Young man with autism moved to group home after being stuck at Grand Strand hospital

May 18—After spending more than a month involuntarily held in a Myrtle Beach-area hospital room, Braedan Sparlin has been moved to a group home designed to meet his needs.

The Sun News reported last week that the 18-year-old Sparlin, who is nonverbal with severe autism, had been held at Grand Strand Medical Center since April 2, when the S.C. Department of Social Services took custody of him.

Shawna Sparlin, his mother, explained that they were living in a homeless shelter when a shelter case manager witnessed Braedan acting violently toward her, and that incident was reported to police and DSS. She agreed to pursue a path of giving up custody under the premise that he'd quickly be placed in an appropriate treatment facility, but that didn't happen.

She contacted the newspaper after a DSS caseworker warned that Braedan could be left at the hospital for months because no facility had availability.

Several readers and autism advocates expressed strong reactions to the story and reached out to legislators and state officials hoping to get Braedan the help he needed.

Shawna Sparlin happily informed The Sun News Tuesday that those efforts appear to have paid off, as her son has been moved to the Pine Grove group home in Kershaw County. The facility offers 24-hour supervision from behavior technicians and individualized care plans, according to its website.

"This is what I wanted for him," Shawna Sparlin said. "I'm so excited for him."

Pine Grove is more than two hours away from Myrtle Beach, but Sparlin said she's prepared to visit him as soon as she gets permission. She hasn't seen him since DSS took custody of him because the hospital wouldn't allow her into his room.

Christine Sullivan, a local advocate who had making calls and sending emails on Braedan's behalf, also expressed excitement about the result, but noted that there needs to be a fundamental change statewide to ensure a similar situation is prevented in the future.

"We all know people with disabilities have great needs," she said. "We've been advocating, but nothing changes. That doesn't mean we stop (advocating)."

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