Mother posts video of autistic daughter's 'meltdown' to raise awareness of nine-year-old's condition
'We feel we have been left to cope alone' by council, Samantha Mildon says
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Your support makes all the difference.A family has released a distressing video of a young severely autistic girl suffering a "meltdown", which happens up to five times a day.
Nine-year-old Bella Mildon, who has the mental age of a two-year-old, has been left bruised, bleeding, and even hospitalised after her episodes.
She regularly self-harms, banging her head against walls and the floor, and bites and punches herself.
But her parents, Samantha and David Mildon, said they are left to manage Bella on their own as clinical experts who are supposed to support her are not there.
They said they feel “totally abandoned” by North Somerset Council, who Ms Mildon claims are failing Bella.
Ms Mildon, 49, an artist, said: “Bella is supposed to have a community paediatrician, an occupational therapist and an educational psychologist and speech and language support.
“But she has none of this support. When staff leave, they don’t seem to be replaced.
“And with funding cuts, it seems the number of professionals who deal with cases like ours are depleting.”
She added: “Bella is a child with extremely complex needs and we feel totally abandoned by the council.
“We feel we have been left to cope alone and between us are trying to fill all these roles. It’s exhausting and as a family we are at the end of the line.”
Bella, from Nailsea, Bristol, has a non-verbal form of autism, a condition that has worsened over the last 18 months, and also suffers fits and seizures.
She has now been placed on specialist anti-psychotic medication twice a day to help ease her meltdowns.
But the school for pupils with special educational needs that she previously attended deemed her too complex for them. Bella has spent a total of just six hours at her current school in Nailsea since September.
Consequently, she is not being seen by the relevant experts working within the education system.
The family have also been advised to move out of their home in Nailsea and out of North Somerset to access better funding and services for their daughter.
Her parents, who have both had to quit their jobs to care for Bella, often both have to restrain their daughter to stop her from hurting herself.
Ms Mildon, who also has two older children aged 25 and 21, said: “Both Dave and I are now both suffering from depression.
“Neither of us can work because it needs both of us to care for Bella. One of us has to be up with her all night because she doesn’t sleep.
“Dave has been waiting for a hernia operation for two years, because he cannot leave me to care for Bella on my own.
“He used to run his own carpentry business, so was self-employed, but he hasn’t been able to go near it for about six months now because of looking after Bella.”
Ms Mildon added that during a recent episode, Bella broke her bed – but when she asked the council’s occupational health department for a special medical bed, she was told they could not help.
She claimed: “They told us to put a mattress on the floor. How can that be safe or appropriate for any child?
“Bella needs a special bed and, if allowed to sleep just on a mattress, would be banging her head on the walls continually.”
Bella’s parents took the unusual measure of sharing a video on social media of one of her episodes to highlight the issues she is facing.
The family has since been in touch with a consultant clinical psychologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, who has agreed to assess Bella.
Hospital consultants have already advised that Bella’s support in the community needs to be increased.
Ms Mildon said: “It was a huge decision for us to put the footage on social media, but we are desperate for help. We just want to make people aware of our plight.
“We feel Bella has lost everything apart from her parents. But, as parents, we are exhausted.
“If we said we could no longer cope with Bella then the relevant services would have to step up. But we love our daughter and we are never going to say that.
“She is one of our family and we want to care for her. But we cannot do it alone 24/7, 365 days a year. We want Bella to get the support she needs and is entitled to.”
Samantha added that, outside of the meltdowns, her daughter is a happy, giggly child, who enjoying going to trampolining classes once a week.
Council spokeswoman Zoe Briffitt said: “Our relationship with the Mildon family is confidential and we do not comment on individual family matters.
“Children with complex health and learning needs are supported by a range of professionals at the council.
“This includes special educational needs, occupational therapy and social care teams.
“Support is also provided by health services.
“Each child has an education health and care plan, which is developed to co-ordinate the specialist support required.
“This plan is reviewed annually and is formulated with the input of the parents and child.
“We will continue to provide support to the Mildon family to help meet the needs of their daughter.”
SWNS
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