Parents of children with autism or all other types of learning difficulties want to use a test case to challenge a law that sidelines families when a child turns 18.
Rosa Monckton (above) whose daughter, Domenica, 23, has Down’s Syndrome, said that although the children might technically be young adults, they lack the mental capacity to make key decisions.
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Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, parents who want to be the decision maker for a young adult must ask the Court of Protection for ‘deputyship’ – awarded only in very difficult cases.
Rosa Monckton and two others want the presumption to favour parents, or siblings if they die. She said, “The 2005 act was designed to protect people heading off into Alzheimer’s, nobody thought about its impact on people who never had capacity in the first place.”
The parents are being advised by Alex Rook, a partner at Irwin Mitchell. They are endeavouring to raise £10,000 via the CrowdJustice website.
Rook said their case could be listed two months after the money is raised.