Category Archives: Mental Health

Articles relating to mental health are in this category. Typically they will fall into one of two categories. Yours, or your child’s. Yes, your mental health is important.

Less than 24 hours and a wake up

Less than 24 hours and a wake up from now, barring some intervention, David will be home.

He will come home from a supported environment where he has constant supervision, consistent support, and success in school, to home.

Home where we can’t recreate the level of support he has now.

  If something happens to me or someone in the family, remind the people at the facility and at the state, that I warned them that something would happen.

Where we will live on edge waiting for him to fall apart mentally.

We are appealing the denials, but all of that takes time.  The Developmental Disabilities denial, the supported living staff denial, and general disregard for the welfare of not just the family, but of David.  I am preparing a complaint with the ethics board that governs psychologists because of their unauthorized testing of David.

I don’t understand how a facility that claims to be helping children, can be so emboldened as to deny ongoing care.

David understands that he may go to a therapeutic foster home if we can get one approved.  He also understands that there is a limited chance he will get extended again at the facility.

I have made arrangements for him to be transported to school.  The day school he will attend is 58 miles from home.  Our local district will provide transportation.

At this point, I have done everything I know how to do.  I have spoken with those I can speak with and who will listen.  However, the ones who are in control at this point, are also the ones who have dug their heals in so tightly that they are no longer helping the situation.

I look forward to completing their survey, because honestly,, I can find nothing “trauma informed” about their care of our son.

Please, if you are of a mind to, please pray for David.  Share this post far and wide.

If something happens to me or someone in the family, remind the people at the facility and at the state, that I warned them that something would happen.

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SMI and the Tragedy of Adulthood

SMI – Serious Mental Illness

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health  (NSDUH), which defines SMI (Serious Mental Illness) as:

Rethink Mental Illness

Rethink Mental Illness (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, what does this have to do with David?

David came to us when he was 18 months old.  We became his parents, legally, 6 months later.  In truth, since he was just months old, he has been a part of our lives.  Mom had a home daycare.  And we filled in as needed for his foster family‘s day care provider.

David is 15 now, in the blink of an eye, he will be 21 years old.  What happens to his care then?

This is the tragedy of adulthood for someone with a Serious Mental Illness.  Without the appropriate diagnosis, all care basically ends, regardless of what his actual needs are.  Unless two conditions are met.

Conditions

  1. Appropriate diagnosis.  –  something like Schizoeffective Disorder.  Each diagnosis that David has currently isn’t enough by themselves to get him continued care after he reaches 21.  Together they aren’t enough.  He has to have the right diagnosis.
  2. Jail/Prison.  He can receive mental health care that he needs, in prison.

111What kind of life is that?  With basic care, staff and supports, there is, I believe, a huge potential for him to lead a productive life.

Now, I caution my readers, his productive life isn’t going to be the same as yours or mine.  For him, it might be as simple as getting out of bed each day and playing video games. But if that keeps him and others safe, that’s okay.  It could be that he does something else.  The key here is safety and out of prison.

So again, how does this help him?  How does this help any adult who struggle with Serious Mental Illness?

 

 

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Playing with fire

I feel like we are playing with fire here.  Admittedly, David also likes to play with fire.

David admitted to that too.  We had blamed another child for the small fires.  David claims that it was him that did the deed.  We have not had any of the fires during any of the periods when David has been in facility based care.

What methods can we employ do we deal with that?  Sure we can keep all matches, lighters, knives, candles, and other things that could be used to hurt the family, but at what point does it become too much?  In what reality is it fair for everyone in the house to live in an environment like this?  Why should the other kids feel like they too are being punished for David’s deeds?

Safety and Security

Sure we can fill the house with fire extinguishers, we have smoke detectors and other things like places where we can lock

Smoke detector

Playing with fire

up knives.  But what if he lights a fire while everyone is sleeping?  Even as much as I stay awake when he is home and sleeping, even I can’t stay awake all the time.  It would kill me to try.

Plus he is smart enough to know how to disable things like smoke detectors.

We can put alarms on his doors and windows, but he is techy enough that he can figure out how to get around those devices.

Reasons and Logic

I can think of so many reasons why he shouldn’t come home.  Then too, are the reasons why he should be able to come home.

Regardless of what I, the facility, or the state want, what keeps people safe? What is best for David?

How can he learn to interact in public without being able to be out in public like his peers?  What can we do to help him learn that it is not acceptable to try to kill other living creatures, including people?  How?

At the end of each day, I only have more questions. More fear.