Heartbreak and hope Mum's battle to find a place for autistic son to thrive

A BRISTOL mother has spoken candidly about the heartbreak and hope of finding long-term residential care for her severely autistic son - and the overwhelming guilt of letting go.

- Lewis CLARKE

Carole Buckley, whose son David was diagnosed with autism before the age of three, said she visited more than a dozen services and called 25 different providers before finding the right place for him to thrive.

David, now 36, lives at Beeches in Retford, a Cygnet Social Care service that provides round-the-clock support for adults with complex needs. He also has epilepsy, severe learning disabilities, and no verbal communication.

Carole and her husband, both doctors, first noticed something was different when David was around 18 months old. Until then, he had met all the milestones of a healthy newborn.

"He was hormonal, grumpy, sometimes violent," Carole said. "He was 6ft 4in nonverbal, epileptic, clearly a young man with very complex needs."

As David approached his mid-teens, it became clear his needs could no longer be met by his special school in Nailsea.

The family began an intensive search for alternative support - a process that took them across the country.