As part of this year’s Autism Acceptance Week, we wanted to share Anthony’s story. Here at LSCft we put service users at the heart of what we do and so in each edition of Shine magazine, we will carry one of their stories.
Meet Anthony Kenyon, 33, a service user who also works for us.
It is eight years since Anthony left Guild Lodge, our secure hospital. Today, we are proud to say that he works in our transformation team, delivering training as a person with lived experience and is involved in our Service User and Carer Council.
Here, Anthony shares his story….
“I am Anthony Kenyon and I have Asperger’s Syndrome. When I left Guild Lodge in 2014, I went into National Autistic Society supported accommodation. Since then I’ve had my ups and downs but I’ve managed to stay out of hospital and done really well.
I always say it’s with the right care and support from the forensic community mental health team (FCMHT), the community mental health team (CMHT) and community psychiatric nurses I now live in my own flat.
It will be over 22 years that I have been under the care of mental health services. From around the age of 13, I was detained under the Mental Health Act eleven times and I was in hospital on and off in total for eight years.
I was in LSCft’s Guild Lodge twice and I was heading towards Ashworth High Security Hospital at one time. I have been in other low secure units and numerous psychiatric intensive care units and acute wards. I have also been on numerous antipsychotics, anti-depressants and mood stabilisers as well as benzodiazepines.”
When Anthony was 14, he was diagnosed with Autism - later redefined as Asperger’s when he was 19.
Around 79 percent of people with autism experience mental health problems – and reducing health inequalities experienced by autistic people is a key priority for NHS England and NHS Improvement Autism Programme.
Anthony reflects:
“I always say I am where I am today because of the right help and support from family, friends and professionals, but you’ve got to help yourself, you’ve got to engage and want to get better. My next goal is ten years out of hospital, so two years to go.
After leaving Guild Lodge I moved to supported accommodation under the care of the Trust’s teams. I left after a year and moved back to Burnley where I learned to drive; it was hard because of the anxiety that comes with Asperger’s but I like to challenge myself.
I then moved to my own flat with no support workers and was volunteering for the Trust and the Alzheimer’s Society.
Then LSCft said they wanted me to come and work for them!”
Anthony’s appointment as a person with lived experience is part of our pledge to ensure service users continue to be at the forefront of all aspects of what we do and the services we offer.
On what he enjoys about work:
“I work on improving lots of aspects of patient care, my lived experience helps me to educate colleagues on how to treat all people with autism with what we call ‘a person centred’ approach. I love all the work the Trust is doing to create sensory friendly wards and tactile quiet calm areas.
I just want to help other people. I try to do one nice thing every day because that helps me as well.
I’m working towards being discharged from the Community Mental Health Team and maybe getting promoted!”
We wish Anthony all the best for the future!
