities are trained to protect the public from threat even if this means to protect an individual from them self. In the latter situation the best known hunch would be schizophrenia. For no other reason that schizophrenia is much better known than Autism. So the authorities acted hastily and erroneously. All they have to say is that they needed to react to the threat of an irrational young man.

The true battle that you have is over conscious awareness of aberrant behavior. Better recognition would lead to a more humane and accurate response-but law enforcement all over the world generally have a poor understanding of how to respond to those with alternative consciousness. Advocacy is your only effect you can have on them right now.