Our client is getting released! With a lot of contingencies. It was pretty stressful in court yesterday. She is very fortunate that she is getting released. She almost lost everything.
We'll see how she does. It's difficult to know how much she comprehends of the gravity of the situation.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Smart Cookie Cutter
One of the clients that I work with is so smart. She is in our Supported Living program; she lives in her own apartment in the community and gets assistance from staff for daily living skills. She is one of the smartest, sharp (and most manipulative) people that I have ever met. She knows how to work the system and will never stop trying to get what she wants. I dig that she never gives up.
She should have a career in espionage. She always finds out stuff and has told a bunch of the clients before we even know. How does she do it? She would also make an excellent telemarketer. She is on that phone and dialing like a flash when she is up to something. She loves drama!
She cannot control her eating, and so when staff are not there to monitor her (which is late at night...she gets a lot of staffing hours), she has eaten all of the food in her refrigerator, freezer, and cabinets then has left her apartment and walked to the bus stop down the street. She has told people that she is retarded and does not have food so that they have felt sorry for her and have given her money. She has then walked down the street to McDonald's and purchased 4 Filet-o-Fish sandwiches and God knows how many Cokes and has polished them off.
She once ate a bunch of frozen dinners (thank God they were Healthy Choice!) She placed the empty boxes back just so in the freezer so that staff wouldn't know. When staff went to help her fix a frozen dinner the next day, they pulled out box after empty box! lol
We've tried everything. She must lose weight or she will die. We ensure that she has as much independence and control as possible. At the same time, she does not control herself and must be monitored a great deal. Which she hates. I understand.
We'd arrived at a plan that seemed to be working regarding her food. She also agreed to have a lockbox which her money for the week would be held in and that only staff would have access to. She picked every single lockbox that was bought! Even one with a combination! She took the money and bought food! She also managed to get food from a neighbor.
I love how she says, "Now, Lydia, listen to me, I am going to give it to you straight!" with such a serious face when she talks about things. She gets this sparkle in her eyes when she is fabricating or trying to manipulate. And when she's called on it, she'll deny it and start giggling. She'll grab my hand and squeeze it when she's nervous or upset and we are talking and will slap me five when I praise her for staying calm or doing a good job with something. She makes my heart smile. I just have to laugh sometimes; she's so cool and amazing and creative and clever!
At a recent trip at the airport, staff weren't allowed to assist her with getting on the plane. She needs assistance. The only way that she could get assistance was through one of the flight attendants...if she sat in a wheelchair. When the attendant left to get a wheelchair, she said, "This is ridiculous! Just watch...they'll see that I'm retarded...!" When the attendant brought the wheelchair to her, she looked conspiratorially at staff and suddenly slumped down in the wheelchair with her hands gnarled up and her mouth hanging open with her eyelids half closed! She stayed that way as they wheeled her out of sight! lol....
She is in jail right now for assault with a deadly weapon. She threatened one of her staff with a pair of scissors and refused to calm down. She took on four squad cars and eight police. That is just not her; she's had behaviors, but nothing like this. Bail is set at $30,000. I can't believe it. I do believe that this is the best thing for her; she needs to learn the consequences of her behavior. She has been increasingly impossible to get through to; maybe this will get through to her.
She has to appear before a judge tomorrow. She has mild MR and psychotic disorder. I don't know if this is her condition deteriorating and if her behaviors will continue to get progressively worse or not...I don't know if this is due to her just not wanting staff and trying to get rid of them. I don't know if her medication is off; she's being closely monitored by a psychiatrist and therapist. I don't know.
She may end up not being able to stay in our program. I love her so much. There is no one like her. I will be devestated if she has to leave. We're having a meeting tomorrow with the Regional Center to figure things out. I want what's best for her; I also want for her to be able to stay and for her to work with us.
She should have a career in espionage. She always finds out stuff and has told a bunch of the clients before we even know. How does she do it? She would also make an excellent telemarketer. She is on that phone and dialing like a flash when she is up to something. She loves drama!
She cannot control her eating, and so when staff are not there to monitor her (which is late at night...she gets a lot of staffing hours), she has eaten all of the food in her refrigerator, freezer, and cabinets then has left her apartment and walked to the bus stop down the street. She has told people that she is retarded and does not have food so that they have felt sorry for her and have given her money. She has then walked down the street to McDonald's and purchased 4 Filet-o-Fish sandwiches and God knows how many Cokes and has polished them off.
