New Development in My Son's Case

Sat in court all day expecting one of two outcomes: Drug Court program OR 6 months jail time. While interviewing him for the Drug Court program the health dept. determined that its highly possible that K is suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness which is why he uses drugs (to self medicate), (aka dual diagnosis).

This doesn't surprise me at all. I've been trying to convince psychiatrists since he was 8 that there was something wrong with my son, that he was not like other kids. They always diagnosed depression and gave him meds for that and I told myself they knew more than I did and always hoped for the best. But who knows a child better than his own mother?

When he took an overdose of pills (intentionally) and was placed in a psychiatric unit for 72 hours I thought that finally someone would diagnose him properly. Since he was an "adult" (he'd been 18 for only 2 friggin weeks at the time!) I never got to talk to the doctor's. But the report didn't say anything new, just that he needed to get into counseling. So, I got him into counseling and got no where with that. The counselor had K convinced that I was responsible for all his anger, hate etc.

So I don't know....Maybe he's bi-polar. His main symptoms have always been s anxiety, fear and paranoia with bouts of depression and childhood migraines which are now gone.

So....I guess in some ways this is good news? That he will get the help he needs. I am going to go visit him tomorrow.

Here is what the program they want to put him into is all about (and this sounds like it will help him more than jail time!)

Recovery (MIOCR) Court

Funded by a grant obtained by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department through the Mentally Ill Offenders Crime Reduction Act (MIOCR), the Recovery Court is a voluntary program for misdemeanor offenders suffering from chronic and persistent mental illness. The participants must have a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, or major depressive disorder. The program provides participants with psychiatric services which may be initiated in the jail. Once the offender is released from custody they are provided with on-going psychiatric services and mental health counseling, drug and alcohol abuse counseling, residential treatment, and assistance in accessing medical services, employment counseling, job training and placement, government benefits, and housing. The program involves frequent court appearances, regular drug and alcohol testing, meetings with the Recovery Court support team, and direct access to specialized services.