So sorry for your situation, Mark, but I understand it all too well. Our son is 21 and has relatively severe autism which makes it nearly impossible for him to express himself on a meaningful level. He’s happy and only does little pinches or hair pulls most of the time….

Saying a prayer for him and your family.

quote:

Originally posted by mo4040:
My stepson was not autistic, but, he had serious anger issues.

One afternoon, he went into a rage and attacked me.

He is no longer with us...

...the absolute worst day of my life.

All I can say is that you and your wife must find some help getting your son's issues within some bounds of control. Anger is fine, rage that leads to violence is not good. 24 is hella strong.

Find help or get him out the house. I hate to be blunt.

It happens rarely but you're correct. My wife wouldn't be able to fight him off. Neither would my granddaughter.

Autism is very, very, VERY hard.

I deal with it on a day to day basis, not as a parent, but as the people the parents call when the simply "can't" any more. Which is really, quite often.

Side note, we are fucked either way on these calls most of the time. We are either TOO soft and someone gets hurt, or too "hard" and the person called on gets hurt. (Trust me, no one wants to have ANYONE get hurt)

I've been questioning is there a larger number of folks affected by thing recently, or is it just more diagnosed recently? Mental health calls have gone up (by my own experience) by a factor of 10 in the last 5 years.

And THOSE calls are the ones that get you fired/indicted.

ETA,

Mark, I'm not a psychiatrist, or a therapist, but I DO have some experience in the mental health field.

I'm very sorry you are going through this and it certainly must be tough.

If there is ANYTHING i can do to help, provide guideance, or even give my thoughts/guidance (of course, from a more LE perspective), then PLEASE email me and I'll give you my number and we can talk. ANY time of day, and ANY time of night.

I hope for all the best my friend.

Mark, I don't usually post in your threads when you discuss this issue, but only because I feel I don't have anything helpful to add, and anything I could say will be inadequate for what you face.

I can't even imagine how difficult this situation is for all of you.

Just please know this, that strangers like me and others on the forum are praying for you and your family for the best possible outcome. I pray that the Lord comforts your family, eases Mark's rage, and that he continues to bless you and your wife with the strength to endure and the wisdom to make the best decisions for you all.

It's been said that God never gives us more than we can handle. I'm not sure that's always true, but I think it often is.

In my feeble attempt to try to be helpful, I'll mention that:

- Fasting is used by some health care professionals to treat children with epilepsy. I'm not sure if that therapy would apply to autistic patients.

- Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. Initially used to treat divers with 'the bends', its use has evolved into treating a wide range of injuries and conditions. It saturates the body with O2 which had a range of benefits, and is used to speed healing from certain injuries and conditions.

You no longer have to go to a hospital for HBOT treatments as there are now businesses that offer it on a reservation basis.

It has become especially popular with pro-athletes, both to heal quicker from injuries, as well as just general well being therapy. Patients usually report feeling refreshed and calm after a session.

There are different types of HBOT chambers, with some capable of holding more than one person, and others with only room for one.

Most therapy sessions last from 30 minutes to an hour.

It's become so popular that there are now HBOT chambers designed for home use, and I'm aware of some local athletes and radio hosts that use them on a daily basis.

If HBOT therapy is prescribed by a doctor then Medicaid/ Medicare often cover the cost.

There are some risks so you will want to research it first and talk to your son's doctor.

Here is an article about how HBOT is being used to treat autistic patients.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy used for treating Autism

I have nothing to add except sympathy for your situation. I will pray for you.

quote:

Originally posted by KevinCW:
Autism is very, very, VERY hard.

I deal with it on a day to day basis, not as a parent, but as the people the parents call when the simply "can't" any more. Which is really, quite often.

Side note, we are fucked either way on these calls most of the time. We are either TOO soft and someone gets hurt, or too "hard" and the person called on gets hurt. (Trust me, no one wants to have ANYONE get hurt)

I've been questioning is there a larger number of folks affected by thing recently, or is it just more diagnosed recently? Mental health calls have gone up (by my own experience) by a factor of 10 in the last 5 years.

And THOSE calls are the ones that get you fired/indicted.

ETA,

Mark, I'm not a psychiatrist, or a therapist, but I DO have some experience in the mental health field.

I'm very sorry you are going through this and it certainly must be tough.

If there is ANYTHING i can do to help, provide guideance, or even give my thoughts/guidance (of course, from a more LE perspective), then PLEASE email me and I'll give you my number and we can talk. ANY time of day, and ANY time of night.

