'I left my son at school so he'd be taken into care'

The parent of a teen with terrible learning difficulties says she was truthful hopeless for assistance from societal services that she felt she had “no option” but to driblet him astatine schoolhouse and not instrumentality to prime him up again.

Rita Orr says 15-year-old Callum, who besides has autism, often had carnal outbursts successful which helium would injure himself.

She told the BBC she spent 2 years pleading with the section wellness spot for much support, but erstwhile it didn’t come, she near Callum astatine schoolhouse and contacted a societal idiosyncratic truthful helium would beryllium taken into exigency care.

The spot which is liable for Callum’s attraction says it cannot remark connected the case.

BBC Northern Ireland's Spotlight has spoken to mothers who are struggling to header with sons whose analyzable needs tin pb to assertive outbursts – often leaving themselves and different household members injured.

The NHS utilized to proviso respite attraction that would springiness those families a interruption of 1 oregon 2 nights per month.

But that attraction has been evaporating successful Northern Ireland owed to a fig of factors – including the nonaccomplishment of facilities and an expanding fig of children who person gone into full-time care.

Forty-four children with a scope of disabilities person gone into attraction successful Northern Ireland implicit the past 4 years.

Many of these cases were unplanned exigency placements.

Ms Orr says she lived with years of "dangerous behaviour" earlier making the determination to spot him successful exigency attraction earlier this year.

“It goes against everything I thought I would beryllium arsenic a mum,” adding she “yearned” for her small lad again.

“He enactment his caput done our surviving country model and done different model successful the house," she told BBC News NI.

On a travel to Crawfordsburn, Ms Orr said helium deed his caput connected the backmost model of the car, shattering the solid and cutting his look and head.

“I’d ne'er seen the likes of it before," she said.

"We pleaded and pleaded for help, and we were told determination was nothing.”

"But that's the level of information helium was putting himself under."

Callum is present cared for by the South Eastern Health Trust.

Spotlight has learned determination are presently nary residential places for disabled children successful 2 of Northern Ireland's wellness trusts.

Families are alternatively being asked to see sending their children to residential facilities successful different parts of the UK oregon the Republic of Ireland, astatine a outgo of up to £20,000 a week of nationalist money.

When distressed, immoderate children with terrible learning difficulties tin injure themselves, their parents, oregon different household members during carnal outbursts that they are incapable to control.

In the past, families successful these circumstances person been offered overnight respite astatine wellness spot facilities crossed Northern Ireland.

It allowed the children to beryllium cared for successful a harmless and unafraid environment, portion allowing their families a interruption from caring responsibilities.

However, galore of those facilities are nary longer disposable for respite arsenic they are being utilized to location children who’ve gone into full-time care.

Julie Tipping told BBC News NI she had been warring to get much assistance and enactment for her 11-year-old son, Theo.

"I emotion him with each my bosom but it’s truthful hard to watch,” she said.

“He’s rather a large boy, but erstwhile he’s truly distressed similar that and lashing out, it’s sore.

“He tin truly wounded you, not meaning to, of course, and determination is simply a existent fearfulness astir wherever this is going.”

Responsibility for Theo's attraction falls to the Belfast Health Trust.

In a statement, a spokesperson says it is precise atrocious that it is incapable to connection overnight breaks, but that the spot is presently exploring ways of reintroducing them.

It added that it does each it tin to supply enactment for autistic children.

Another mum told BBC News NI she had suffered cuts, bruising and had hairsbreadth pulled retired arsenic a effect of her 12-year-old son’s outbursts.

“I adore Danny truthful much," said Claire Miller.

"I consciousness perfectly unspeakable adjacent discussing the injuries and the behaviour we person to unrecorded with, but you consciousness similar you’ve been shouting and screaming for assistance and nobody’s listening."

Ms Miller's lad receives immoderate after-school enactment from the South Eastern Health Trust, which said it could not connection respite due to the fact that beds were being utilized by children who request semipermanent placement.

In a connection the spot said it understood the unit placed connected families, adding that it hoped aboriginal backing mightiness supply for respite.

Some families successful Northern Ireland person mounted ineligible enactment successful a bid to unafraid further overnight attraction for their children.

Solicitor Eamonn McNally said adjacent those which were palmy were failing to supply meaningful change.

“It’s precise disappointing for america astatine the Children's Law Centre due to the fact that we bring the lawsuit with the thought that it'll amended the strategy for each children," helium said.

“But the reply has conscionable been, 'ok, you've got your declaration; we admit that we are wrong', but nary work has been produced connected the backmost of these."

“There are truthful galore children present needing a residential placement, truthful galore families that we spell to meetings with, that person been offered the retired of jurisdiction [option].

Mr McNally said the outgo of providing that attraction determination other would beryllium "colossal".

Shirelle Stewart, NI Director of the National Autistic Society, said she was disquieted astir the consequences of parents managing hard behaviour astatine location alone.

“I deliberation it feels really, truly unsafe due to the fact that you can't, connected the 1 hand, measure idiosyncratic arsenic needing that level of enactment and past not supply it," she said.

“So, it is simply a danger. It’s a information that’s being managed successful the community.”

In a connection to Spotlight, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said the existent concern was “unsustainable”, adding helium was determined to spot “urgent improvements”.

But his section added that the fig of children needing disablement attraction is growing.

• Spotlight: I Am Not Okay is connected BBC One NI connected Tuesday astatine 22:40 BST and is disposable connected BBC iPlayer.