Court Update

[pasajes4]

We had the 2nd detention hearing today. The courts are releasing him on an electronic monitor. He will not be able to step outside unless he is going for court on Dec. 5th or to a Dr.s appointment. I do not see him being able to handle this. We will see how long before he violates.

 

[tammybackagain]

So sorry i've been there, ended up in residential then on to jail till 16, and in and out for 3 more years. if it helps he finally did straighten out and is now studying to be a Chef.

 

[JJJ]

So sorry i've been there, ended up in residential then on to jail till 16, and in and out for 3 more years. if it helps he finally did straighten out and is now studying to be a Chef.

It is always so good to hear of a difficult child doing well as an adult!

 

[buddy]

Pasa, sure hope he doesn't violate and that he doesn't drive you crazy!

 

[DammitJanet]

Ahhh, another one who has been through this but Cory had a PO who scared the living daylights out of him. His PO was about 6'7 and built like a linebacker. He could have picked Cory up by one hand and smooshed him. Now luckily in our case, Cory was allowed out of the house from 8 am - noon daily because I am disabled and he was needed to feed our animals in the yard plus he had his daughter here at the house several days a week and he might need to take her to the doctor or somewhere else from time to time.

It was still hard. They would call periodically to check on him. Heaven help us if the power went out which happened a couple of times. If the power went out you could count on the PO showing up within a few minutes. I cant tell you how many times that man saw us all in our PJ's. I just left the door unlocked for him...lol.

It was actually so funny the day they came to put the ankle bracelet on Cory. They told Cory he was restricted to the house and Cory walked out to the bottom step to say good-bye to his PO and his PO barked at him...THAT IS NOT INSIDE THE HOUSE! Cory turned around and ran back inside. I was next to the guys car and looked at him and said "where have you been all my life?" LOL

 

[pasajes4]

The monitor does not depend on the phone. It is a cell phone type device with a wireless router. The po programs it with a computer and then if he steps outside, the connection is broken and the device will call the monitoring officer every min. It has gps so they can locate him 24/7.

 

[DammitJanet]

we had to have an extra phone line which really bit the big one. I actually think Cory had more room than they told him because it was a range of so many feet and from where that phone box was which was in his room, that would have to be like a radius. I live in a double wide mobile home that is 28 x 80 so obviously he had to have at least 80 feet in each direction or it would go off all the time because they couldnt possibly know exactly where they were going to set the box. And the box was set almost at the end of the house. It was probably 15 feet from the end of the house. So he probably had at least a 90 or 100 foot radius from the box. I would think GPS would be even harder to track because that is going to show he is at the home if he is within a certain boundary. It certainly isnt pinpoint accuracy I dont think. I mean from afar they cant see if he is on the porch or in his bedroom. Up close, yeah.

 

[pasajes4]

I do not really know how far outside he can get. I know once he steps outside and the door closes it starts calling. He tried yesterday and within 3 min. the monitoring po was calling to check his where abouts. He is already going stir crazy and driving me up the wall.

 

[DammitJanet]

wow that is tight. I feel for him and for you. Do you have game systems and stuff like that to keep him occupied? I know that sounds stupid but you know, they really need something. Maybe netflix, ebooks, something.

 

[pasajes4]

He does not like video games....too much input. I went to the store and bought some old fashioned board games and some art supplies. He also has his online classes. Honestly, I am about to shove him out the door. He is doing his best to make me as miserable as he is. His older brother came over and by the time he left he was ready to drive him back to juvie.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Do you have exercise equipment? treadmill, stationary bike, weights?
He needs SOME way to burn off steam...

 

[DDD]

been there done that. It's rough inless you have siblings or peers to play with, and with some difficult child's that doesn't help either. Hugs. DDD

 

[TerryJ2]

Gosh, the technology has gotten a lot more sophisticated.

I'm sorry he's driving you crazy. I like Insane's idea of exercise equip.

 

[pasajes4]

I have a home gym. He refuses to do anything that will bebefit him in any way. He wants to be miserable and take everyone with him.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Mental illness is SO hard to deal with.
And the justice system isn't geared to MI at all.

 

[pasajes4]

He is currently on respirdon, wellbutrin, tenex, and trazadon. He has been on all of the antipsycotics except lithium. He is never manic and he does not have auditory or visual hallucinations. I think that by now he has been on so many medicatios and combinations by now, that in itself may have made things worse.

i have called everyone and there is nothing I can do until Monday. The psychiatric hospitals won't touch this because of the legal issue. His best bet is to get picked up and court ordered to the state hospital.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Lets hope the court recognizes this for what it is - a MI issue - and orders him to psychiatric hospital...

 

[Wiped Out]

This sound so difficult. I really hope that they recognize this as a mental health issue. I know you said he has been on every anti-psychotic out there except lithium but has he ever been on Clozapine? It isn't often used in children (or adults for that matter but even more rare with kids) as it requires being on a national registry and having weekly blood draws (the weekly blood draws are for about the first year later they go to 1 time a month).

For my difficult child it has been a godsend. In 7th grade he was hospitalized 3 times in 3 months for two weeks each and we thought for sure he was going to have to go the residential look (so did the doctors). difficult child's psychiatrist (who we love dearly) met with an entire team of psychiatrists and they decided to try this route. It has really toned down his violence (not that it is o.k. but his violence now is one of walking by and "accidentally" shoving into you-that type of thing-still not o.k. but nowhere near where he used to be). He has not had many manic episodes while on it either.

That being said it does carry certain risks which is why it isn't used often. It can mess with the white blood cells in some cases (rare but is why they stopped using it). The way our psychiatrist put it is it is the Cadillac of aps but because of the risks is hardly ever used. We are lucky as difficult child has never had a blood cell problem and is monthly blood draws keep a check on it.

 

[pasajes4]

He has been on clozapine. It was discontinued due to side effects. There are people with mental illnesses that break the law. There are just as many that don't. There are people who are not mentally ill that break the law and others who don't. The one common thread between those who do take from others is that they feel entitled to money and things but don't feel they should have to work for it.

 

[DDD]

Just want you to know that I just wrote a lengthly heartfelt response to your post. When I tried to send it the computer told me my response was too short. That has NEVER been the case since I am so darn longwinded. I tried to add a couple of unnecessary words and it still didn't post. Maybe the computer saved you reading a bunch of meaningless input, lol. Sending hugs IF this one works. DDD