1:30pm Tuesday 9th March 2010
By James Savage
THE grandmother of an Asperger’s syndrome sufferer who was killed in Worcestershire has praised the Government for improving its policies to help adults with autism after she wrote a letter to the Prime Minister.
Adrian Palmer’s body was discovered in May 2006, dumped in an alleyway in Tenbury Wells.
The 21-year-old had been strangled by Ben Murphy, who was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison.
Margaret Palmer, of Bromyard Road, Tenbury, has written two letters to Gordon Brown since her grandson’s death. The first criticised the police for failing to properly investigate rape claims made by Mr Palmer prior to his death.
The matter was passed to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which identified a number of “failings” by West Mercia Police in a report last week.
She also wrote to the Prime MInister last July after hearing about Asperger’s sufferer Gary McKinnon, who faces an extradition hearing to the US for hacking thousands of Pentagon computers in search of material on UFOs. If extradited and convicted in the US, Mr McKinnon faces up to 70 years in jail.
Mrs Palmer made a series of recommendations on how the Government could improve its policies for helping adults with autism – the umbrella term for conditions such as Asperger’s syndrome, symptoms of which include repetitive behaviours and difficulties in social interaction.
She said: “I was watching the news and couldn’t believe it when I saw the Government was basically announcing it would do all of the things I had suggested in my letter.
In her letter to the Prime Minister she wrote: “You just have no idea about this hidden complex disability. [Sufferers] are unique and, if helped and guided in the right direction, can hold a job and be brilliant in what they do. There is no specific guidance from government and it is time something was done about it.
“If you were to listen, Prime Minister, you would be getting at least a million extra votes in the next general election.”
The new autism strategy, announced by care services minister Phil Hope includes a new National Autism Programme Board to lead change in public services, a programme to develop training with health and social care professionals and autism awareness training for all Jobcentre Plus disability employment advisers.
There will also be guidance on making public services accessible for adults with autism by improving buildings, public transport and communication.
We reported in your Worcester News how Adrian Palmer’s family are in the process of setting up a charity called Ade 4 Autism which will help adults with the condition find work.
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