She once ate a bunch of frozen dinners (thank God they were Healthy Choice!) She placed the empty boxes back just so in the freezer so that staff wouldn't know. When staff went to help her fix a frozen dinner the next day, they pulled out box after empty box! lol
We've tried everything. She must lose weight or she will die. We ensure that she has as much independence and control as possible. At the same time, she does not control herself and must be monitored a great deal. Which she hates. I understand.
We'd arrived at a plan that seemed to be working regarding her food. She also agreed to have a lockbox which her money for the week would be held in and that only staff would have access to. She picked every single lockbox that was bought! Even one with a combination! She took the money and bought food! She also managed to get food from a neighbor.
I love how she says, "Now, Lydia, listen to me, I am going to give it to you straight!" with such a serious face when she talks about things. She gets this sparkle in her eyes when she is fabricating or trying to manipulate. And when she's called on it, she'll deny it and start giggling. She'll grab my hand and squeeze it when she's nervous or upset and we are talking and will slap me five when I praise her for staying calm or doing a good job with something. She makes my heart smile. I just have to laugh sometimes; she's so cool and amazing and creative and clever!
At a recent trip at the airport, staff weren't allowed to assist her with getting on the plane. She needs assistance. The only way that she could get assistance was through one of the flight attendants...if she sat in a wheelchair. When the attendant left to get a wheelchair, she said, "This is ridiculous! Just watch...they'll see that I'm retarded...!" When the attendant brought the wheelchair to her, she looked conspiratorially at staff and suddenly slumped down in the wheelchair with her hands gnarled up and her mouth hanging open with her eyelids half closed! She stayed that way as they wheeled her out of sight! lol....
She is in jail right now for assault with a deadly weapon. She threatened one of her staff with a pair of scissors and refused to calm down. She took on four squad cars and eight police. That is just not her; she's had behaviors, but nothing like this. Bail is set at $30,000. I can't believe it. I do believe that this is the best thing for her; she needs to learn the consequences of her behavior. She has been increasingly impossible to get through to; maybe this will get through to her.
She has to appear before a judge tomorrow. She has mild MR and psychotic disorder. I don't know if this is her condition deteriorating and if her behaviors will continue to get progressively worse or not...I don't know if this is due to her just not wanting staff and trying to get rid of them. I don't know if her medication is off; she's being closely monitored by a psychiatrist and therapist. I don't know.
She may end up not being able to stay in our program. I love her so much. There is no one like her. I will be devestated if she has to leave. We're having a meeting tomorrow with the Regional Center to figure things out. I want what's best for her; I also want for her to be able to stay and for her to work with us.
Right now
I am sitting on my pullout couch bed and just thinking.
Of course, I know how I got here, but the question bears repeating from time to time.
How did I arrive at a lack of motivation? I used to have ENERGY!!! MOTIVATION!!! IDEAS!!! I used to laugh my ass off all the time about ideas that I would get...
I've gotten older. I still get excited about things. But there's only so much one can juggle. A very intense job, family, friends, music. I have responsibilities. I only have so much energy for one day.
I see that childlike part of me kicking in more and more...the hopeful dreamer who wants to be who she was. Her life was creating.
I want it more. I guess the way I can have it more is to just DO. Abandonment. Maybe I'll allow myself to become the crazy artist lady who becomes so absorbed that she just sort of fades into art and lives there with God. Wouldn't that be lovely?
Thank God that part of what our lives are is what we make them to be. But that's also a somber thought.
I should eat now.
Of course, I know how I got here, but the question bears repeating from time to time.
How did I arrive at a lack of motivation? I used to have ENERGY!!! MOTIVATION!!! IDEAS!!! I used to laugh my ass off all the time about ideas that I would get...
I've gotten older. I still get excited about things. But there's only so much one can juggle. A very intense job, family, friends, music. I have responsibilities. I only have so much energy for one day.
I see that childlike part of me kicking in more and more...the hopeful dreamer who wants to be who she was. Her life was creating.
I want it more. I guess the way I can have it more is to just DO. Abandonment. Maybe I'll allow myself to become the crazy artist lady who becomes so absorbed that she just sort of fades into art and lives there with God. Wouldn't that be lovely?
Thank God that part of what our lives are is what we make them to be. But that's also a somber thought.
I should eat now.
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