Thanks for this update apowell, Things are really progressing well, what will the case manager do for your son? So glad your son gave you permission to attend and discuss his case - we hear that things are handled much better in your part of the state - this is really impressive.
Did they say if they have a long range housing plan for him?
I’m happy for you that your are feeling much better about things now. Take care, Hope
Hi Hope, we transferred my son into an assisted living type place specifically for mentally ill adults. It is called Individual Care of Texas near Greenville, TX (ICT). They will take him to his appointments for prescription refills, etc. but I can take him to his next big appointment which will be the psych evaluation and I hope I will get to participate some in that too. ICT is expensive however so I hope if he stays indefinitely I hope I can get him housing assistance. I have heard the wait for HUD assistance can be years -up to 20 years. His SSDI is about $1,000 and ICT is $1,750/month. My husband and I both have Dependent Care Savings Programs at work so next open season we will start deductions so that at least our out of pocket for ICT will be tax free.
I’m not sure how exactly the state mental health program will help my son other than to hopefully encourage him to stay at ICT and adjust to life there as opposed to coming back home and going back to work part-time. He doesn’t have any complaints about ICT or his roommate there but he has it in his mind that he wants to come back home. At least these are my thoughts right now.
Oh, hey, sorry I don’t think I answered this question. My son had his brain injury from a car wreck at the age of 18. I’d say about 7 years later he started having delusions, hallucinations and paranoia but just diagnosed with scz a few weeks ago at age 33. It is possible that he inherited scz from his grandmother’s side of the family (his great-aunt is scz) or that he is 2x more likely from the brain injury or both.
Thanks for the information apowell, the price per month seems reasonable when you compare it to the cost of a nursing home. Does the Greenville location have other people close in age to your son? A friendship could make a difference in how well your son settles into living there.
I wonder if they have people living there who are on Medicaid and Medicare? My son’s scz showed up after the age of 18. He receives ssi and ssdi - he was able to work until his scz became too severe.
Hello apowell, my son was never diagnosed in his younger years. Lou is 31 yrs old. I do not know if SZ runs in our family, He started exhibiting SZ after his auto accident. The forensic psychiatrist that investigated our son’s case, said he should never have been released from the rehab center, that he is severly injured and traumatized. Lou was always a kind young man, very soft spoken and never disrespectful. I can tell you when he was a baby until he was 3yrs old, he was very difficult, he would scream and cry all the time, we loved him and showed him alot of kindness as a little one, I used to tell myself, every child is different, he just needs lots of coddling, my husband and I were very loving parents to our children. As time went on Lou became very quiet and withdrawn, he was very subdued & passive agressive. He was always very distant and a day dreamer as a young adult. Lou was in the auto accident (2 1/2 yrs ago) which you can read about on my site. He a a psychotic break down while we were visiting my daughter. When we returned to his home he was arrested for an assualt and is currently in a state hospital under a forensic commitment.
This all said, my family and I are doing well and so is our son. He is receiving much needed care and seems to be doing better. We have not seen Lou’s in 2 1/2 years. We talk to him over the phone and maybe soon he will want us to visit.
Take care everyone, annie
I am glad you here you are doing well and that your son is cared for and also doing well. It is heart-breaking when a child has a difficult time just living life. Thank you for sharing your story.
Yes, he gets along great with his room-mate who is a bi-polar 10 years younger and has a sweet disposition like my son. I am so thankful he lucked out on this and there are other young men there as well. He is wearing me down with constant plans to get out and go to work but - he is starting to find more things to do with the other guys such as playing guitar and playing cards. As much as I want my son to feel productive through working, I hope his counselor will convince him to stay put. The residents aren’t allowed to go off-site. I don’t know anything about Medicare and Medicaid and how other residents pay.
I know how you feel. It was a roller coaster ride with our son, always when he stopped taking his meds. Finally for the year and a half he is ok. Taking his meds and goes yo Catholic Charities for therapy and see the psychiatrist. Ser if you have one in your area. Since he receives SSD, he should be able to get Medicare/Medicaid, like our son who is also on SSD.