Monday, January 25, 2010

On the Journey

Friday was the day we delivered DW to his new "home" for the next little while. This was not something that we wanted or something we enjoyed. It was a horrible experience that neither his father or I ever want to have again. However, we do know that at this point in his life, this is what is necessary for DW's overall well-being. We are devastated that he is not home with us, but hopeful for change in the near future. 
We spoke with him Saturday night and things seemed to be ok... the food is good... which didn't surprise me, given he lives for food and would probably eat Ramen 4-5 times a day. The one thing he complained about, and his dad was a little upset over, was him sleeping in the hallway of his unit for the first 72hours. This is done for the purpose of observing their sleep habits and how they interact with others before they assign a room-mate or a room. Good thing, DW is not the best roommate in the world, and hopefully they can find someone he gets along with. 
Otherwise, things seem to be going well for him, he starts school today -- and will be going to school for the first time since October (other than the home-bound stuff). He was very excited for his first day of school and I look forward to talking to him tonight about it.
The facility is nice and the people who did his intake are wonderfully nice, caring, and concerned for him. This is all good! They work on a 'level system' which has 5 levels for his age group. These levels determine his overall participation level as well as responsibility and privileges. Once he gets to a certain level, he will be allowed overnight home visits. However, this part of things is all up to him, and we know how he can be when faced with making a good choice... sometimes he just isn't capable. The downside to the level system is that he cannot return home (without court order) until he has obtained and maintained his final level for at least 30 days. This concerns us, because he seems to always 'blow-it' on the level system, and maintained level 3 at school for nearly a year due to his behavior. The good thing is he is being held accountable for his behavior and seeing his ability to come home and visit as a reward for good behavior and participation, he will try harder. We hope... and we pray... and we worry.

So when you tuck your young ones in tonight and say their prayers, please send one up for my little man! He could surely use all he can get! 

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