In March there were 2,260 people with autism or learning disabilities in mental health hospitals (Picture: Inder Johar/ Caroline Hopton)

Autism is not a mental health disorder – yet hundreds of autistic people remain trapped inside mental health hospitals across the UK.

There, they are often left in seclusion, denied their independence and kept overmedicated, campaigners say.

Two families are now fighting to change the Mental Health Act to stop people with autism and learning difficulties from being ‘wrongly’ sectioned.

Inder Johar, 56, cares for his autistic son Anmol, 24, along with his wife Rani, 54, and a specialist support worker.


He has previously inspected Assessment and Treatment Units (ATUs) with the CQC and described them as being ‘like prisons’.

Anmol Johar, 24, enjoys swimming and supporting Arsenal FC (Picture: Inder Johar)

Inder, from Wembley, said: ‘These places are not homely. They are nothing like what they are advertised as.



‘One facility had seven locked doors before a patient could get outside.

‘That’s seven locked doors someone needs to ask to be opened. An autistic person may not be able to verbalise their needs.

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‘You are basically confined to your room and the lounge seven days a week. It’s not going to treat anybody’s autism or help anybody with learning difficulties.’

Autistic people are most commonly sectioned when their care packages break down, through no fault of their own, Inder added.

He explained that most situations can be easily deescalated with the correct training and support.

Inder said: ‘A few years ago, Anmol got a bit aggressive with his support staff and a passerby called the police. It could have escalated badly. He was annoyed and banging on the car roof.

Dad Inder says autistic people can be sectioned through no fault of their own (Picture: Inder Johar)

‘But it wasn’t his fault, the staff had got it wrong. They were trying to take him cycling and he had said, even with limited vocabulary, no, no, no, I don’t want to go. They ignored his wishes.

‘Luckily I was 15 minutes away, so I could come quickly, calm him down and talk to the police, but for someone who doesn’t have that support, it’s such a narrow step to being sectioned.

‘Rather than blame the care plan, it’s the person who gets punished. He’s the one who would have been detained.’

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Inder now has three questions he and support workers ask themselves when Anmol requests something.

He said they ask: ‘Is it legal? Is it ridiculously dangerous? Can we afford it?’ and if it passes the three tests: ‘You do it for him’.

Anmol is now ‘very happy’ in an environment where he is able to make choices and enjoys being a member of Arsenal FC, swimming and going for drives with his family.

Inder said: ‘Most people with autism, they just need the basics. To have food and be clean, to be loved and have something to look forward to.

Anmol is cared for by his family and support workers at home (Picture: Inder Johar)

‘If a person absolutely must be sectioned, there needs to be a refuge for them, like a sanctuary. Somewhere safe they can be while everyone gets their heads together and works out a plan.’

Caroline Hopton cares for her sons Oliver, 19, and Harry, 21, both of whom are autistic, at home in Windsor.

Oliver’s condition puts him at risk of being sectioned, which the mum-of-two and campaigner described as her ‘worst nightmare’.

She said: ‘We hear about people being fed through hatches, kept isolated and over-medicated. Often parents are put under gag orders and their visiting rights can be very, very limited.



‘It’s beyond Dickensian and it’s barbaric. People go in for a few months to be assessed and end detained for years.

‘Parents’ biggest fears are what will happen to their vulnerable children when they die and are no longer around to advocate for them.

‘People have lost their children to inappropriate care. They’ve died from not having the right support.’

Oliver and Harry both live with their mum in Windsor (Picture: Caroline Hopton)

Caroline’s son Oliver was allegedly mistreated in two consecutive care homes.

Since then, she has had to fight for him to receive the right care and his ‘basic human right’ of being able to go to college.

But she said he ‘flourished’ after coming home, returning ‘not just in person, but also in spirit’, adding that his case proves just how essential the right care package can be.

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She said: ‘People with autism often suffer from anxiety and that’s to do with an inability to express themselves.

‘If they’re in pain or emotionally upset – or indeed, being neglected or abused in a facility – it can come out in behaviours that challenge.

‘This can lead to them being sectioned, but they shouldn’t be getting to those points.

‘Oliver is thriving now because he has the right support. If you strip that away, he’s going to be anxious, upset and confused and things would quickly spiral downhill.

Caroline described the treatment as ‘Dickensian’ (Picture: Caroline Hopton)

‘Harry is currently not at risk as he has no behaviour that challenge, but if he was stripped of support he could become isolated and depressed.’

Autistic people can be detained under the Mental Health Act because autism is listed as a mental health disorder.


At the end of March 2019, NHS figures revealed there were 2,260 people with autism or learning disabilities in mental health hospitals.

Inder and Caroline have now launched a crowdfunding appeal for specialist lawyers to advise on whether they can bring a judicial review to challenge the law.

Anne-Marie Irwin, Senior Associate Solicitor at Irwin Mitchell, said: ‘We intend to look at whether the Mental Health Act discriminates against people with learning disabilities and autism, whether it’s a breach of their human rights, and whether it complies with the Equality Act, with the aim of sending a letter to the government stating why the law needs to be changed.

‘They will have the opportunity to respond but we may be left with no option but to issue a judicial review of whether the government is acting lawfully in maintaining this law.’

You can donate to the campaign here.

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