David called.
I could sense the worry in his voice.
The first thing he asked about was what goals he needed to have so that he could stay at his current location rather than being moved to the new facility. Rather than going elsewhere, he would rather come home.
David is still too volatile to bring home. We don’t know from minute to minute how he is going to be. He can be good for a week or two, and then turn violent or aggressive with little notice. He needs so much attention that they have one person staffing him. They change this person roughly every three hours. If that is the case, how could I possibly hope to handle him at home?
So we talked about goals. I told him that he needs to develop his own goals. I could offer advice, but ultimately the goals are his.
In the end, he came up with regroups. A regroup is what he has to do if a situation escalates to the point where he is on the verge of being out of control. He knows when that point is. I explained that we hear in staffing how he has to be continually prompted about behaviors. And to take regroups. I told him that if he could take a regroup without prompting, and do it consistently, then we could work on other goals.
In the end, I fear that he was left with the impression that he was coming home. Sadly, that isn’t the case, and it broke my heart explaining to him that he has to work his program before he can come home.
We have his monthly staffing on Monday.
On Thursday evening, i drafted an email to his social worker, and his care coordinator letting them know about our conversation. I explicitly stated that we were not in favor of moving David.
A portion of the response that I received from the staff…
The main reason we want David to go to the other facility is because they can provide the low stimulus environment and we think that may be a key in treating him.
Note: I substituted “the other facility” for the name of the facility that is recommended.
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