barneysmom
Member
. . . . a residential treatment center which is 15 minutes away from our home, instead of the residential across the state which is more clinically based. He had been there for seven weeks.
17 had been very popular at the first Residential Treatment Center (RTC), as I mentioned we heard remarks from staff like "I wish we had ten more like him."
For the first hour of the drive 17 talked of nothing but computer, Play Station, computer games. We are currently computer-free because neither of our difficult child's could handle being on the computer or play station.
For the second hour all of 17's rage came to the forefront. He has been to juvie Jan. 2010-April 2010 where he had a psychotic break, then local psychiatric hospital for 70 days (all of them psychotic) and then 7 weeks in the Residential Treatment Center (RTC) across the state. I can see why he has a lot of anger. We just let him vent. He was really raging against the police and how if he had a gun he would shoot any police he came across. He banged on the inside of his car door pretty good and was mumbling and whispering a lot.
He was and still is obsessed with guns and gun games.
When we got to the new Residential Treatment Center (RTC), the staff thought he would need 1:1 and had reservations about having someone at difficult child's apparent level of care in their facility. He did settle down and started bawling like a baby.
We have two weeks at this Residential Treatment Center (RTC) to integrate him into coming back home. I'm worried because it has been impossible to set any type of boundaries with him. But he did manage to settle down, was not kicking or hitting anything, was not swearing. So I hope these are good signs. I worry that we are so used to a certain level of violence with him, that we will get swallowed up into it again.
Any thoughts about how we should approach the computer and play station with him? Is it possible to give him some computer use--under supervision only and no gun games? But is it possible to let someone who has no boundaries, on the computer?
I am not really feeling any kind of logic in my head to guide me on this -- I am clueless. So far we have functioned without computer or laptop. My husband said maybe we should give 17 some computer if he earns it. He's never earned anything.
Please share your thoughts because I feel clueless. I wish the therapist (home-based) would make this decision but she says it is up to us. I feel numb.
17 had been very popular at the first Residential Treatment Center (RTC), as I mentioned we heard remarks from staff like "I wish we had ten more like him."
For the first hour of the drive 17 talked of nothing but computer, Play Station, computer games. We are currently computer-free because neither of our difficult child's could handle being on the computer or play station.
For the second hour all of 17's rage came to the forefront. He has been to juvie Jan. 2010-April 2010 where he had a psychotic break, then local psychiatric hospital for 70 days (all of them psychotic) and then 7 weeks in the Residential Treatment Center (RTC) across the state. I can see why he has a lot of anger. We just let him vent. He was really raging against the police and how if he had a gun he would shoot any police he came across. He banged on the inside of his car door pretty good and was mumbling and whispering a lot.
He was and still is obsessed with guns and gun games.
When we got to the new Residential Treatment Center (RTC), the staff thought he would need 1:1 and had reservations about having someone at difficult child's apparent level of care in their facility. He did settle down and started bawling like a baby.
We have two weeks at this Residential Treatment Center (RTC) to integrate him into coming back home. I'm worried because it has been impossible to set any type of boundaries with him. But he did manage to settle down, was not kicking or hitting anything, was not swearing. So I hope these are good signs. I worry that we are so used to a certain level of violence with him, that we will get swallowed up into it again.
Any thoughts about how we should approach the computer and play station with him? Is it possible to give him some computer use--under supervision only and no gun games? But is it possible to let someone who has no boundaries, on the computer?
I am not really feeling any kind of logic in my head to guide me on this -- I am clueless. So far we have functioned without computer or laptop. My husband said maybe we should give 17 some computer if he earns it. He's never earned anything.
Please share your thoughts because I feel clueless. I wish the therapist (home-based) would make this decision but she says it is up to us. I feel numb.
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