Sedation of Mentally Ill Patient for Transportation

[island emt]

Thanks for coming back and letting us know how things worked out. +1

It sounds like the plan has come together and We all hope the trip is uneventful for them.

good luck and don't be afraid to come back for a visit.

[lookingforasolution]

The trip finally happened. They left Tuesday of last week and arrived at the program in Southern Utah on Thursday morning. They made it down safely without any issues. A situation developed as they were moving him into his room. He got violent and kicked a couple employees; however, they reassured my gf's family that this was pretty standard when kids are dropped off. Her family said goodbye and left, filled with the hope that this may be the beginning of a new life for him. The plan of the program was for him to stay 3 months. Unfortunately, he lasted 3 hours. When the program called, they informed his mother that they are unable to keep him and that the police were holding him. You can imagine the horror they felt as they turned around. Apparently, his violent tantrums continued to escalate. They tried to let him cool down by giving him some time alone in his room - he escaped and a search party was called to find him (the camp is in the middle of nowhere). Once they found him, he fought back until police physically restrained him. Exhausted by the drive, his family did not put up much of a fight to convince him to stay - it was pretty clear that it wasn't going to work. So they picked him up and drove back to Seattle. He slept most of the way back.

Words cannot express the pain my gf and her family is dealing with. We're not quite sure what's next. He is becoming more violent with his mother and father - both of which have exhausted their efforts to help him. He is a smart enough kid to realize his condition and that he needs help, but is unwilling to give any effort on his part. He uses his condition to manipulate situations in order to get what he wants. They made it clear that this program in Utah was his last major chance to receive this kind of help. They are now reluctantly looking at turning him over to the state.

All I can do is pray for him and support my girlfriend while she continues to deal with this.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Sad to say, the state may be the logical and right choice for him. Good luck to you and your GF's family. He sounds from your description like a master manipulator

[island emt]

sorry to hear that the camp didn't work.

At this point he is old enough to be considered an adult and it sounds like the only options left are to turn him over to state custody and let him deal with the legal system.

If his violent episode involve anyone else then he can be locked up as a violent criminal offender, even if he is mentally ill.

He might find out that being locked up is not what he wants and might lead him to be more accepting of medication & other means to control his outbursts.

It is sad for your girlfriend & her family , but it sounds as if they have enabled him for too long and now it's out of control and time to face the music.

I wish you all peace and resolution

[DwayneEMTP]

As the father of an 18 year old autistic son, I know the pain that the family feels, as I've seen it in so many.

This family needs a bahavior specialist, and they need him/her right away. The anger they're seeing is not a symptom of Asperger's/autism, but of a child in a lot of pain. Many like to think of the rage as a symptom of the disorder, I think because it makes it easier for us not to feel guilty, but it's truly not.

Force isn't going to work, threats will only make things worse, punishing the behavior will make it worse still, only identifying the source of his pain (It's almost certainly mental, emotional, and physical.), by someone qualified to do so, and helping to mitigate it will solve these problems...

Please try to trust me on this.

Sending happy thoughts to your girlfriend and her family, as well as you. You sound like a really, really awesome boyfriend.