Trying To Re-Integrate

Man, what a month.  Six weeks, actually.

Tim is home, for good, but we had him discharged from his RTC so fast that we didn't have time to make any transition plans for school / doctors / therapy that weren't part of the RTC.  I really wouldn't recommend doing it that way.  We had a good reason.  Without getting into all the hairy details, a few incidents happened that proved that the RTC couldn't keep Tim safe and we absolutely would not let him stay there one second longer.  They tried to talk us into keeping him there, but there was no freaking way that was going to happen.  I insisted they call the local police to have an investigation done.  I can't believe DCFS hasn't investigated (or maybe they have and I'm just not aware of it).  In any case, it is clear they don't have near enough safeguards on clients that are over 18.  Just because Tim is 18 doesn't mean he is as mature as an 18 year old.  He's about as mature as a 10 year old.  They knew that.  They just don't have to put as much effort into safeguarding him from other clients over 18 that are more mature because they are all over 18.  And that pisses me off, to a large extent.  My kid paid the price for me assuming they would do the right thing, simply because they did when he was under 18. What the hell is so magical about turning 18?

In the past six weeks we've:

• Had the basement flood 
• Begged and pleaded for an IEP meeting for a new placement
• Visited the day placement the school recommends (and we approved today)
• Made an appointment for a new pdoc (first appointment is this week)
• Begged the pdoc from the RTC for enough med scripts to hold us over until we could get an appointment with a new pdoc
• Had an interview with the guy who runs the in-home mentoring program Tim qualifies for
• Set goals for in-home mentoring
• Made calls to see when we could get in-home mentoring to start
• Run through 3,000,000,000 gallons of gas in the riding lawn mower, as Tim "helps out" by driving laps around the house, by driving his siblings in the trailer behind the riding lawn mower around the neighborhood, and by generally impersonating Alvin Straight
• Filled out a ton of paperwork for our regional special recreation district summer session
• Gotten Tim on Facebook (don't say you weren't warned)
• Spent "quality time" at the Social Security Administration office
• Had the first court date to get plenary guardianship of Tim
• Gotten Tim a bank account
• Made 436,327 follow up calls
• Raised $3,115 in sponsorships for  NAMIWalks Milwaukee and BringChange2Mind

All this, and we still can't find a neurologist that will give him an EEG.  It is nice having the whole brood home though.  Well, except Wonderboy, who's living on his own now, but he comes over, once in a while.

Ch-ch-changes.....

I could swear I've titled a post with this title before.

Anyways.....

Just a brief update as to why I've been so quiet.   Tim is home.  Permanently.  For many reasons, we had him discharged from his RTC last week, without all the planning and setup that would normally go into transitioning from RTC back to home.

So now we are scrambling to get services, get SSI sent to the correct address, get an IEP meeting set up for school placement, get into a new psychiatrist   All while The Girl and The Bonus Kid adjust to having him around 24/7.  And we adjust, all while Tim honeymoons as he's not in class or in therapy right now.

I have a feeling I'll have a lot to blog about really soon.

Fear and Misinformation and Throwing Away 50%

DJ Jaffe and Dr. Fuller Torrey are two leading figures in the cause for forced treatment of persons with severe mental illness. Their argument is that persons with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and severe bipolar disorder lack the ability to contribute to their care.

While in many cases, that is true, in equally as many cases - by their own admission - it is not.

But that hasn't stopped them from spewing fear rhetoric to any media outlet that will listen, in order to further the cause for the 50% who truly do need better access to care, a higher level of care, and even involuntary care for their own well-being.

By fanning the fire of half-truths of persons with severe mental illness through an agenda of fear, DJ Jaffe and Dr. Fuller Torrey are doing a huge disservice to the 50% of persons with severe mental illness they couldn't care less about - the ones that do have insight, that do contribute to their treatment, and do function in society.  And that is very, very dangerous for that 50%.

Here is why DJ Jaffe and Dr. Fuller Torrey dangerous.

Mr. Jaffe quotes - and violently agrees with - Congressman Tim Murphy, about the congressional subcommittee hearing on violence and mental illness held two weeks ago:

This panel is about mental illness and violence, and I am not gonna pull a convicted felon out of jail to talk about why they killed someone. I'm just not gonna do it. ... As a psychologist I have an obligation to do no harm. And I am not gonna put someone with mental illness on just to put them on parade. And someone with serious mental illness or schizophrenia or psychotic disorder (this pressure) can set them off.

FACT: One of my family members with Schizoaffective Disorder was approached to possibly testify at the hearing.  Another adult was also approached to possibly testify.  Both were ready and willing to discuss the state of mental health care in America.  But Congressman Murphy didn't want any consumers on the panel, period.  Murphy -and Jaffe, by extension - perpetuate the fear mongering that persons with schizophrenia are to be feared because they are dangerous.

In this article Mr. Jaffe writes:

But what about the others? The effect of Mental Illness Awareness Week is to divert attention away from the 3%-5% of Americans who are the most seriously mentally ill--like those suffering from schizophrenia or treatment-resistant bipolar disorder, the very mentally ill people who are not “like you and me” and need our help the most.

FACT: I think many persons with schizophrenia who are  aware of their illness and symptoms would disagree - they would say they ARE like us, they DO face stigma, and that they CAN and DO participate in their own care. People like Elyn Saks, John Nash, Meera Popkin, Tom Harrell.

On his Treatment Advocacy Center website, Mr. Jaffe asserts:

Schizophrenia interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions, and relate to others.

FACT: When psychotic? Yes.  Absolutely.  But can a person experiencing positive and/or negative symptoms still relate to others?  Still make decisions about their care? Still think clearly enough to contribute to their care? Yes. Absolutely.  Schizophrenia is linear.  The appearance and severity of symptoms is not.

Here, Dr. Fuller Torrey insinuates that if Connecticut had stronger AOT laws, Newtown might not have happened:

While it isn't yet known whether Lanza was being treated, it is known that Connecticut is among the worst states to seek such treatment. It has among the weakest involuntary treatment laws and is one of only six states that doesn't have a law permitting court-ordered "assisted outpatient treatment." In study after study, AOT has been shown to decrease re-hospitalizations, incarcerations and, most importantly, episodes of violence among severely mentally ill individuals.

FACT: AOT laws would NEVER have stopped Adam Lanza, because the basic tenet of AOT law is that one must be, at minimum, arrested for a crime before the AOT statute kicks in.  Just more fear mongering, with half-truths.

So, Mr. Jaffe, Dr. Torrey, you are guilty of exactly what you preach.  You disregard 50% of persons with severe mental illness.  They aren't allowed in your conversation. Unless you start thinking holistically about how we need to service and support 100% of persons with severe mental illness, you will never be able to move the 50% you advocate for into the 50% you disregard.  And, after all, isn't that the point?