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Brian

Brian moved to a two-person home supported by CSI in 2003. He had last lived in out-of-state placements and in a behavioral health center.

Throughout his first two years with CSI, Brian was an unhappy person, struggling with several issues. He expressed his anger both verbally and physically through self-mutilation, elopement, refusal to take his medications, and physical aggression toward staff and peers. The latter would result in his arrests. His almost daily destruction of property caused major damage to his home – broken windows, holes in the walls, destroyed furniture, and doors torn from the hinges. He moved involuntarily multiple times.

By 2006, Brian had begun to show progress. By 2007, there was significant progress and Brian moved to his own apartment. Staff asked Brian to put his thoughts on paper. On one side of the paper Brian wrote “How I Felt/Acted Then” (reflecting the issues noted above) and on the other side “How I Feel/Act Now.” Here were his thoughts about “Now”:

In the past year Brian has shown tremendous progress. Brian helped to write this life summary. We asked him to write on one side of the paper “How I Felt / Acted Then” and on the other side “How I Feel / Act Now”. His words speak for themselves:

  • I was in the psych hospital
  • I was in and out of hospitals
  • I was punching holes in the walls
  • I would start something and never finish it
  • I would walk off from my home
  • I would attack staff
  • I would fight other clients
  • I was not able to handle responsibility
  • I have unsupervised time and am doing well with it
  • I got a punching bag and I am using it a lot
  • I started bowling and won a gold medal in Special Olympics
  • I’m interacting with the staff more often, and gaining their trust
  • I stopped cutting myself
  • I’m having a lot more responsibility and handling it well

Brian has continued throughout 2008 to make forward strides. He no longer has 24-hour supports, but drop by supports 36 hours/week. Weekdays he helps two small businessmen serve their property maintenance customers. His activities on behalf of Special Olympics include volleyball, bowling, softball, and basketball. Brian is fond of mountain biking, which he does weekly with a key supporter, Dave. He and Dave have agreed to help members of the mountain biking association with trail maintenance in the months ahead. Brian’s healthier lifestyle has resulted in his losing over 40 pounds.

Brian will likely face a challenge late in 2008. Perhaps twice per year he causes damage to his apartment home, and periodically he becomes enraged at the outcome of his computer game to the point his verbal outbursts disturb his neighbors. For these reasons, Brian may need to look for a new home in the coming months. But on balance, Brian’s forward direction is very positive.