- Category: Crisis Response, Denied Treatment in Custody, Discharged Without a Safe Plan — Hospital, Involuntary Commitment Barriers, Jail Instead of Hospital, Refusal Treated as Capacity
- Tag(s): Anosognosia / Lack of Insight, Homelessness, Incarceration, Intellectual or Developmental Disability, Severe Deterioration
- State: FL
My son is 26 years old and has high-functioning autism. He has been diagnosed with several mental health conditions over the years, but his current diagnosis is schizophrenia, which has been determined to be disabling. Like many people with this illness, he has very limited insight into his condition and appears to suffer from anosognosia.
In the fall of 2025, he began seeing a new provider once a month through virtual visits. My understanding is that he did not disclose his schizophrenia diagnosis and instead requested medication for anxiety and ADHD. He was prescribed an SSRI and Adderall, 30 mg per day. The change in his demeanor was immediate and concerning.
I contacted the provider’s office several times and asked that they review his treatment plan in light of his schizophrenia diagnosis and the rapid change in his behavior. I was told they could not speak with me because I am not his legal guardian.
His condition continued to deteriorate. On two separate occasions, we brought him to a behavioral health hospital, but he refused treatment. Over the past two weeks, he has had five separate interactions with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando. During one of those incidents, he was Baker Acted and taken to University Behavioral Center. He remained there for three days and was then discharged to a homeless shelter, without prescriptions and without any meaningful care management or follow-up plan.
He has chosen to live in a city far from any family members, which makes it extremely difficult for us to monitor his safety, advocate for him, or intervene when his condition worsens.
Although the Sheriff’s Office had already interacted with him three times in the prior two days, he was later arrested for trespassing at a Walmart and taken to jail. His mugshot shows a black eye, and his face is almost unrecognizable. His sister, his father, and I have all called the jail repeatedly, pleading for the medical team to evaluate him.
Despite those calls, he remains in a jail cell while clearly suffering from a serious mental illness.
I am angry, heartbroken, and deeply frustrated. Providers and law enforcement repeatedly cite his “rights” as the reason his family cannot be included in his care, yet there seems to be no equal respect for his right to receive appropriate medical treatment, psychiatric stabilization, and basic human dignity.
*Each story is shared by someone impacted by untreated SMI, lightly edited for clarity, never for meaning.
THE ASK
The author’s message for legislators:
I would ask for help in two ways.
First, I need urgent constituent assistance to ensure my son receives a psychiatric and medical evaluation while he is in custody and is considered for mental health diversion rather than remaining in jail for behavior driven by serious mental illness.
Second, I am asking you to look at the larger system failure. My son was Baker Acted, held for three days, discharged to a homeless shelter without prescriptions or meaningful care management, and then arrested shortly afterward. His family repeatedly tried to provide critical clinical information but was shut out under the explanation of privacy and rights.
I am not asking to take away his civil rights. I am asking for a system that recognizes anosognosia, accepts family collateral information, requires safe discharge planning, and ensures that people with serious mental illness are not left untreated until they end up in jail.
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One Response
Thank you for this article. My son is in Adams County Jail in Colorado. He has been in and out of jail since 2024 due to his stopping taking his anti psychotic medication. He has became addicted to Crystal Meth.
Adams County jails are releasing our mentally ill addicts into the streets without mental health resources, drug court, drug testing and probation. My son has had three drug possession charges and was not given probation or drug testing. Jail as you know is a revolving door for our mentally ill.
I guess I’m just venting here because I have gone to every court and written letters to judges and yet nothing changes. My son has a competency court date July 23rd and I am praying the Judicial system will provide the help he desperately needs.
Thank you for all you do to help our mentally ill.