I hope for all the best my friend.

I will take you up on that. Thank you.

The doctor got on me last night telling me that I (Paraphrasing) should find a way to control the situation without coming to blows. I would like to know how law enforcement handles this situation. I tried being calm with a light hug, i tried a restraining with a more forceful hold, i tried, holding him down while controlling his head to avoid biting. This only made him more and more violent. Luckily, he's a sloppy and wild fighter or else I may not be here to type this.

I said "great idea, doctor. What techniques would you use when someone is attacking you? I'm all ears."

I've been thinking about this all night.

Please don't guilt yourself. This is a hard situation for a loving parent. Heart/mind. Prayers

I know a little about light, electromagnetic spectrum and transmission. It's my job.

Only the infra-red spectrum penetrates through to bone (well there is high energy that can get through, but high energy is harmful as high energy electromagnetism is x rays). 780nm to be more precise, and it must be a focused energy source (laser). Focused photons are harmful to the eyes, so a filter must be in place directly over the eyes. (I know this from working directly with cutting lasers) Just standard gallium arsenide LED lamps will have no effect inter-cranial. It just doesn't work that way.

There are studies of laser therapy for dermal and epidermal conditions such as acne, but to get light through the bone and into the brain itself requires extreme penetration aside from all the reflection, refraction and absorption taking place.

Your son needs and I mean NEEDS real help, not some snake oil. Yours, his and your family's safety depends on it. Structured behavioral therapy by a team of professionals.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
... Your son needs and I mean NEEDS real help, not some snake oil. Yours, his and your family's safety depends on it. Structured behavioral therapy by a team of professionals.

There are some things like that in place but it's mostly coddling which exacerbates what he perceives as a slight.

He has a crew at his job and a psychologist that talks to him daily. Unfortunately, it's nothing but "good job" and "think positive" and it's turned him into a worse tyrant who gets upset if someone reminds him that "it's your turn". Whether it's concerning shower time or his set at the gym or Time to play his next Uno card he apologizes a thousand times and then ruminates on it until the violence starts.

As others have said, Mark, I have no helpful advice for you, but I consider you a friend and have empathy for the situation you and your family are in. I sincerely hope you find an answer the serves you and your wife, as well as your son.

We did try to introduce Marky to low carb dieting (his step-mother and I are pretty strict about it for ourselves) in the recent past, but he took it as a punishment and he just started sneaking candy and little Debbies into his room. Seemed to have made his diet worse. He has workers that take him out several times per week and they take him to fast food restaurants and movies where he gets the snacks.

quote:

The doctor got on me last night telling me that I (Paraphrasing) should find a way to control the situation without coming to blows

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Find a new psychologist. A team of behavioral health specialists to work with you as Mars Attacks suggests. That should be available in your area.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

The doctor got on me last night telling me that I (Paraphrasing) should find a way to control the situation without coming to blows

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Find a new psychologist. A team of behavioral health specialists to work with you as Mars Attacks suggests. That should be available in your area.

that was the ER doctor not the psychologist.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

The doctor got on me last night telling me that I (Paraphrasing) should find a way to control the situation without coming to blows

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Find a new psychologist. A team of behavioral health specialists to work with you as Mars Attacks suggests. That should be available in your area.

that was the ER doctor not the psychologist.

F that doctor, he isn’t living your life. Using violence against somebody I love is almost the worst thing I can imagine, the only thing worse would be allowing that person in a blind rage to inflict worse damage on somebody else I love. You were in an impossible situation, I empathize and will pray for you.

^^^ agree 1000%

Well stated.

I can't add to any mental health issues, but regarding the violence...

Have you considered looking for a MMA gym and explaining the situation and expressing you'd like extensive training in submission holds or holds that would physically exhaust an opponent? You'd be surprised how much size and strength are negated when a trained person goes against an untrained person.

Might be helpful.

Tony.

Hate this. Rage is the worst, got it in my family. I wish I could offer something useful.

The walking on egg shells thing will wear you down, keep your stress high. I turned it off and just went right at it, no more fear. Like you said it doesn't change them anyway.

Hope this turns around for you. I'm happy to help out however I can.

quote:

that was the ER doctor not the psychologist

^^^^^^^^^^^
Typical comment from ER docs who have little to no mental health training. You need a change in treatment approach as I suggested earlier.

I coached Special Olympics. God bless you Mark...you need an extra dose of strength/love each day.