Parents want to take their son out of an isolation room

Annie Piché and Anthony Langlois are outraged. Sad too. For nearly 50 days, their 21-year-old autistic son, suffering from a serious behavioral disorder, has been confined practically 24 hours a day in an isolation room at the Rivière-Rouge hospital, in the Laurentians. “It’s inhumane! », denounces the mother.

Annie Piché recognizes it: her boy is far from being an easy case. Justin, who is 6 feet tall and weighs more than 200 pounds, can be violent when he “gets disorganized.” “When he charges someone, he charges without restraint,” she explains.

And that’s what he did. During a crisis in August, the young man injured several employees of the Rivière-Rouge behavioral rehabilitation unit, where he has been staying since July.

This unit is intended for adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or an intellectual disability (ID), who present a serious behavioral disorder and who are “failing to function”.

After these events, Justin was placed in an isolation room. His mattress, his SpongeBob stuffed animals, his MP3 player and his speaker were moved there. “He can only go out to shower and go to the toilet,” his mother reports.

For almost a week, he has also been making “small outings” to “go to his room or blow bubbles on the balcony”. “Making bubbles is fun, but it’s 15 minutes in a day! “, she says.

Annie Piché demands that her non-verbal autistic son return to his room. “He did not end up in the isolation room by mistake,” concedes the mother, who also has a 19-year-old non-verbal autistic daughter who lives at the family home in Lachute.

“But it’s not supposed to stay there for more than 30 days. He deserves a little more dignity and respect. »

Five response officers needed

With the authorization of Annie Piché, the CISSS des Laurentides commented on Justin’s case. According to the establishment, the 21-year-old user is “considered at risk of significant danger”. He requires “the accompaniment of five intervention agents at all times” when he moves around the unit.

The CISSS recalls that last August, Justin “attacked staff members”, in addition to having tried to “attack another user”.

He was placed in an isolation room, a “measure of last resort” to ensure his safety and that of others around him.

The CISSS affirms that the user is constantly reassessed “with the aim of being able to resort to other alternatives”. The care team is also “working” to ensure that Justin’s outdoor outings “resume as soon as possible, in a safe environment for all.”

Every Sunday, Annie Piché took her son to eat at a fast restaurant and go shopping, activities that he loved, she assures. The mother must now see her boy in a room in the unit, equipped with a camera and supervised by an officer.

Back to his room?

Justin could return to his room next Friday or Monday, his mother learned Wednesday (nearly a week after The Press contacted the CISSS). However, its door will be locked and a camera will be installed there, conditions to which Annie Piché has agreed.

“It will be better mentally for my son,” she thinks. He can draw on the window with his erasable pencils.

But will he be able to get out? Five agents are required for his travels. Annie Piché wants the CISSS to call on employees of a private placement agency who have already taken care of her son in the intensive youth rehabilitation unit, which accommodated him until July.

“We are in an extreme situation,” she pleads.

A rare and complex case

Cases like Justin’s are rare and complex, points out the D^r Alexis Beauchamp-Châtel, psychiatrist at the University Mental Health Institute of Montreal, who follows adult clients with ASD or ID.

Without wanting to comment on the young man’s situation, he emphasizes that isolation is a solution of last resort. Setting up an intervention plan is “long”.

Several causes can explain aggression (noise, disturbing odors, pain, etc.) and hypotheses must be “tested”.

“When users are aggressive, very dangerous and send the world into illness, we are a little stuck, observes the D^r Alexis Beauchamp-Châtel. If the workers are afraid of the patient, they will not be able to intervene. »

Leaving isolation must nevertheless remain the ultimate goal, according to the psychiatrist. This control measure is subject to close monitoring by health establishments, he specifies.

“There must be great vigilance when there are situations like this to prevent abuse,” he adds.

Annie Piché and her partner promise to stay on the lookout. Their son doesn’t speak. But they can be heard.