AUNTIE

[Marthaclemat]

Hi there, I have a quick question. My Nephew was diagnosed with learning difficulties at age 50. Long story but his grandma who brought him up did not want any child of hers with a label etc etc. She died 8 years ago and he lives in her large house alone which he cannot manage. His hoarding has reached epic proportions and he won't let anyone in. We cannot access any help because of his label of Learning Difficulties not Disabled. My question is can someone be re-labeled? Looking at the criteria we do believe that he has a disability, not just difficulties as all areas of his life are affected and now we can't get him any help. He is living in a terrible state (so we've heard, as I said he won't let us in).

Many thanks

[Sugar59]

This is such a sad state of affairs. If he won't let you in, is there anyone that he trusts who can get him assessed?

Also, question the "difficulty" label; it is a disability if it's a permanent impairment - Google the legal definition of disabled/disability and get adult social services involved.

My heart breaks for you both - I hope you can get him the help that he clearly needs.

[LearningLot]

Have you called adult social care and told them how you feel the house is unsafe? A diagnosis is not needed. There's some information on who qualifies for adult social care here: mind.org.uk/information-sup...

[Arts123]

You can get social services involved because the house might be a fire hazard due to the hoarding. It’s also likely that he’s not looking after himself properly so he might be entitled to having someone come to clean or help with shopping or cooking as well as disability benefits. He could be very anxious about letting people in because he knows he’s not coping but he’ll be so much happier once he gets proper support. All the best to you for being concerned.