Now in his forties, Brad has two children. 

He also has Huntington's Disease and lives in an aged care facility because there is nowhere else for him to go.

Their training in the very different support needs of frail older people, means that the nursing home's staff struggle to provide the supports Brad needs to maintain his health and well being.

Living with people 60 and 70 years older than he is means that Brad has little interaction with the other residents.

His children also find it confronting to visit their father in the nursing home and have stopped coming to see him. 

This has not only deepened the social isolation Brad experiences; it has also robbed him of seeing his children.

Brad wants to get the supports he needs and live in an environemnt that his children will feel happy to visit him in.  He also wants to live with other young people his own age who share similar outlooks and interests.

Brad's father, Jim, has been trying to get the accommodation and supports Brad needs.

Jim says, "Until both of my sons tested positive to Huntingtons Disease some years ago, I had very little understanding of the problems faced by young people in nursing homes and, quite frankly, I probably did not take much interest.

But when my younger son died at only 38 years of age and my elder son was admitted to an aged care facility in his early 40's I began to have a close look at the YPINH issue.

My first wife had died of HD.  So had her mother and her four sisters. In those days,very little was known about HD and even less about the symptoms associated with the disease.

That made me realise there is a huge difference between AGED care facilities and care for YOUNG people in nursing homes.

My elder son, Brad, has been in and out of aged care homes for some years. In some cases I have had no problem with the quality of care he has received but I have ALWAYS had concerns about the qualifications of the nursing staff in terms of understanding his disease and their ability to support his needs appropriately.

That is not the fault of the nursing home management or their staff because their training does not extend beyond caring for much older residents with escalating dementia problems. But neither is it my son's fault.

HD care requires a certain amount of expertise and a sufferer must be with younger residents for the purpose of proper inter-action.

Until recently, Brad was living in an aged care nursing home. But after suffering a mood swing, he was abruptly transferred to a hospital without even a change of clothing or toiletries.

He is currently being assessed for admission to yet another aged care facility which will once again prove to be unsuitable for his needs.

Because it cannot provide the supports he needs, the nursing home has refused to have him back and he is again in limbo.

Because HD is inherited, people with this disease have generally lost one of their parents and quite probably their siblings as well.

A remaining parent is generally elderly (as I am) and unable to provide the care and attention so urgently needed.

That is why so many people afflicted with HD will need to be domiciled in supported accommodation settings that can provide the services and supports they need.

But these places MUST be designed to cater for younger people who are able to interact.

My wonderful wife Lorraine and I both have health problems and our major concern is that we will not be around to help Brad when he needs it most.

If he were to be re-located in a more suitable environment with younger people our minds would at last be at rest.

The last few years have been unbearable and people such as our son deserve to spend their days with dignity."