Hello everyone! Haven't been here in over a year (since before Fran turned over the helm) and boy don't the boards look different! I have missed my extended family here...although I'm not sure how many are still around...
(I haven't done much digging to see who all is still around yet, but wanted to say a quick hello to everyone.) I could also use some suggestions pretty quick.
difficult child #2 (who has a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified diagnosis, as well as Generalized Anxiety, Inter. Explosive Dis., and several other dxs for sensory issues, etc.) Had a meltdown this past weekend. Nothing unusual really (isn't that sad to say?) except for the fact that this time, rather than getting police & an ambulance, we only got police when we called 911 for help. (He's been hospitalized 4 or 5 times now over the last couple of years...always through a call to 911, an ambulance, and going through the ER for an emergency admit....can't seem to get him admitted any other way...but that's a topic for another day.)
In any regard, for the first time ever, difficult child turned his aggression from us to the police officers who responded. I tried to explain that difficult child is a 'special needs' kid as the officers arrived, difficult child wasn't at the point of getting violent yet, but was pretty close. One of the officers, a new kid, was, in my opinion, way over-zealous. I think he thought he was dealing with just a trouble-maker kind of kid, rather than a kid with 'issues.' The cop completely ignored everything I tried to say & took it upon himself to just take difficult child 'down' physically. Just walked up behind him, didn't say a word, and grabbed difficult child in a choke hold. Of course difficult child freaked out, started to panic, and tried to fight his way out. (No excuses for difficult child's behavior, but I've done this before & I was trying to tell the cop what I needed them to do so that things WOULDN'T escalate.)
Anyway, difficult child is now sitting in YDC rather than in the hospital where he needs to be. I just found out, after tracking down 4 or 5 different people in various departments to whom difficult child has been 'assigned,' that he has a court hearing tomorrow at 2pm. (Gee, was anyone going to notify ME of that hearing?!? Grrr.) I was told that basically, difficult child will either be sent home to me or committed to the state tomorrow. Even if he's committed to the state (as in jail) they may still send him home until his case goes to committee?!?
Long story short, difficult child is simply too violent to come home...not without hospitalization to stabilize his medication situation first, at the very, very least. In all honesty, I'd rather have him placed in residential. I think having a more controlled environment with people better trained to help him learn to cope with a world he doesn't "get" so that he learns NOT to respond so violently every time he gets upset or anxious would be the ideal setting for him. After 8 years of difficult child-dom, there aren't too many other options we haven't tried yet with little to no success. At least not anything long-lasting.
The problem is, I spoke with his Juvenile Court case worker earlier today. He says if I don't want difficult child to come home, then the state will remand him to custody in the youth detention system...unless his psychiatrist and I can come up with some sort of plan for residential treatment. Well, considering I have YET to hear back from difficult child's psychiatrist (been calling since Saturday!) I'm at a loss to get her help before tomorrow. (Another topic for another day...Ms. Moron psychiatrist is about to get herself fired...but at the moment I can't have difficult child with NO medical professional available to him.)
I've been doing some digging, trying to locate viable Residential Treatment Center (RTC) options within a reasonable distance. (The state will have to transport him, so I don't think going outside Georgia is going to be an option.) I'm not finding much luck...even looking into neighboring states like South Carolina. Can anyone make a recommendation for help finding an Residential Treatment Center (RTC) that can handle kids on the Autism spectrum?
(I haven't done much digging to see who all is still around yet, but wanted to say a quick hello to everyone.) I could also use some suggestions pretty quick.difficult child #2 (who has a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)-not otherwise specified diagnosis, as well as Generalized Anxiety, Inter. Explosive Dis., and several other dxs for sensory issues, etc.) Had a meltdown this past weekend. Nothing unusual really (isn't that sad to say?) except for the fact that this time, rather than getting police & an ambulance, we only got police when we called 911 for help. (He's been hospitalized 4 or 5 times now over the last couple of years...always through a call to 911, an ambulance, and going through the ER for an emergency admit....can't seem to get him admitted any other way...but that's a topic for another day.)
In any regard, for the first time ever, difficult child turned his aggression from us to the police officers who responded. I tried to explain that difficult child is a 'special needs' kid as the officers arrived, difficult child wasn't at the point of getting violent yet, but was pretty close. One of the officers, a new kid, was, in my opinion, way over-zealous. I think he thought he was dealing with just a trouble-maker kind of kid, rather than a kid with 'issues.' The cop completely ignored everything I tried to say & took it upon himself to just take difficult child 'down' physically. Just walked up behind him, didn't say a word, and grabbed difficult child in a choke hold. Of course difficult child freaked out, started to panic, and tried to fight his way out. (No excuses for difficult child's behavior, but I've done this before & I was trying to tell the cop what I needed them to do so that things WOULDN'T escalate.)
Anyway, difficult child is now sitting in YDC rather than in the hospital where he needs to be. I just found out, after tracking down 4 or 5 different people in various departments to whom difficult child has been 'assigned,' that he has a court hearing tomorrow at 2pm. (Gee, was anyone going to notify ME of that hearing?!? Grrr.) I was told that basically, difficult child will either be sent home to me or committed to the state tomorrow. Even if he's committed to the state (as in jail) they may still send him home until his case goes to committee?!?
Long story short, difficult child is simply too violent to come home...not without hospitalization to stabilize his medication situation first, at the very, very least. In all honesty, I'd rather have him placed in residential. I think having a more controlled environment with people better trained to help him learn to cope with a world he doesn't "get" so that he learns NOT to respond so violently every time he gets upset or anxious would be the ideal setting for him. After 8 years of difficult child-dom, there aren't too many other options we haven't tried yet with little to no success. At least not anything long-lasting.
The problem is, I spoke with his Juvenile Court case worker earlier today. He says if I don't want difficult child to come home, then the state will remand him to custody in the youth detention system...unless his psychiatrist and I can come up with some sort of plan for residential treatment. Well, considering I have YET to hear back from difficult child's psychiatrist (been calling since Saturday!) I'm at a loss to get her help before tomorrow. (Another topic for another day...Ms. Moron psychiatrist is about to get herself fired...but at the moment I can't have difficult child with NO medical professional available to him.)
I've been doing some digging, trying to locate viable Residential Treatment Center (RTC) options within a reasonable distance. (The state will have to transport him, so I don't think going outside Georgia is going to be an option.) I'm not finding much luck...even looking into neighboring states like South Carolina. Can anyone make a recommendation for help finding an Residential Treatment Center (RTC) that can handle kids on the Autism spectrum?
