Brain Damage Cause of Certain Behavior?

When he got his first paycheck, I took him to the bank and he set up a savings and checking/debit account.
Every payday since then, I help him divvy up how much $$ he is going to need for expenses for the next two weeks and he puts it in individual envelopes. He’s been doing okay, but I have my doubts about weather he can do this without being told. This Monday I’m going to not say anything and wait and see if he does it on his own.
When he started work, I bought him a large wall calendar to mark his schedule and appointments on. I even made him a nice spreadsheet to keep track of his hours and pay on - he doesn’t use it. He writes it down on what I call "crapy-scrapy " paper. lol He hasn’t written anything on his calendar since August and doesn’t even look at it!

If I could get him to do this one little thing, it would relieve so much of my worries about him taking care of himself when I’m no longer around. But, so far, no luck.

1 Like

Yes - it’s hit or miss with him. He’s better with flushing #2 than #1.

1 Like

Uh yeah. We used to make a big deal about it but now I just flush it and go on.

2 Likes

I remember he used to (not) do the same thing when he was seven and he and his whole family lived in that house next to where I live now. I put a sign on the toilet lid with masking tape that said “PLEASE FLUSH”…
The ink has long since faded and I had forgotten what it was there for - until he moved back in there!! Lol

Reminders aren’t working.

1 Like

my son will flush #2 usually but my pet peeve is leaving the seat up…I think that is just a guy thing no matter what the state of mind. :confused:

1 Like

I think that’s a guy thing, too. :sunglasses:
K will flush #1 but not #2… thank goodness, at least, he puts the lid down. lol

1 Like

Thank you so much for this post. My 20 year old son is much the same - living with me, not working or going to school. He too behaves like he is 14 - almost like a time warp - he watches the same movies over and over that he did then - Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings etc. I too fear what will happen when I am gone. Your post brings to mind that I am expecting him to know how to do things that he does not or has forgotten since the sz began. He is sometimes co-operative, so I think I may need to start instructing him again. Thank you - this is the best forum for hope and support, thank you for all your shares

2 Likes

I am glad I posted this too, it’s such a relief to know that others are experiencing similar behavior from their loved ones.
I am noticing something else lately… if I am not at home, he doesn’t like being home alone.
He loves his job, loves the work, and his co-workers and bosses and he is able to drive himself to work and back.
What I’ve noticed lately, since I’ve been having to go into work earlier than before, and he works the late shift, he is fine while I am home, whether, or not we are doing anything together. But as soon as I leave, he gets dressed for work and heads to town - sometimes two to three hours early!.
Today, I was working in the yard and he slept in, which is fine with me. But when he got up it was time for me to go so I showed him what to do and went to get ready for work. When I left, he wasn’t outside. When I called from work, he didn’t answer his phone… I knew he was on the road. He finally answered the phone and, sure enough, he had gone in early.

I can’t be with him 24/7 and I’m at a loss about how to solve this problem. I’ve tried suggesting things for him to do, but when he is alone, it’s like he has no idea what to do, other than go to work. It’s like he doesn’t know what to do unless someone tells him - and is there the whole time watching.

Any suggestions?

He must have a great work ethic and I wonder if they appreciate him getting there early? It might be better than him being alone.

You guys are going to think I’m wacky, but I teach kids with disabilities. Anyway, one thing I learned at work that I have tried at home is for a complex task like bed making or folding, is taking a picture at each step in the task and posting them in order. I know that sounds annoying, but I tried it with by 14 year old son, and lo and behold he will now do laundry! Next I have to take sorting pictures, lol, Bcz my son insists that while he can do laundry, he can’t sort!:slight_smile:

Gotta laugh!

2 Likes

Thank you. I’ll try that.

I don’t really know what to tell you, you’ve been doing everything correctly. What I can tell you is that you grandson appears to have symptoms of autism. Has he ever been screen for Autism Spectrum Disorder? A lot of the behaviors you’ve described are classic of it; I know because I have, my fiancé who has SZD also has it, and I’ve met several other individuals with it as well. Autism and Schizophrenia are often biologically linked, it’s not uncommon for someone to have both or one if it’s genetic in the family. The Pokémon seems to be his special interest (something they obsess over and won’t stop talking about) and I’ve known many kids with autism, females and males included, and it’s something that they all love a lot and talk about non-stop. Personally it was never my case.

Try checking out these links:

@gwillmott, my 26 year old son is fascinated with Harry Potter. Thought we were alone in that until I saw this post. The same movies over and over. Surprised the discs haven’t been worn down to nothing. I did notice that the more symptomatic that he is, the more he watches. When he is in a good place, he doesn’t watch much. He would even stop it and watch one scene over and over again. Would love to know what is going on in his head while he does this. Don’t want to be in his head for long though :slight_smile: