In Family gets apology after autistic man confined in room for weeks, The Star reports:
A Nova Scotia special care home apologized to the mother of a 20-year-old autistic man who said her son was locked for periods of time over 15 days in a room without a bathroom.
The unidentified man’s confinement at the Braemore Home in Sydney was broken by exercise periods and meals, the provincial government has said. But at times, his mother and staff at the home said, he had to urinate in the room when he couldn’t leave to use a bathroom.
He was watched via video camera and was unable to turn the light off in his own room.
The story makes me see red, quite frankly. But, the man’s grandmother has accepted the apology and, we hope, the facility will change the
The young man’s grandmother said she would accept the apology “as long as it never happens again and they educate their workers about autism.”
“They (residents) are not animals, they are people,” she said. “Treat them with respect. What they did to him was not respectful.”
She said the apology comes late considering the incident was formally determined by provincial investigators to be a case of abuse in November.
The explanation offered is a lack of training:
The union said in a news release its members haven’t received training on how to deal with clients with autism and other special needs.
“There are clients coming into this facility with increasingly complex mental health issues such as autism and staff are receiving virtually no training on how to deal with these residents,” said Kathy MacLeod, the national representative for the CUPE local.
Braemore home lists as its mission:
Our mission is to provide quality programs and services for persons with disabilities. We are committed to supportive living, learning and working environments that promote independence, personal growth, health and well-being.
and under programs, states:
Braemore Home provides an array of integrated, evidence-based programs and services that promote and support the well being of persons with an array of complex disabilities including mild to profound intellectual impaiment[sic], physical disabilities, acquired brain injury, chronic mental illness, and dual diagnosis.
I find it hard to understand how they could not be prepared for an autistic adult. I don’t understand what level of training is required to understand that placing a human in a room without access to toilet, without access to turning off the light, is inappropriate.
Left Brain Right Brain 
I wouldn’t accept that explanation if this were my child. Inadequate training? Pah! Even prisoners are treated better, because they are at least confined in a space with an actual toilet. If this was really something specific to handling of an autistic person, I can only imagine that the staff was deliberately isolating him for punitive reasons. This is the sort of treatment an unruly prisoner might get (except that the prisoner would at least have access to a toilet in his cell). And the idea that they were punishing him raises all sorts of new questions.