Fighting for Answers | Author Archives | Page 20carl, Author at Fighting for Answers

positive thoughts about David

Met with the team about David today. Largely, the meeting was positive in nature. Working on the same issues of stealing, and aggression. Some days it is one step forward and two steps back, but he is working hard. Can’t ask for more than that right now. They had to make some changes to locks on cupboards and closets because David figured out how to pick the locks that were there. They also made it a rule that morning stuff has to be done before breakfast. You know, make your bed, brush your teeth, pick up your room – that kind of thing. Staff isn’t allowed to carry cell phone into the cottage now, less temptation for David that way. Seriously looking at putting the whole family into family counseling. They offer it, so it would be a matter of making the trip up there for services. One evening a

a thought about publicity and blogging about my son

there are some who write blogs about their families that do so for the attention and the publicity that they can attain. My blog has never been about getting a bunch of attention. It has been about our struggles with mental illness in a small child. It is about our struggle in getting appropriate services both in school and in treatment centers for that child. We, our family, miss David everyday that he is gone. He has been in the residential psychiatric facility for 2 and a half months. In that time, my level of posting has decreased. Why? Without David at home, there is very little to write about. His care is satisfactory, he appears to be responding well to treatment goals. We do not know when David will be returning to the family home. At this point, we want to get through the holidays and see how things

my child with autism is not a monster

Let us get this straight. Autism is not a monstrous disorder that makes people into killers. My son with autism is not a monster. My son with autism is highly intelligent. My son with autism is reclusive and at times shy. My son with autism doesn’t handle stimulation well. My son with autism doesn’t handle most social situations appropriately. My son with autism doesn’t respond to bullies appropriately. My son with autism is a human being who is different from those without autism. My son is not Adam in the making. To imply that any autism tendencies that Adam displayed were the reason for his murderous spree, is doing a huge disservice to anyone with an autism spectrum diagnosis. My son knows he has a form of autism. To us, the autism isn’t a hindrance, it is a bonus that has gifted him with extraordinary abilities in information recall and