Brand new here needing help! I am desparate!

Page 1 of 1 [ 9 posts ] 

dughr
Emu Egg
Emu Egg

User avatar

Joined: 10 Sep 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 2

11 Sep 2008, 10:29 am

HI,

I am new here as of today having just found this site. Here is my story:

I am a landlord who rented my house out to a man in his mid 50's, about 4 years ago. I was not sure about him and new he was odd in some way. I did all of my inquiring and in the end found he was recommended in that he is good at paying his rent and does not smoke-drink etc. Over the last 4 years we never knew what his condition was and he had told us he had been discharged from the marines for having schizophrenia. He had just inherited a large sum of money from the death of his parents and as far as we knew he was not being cared for by his surviving brothers at all. We watched him go from a fairly functioning adult, at least from what we saw, to a guy who would collect everything from straw wrappers to cig butts. He would store all of this in his kitchen and was not cleaning anything at all, just tons of trash piling up. He never even put his furniture in place. The movers dropped it off in a pile, couch up side down. 4 years passed and he never touched it, never even turning the couch over. He stayed in the kitchen sleeping on the floor collecting things.

Long ( and I do mean LONG) story short, we finally got the ball rolling to get him help and learned he had been bilked for almost $100,000 by scam artists. He always refused any help and we were helpless as his landlord to do anything against his will. I finally (! !! !! !) found out he is severely in the worst way AS. He is not a schizophrenic at all. He is so debilitated by AS that he can't cook, he eats only fast food, he can't clean at all, he has been in his little world for the last 4 years and has only gotten worse. Conversations with him are so trying that it is hard to get him to stay on the important topic, as you all know. We finally have him in contact with the veterans administration and some local help to get him on some assistance as he is now destitute. As a landlord I need to make ends meet too, but I am very fond of him and can not evict him as he would not have the resources to get help. I do now have some help from one of his brothers but since he is not local and my tenant is living next door to me, I want to do what I can to make things better for him and get him the aid he needs.

So I found this site. I would appreciate any help I can get to lead me to the places where I can find resources to guide him in. Again, he is severely severely AS, it is not mild at all. He barely survives and I am afraid is in declining health due to this situation.

Thank you for any and all help!! !

Doug


I should add, whereas he does love to talk to people, he scares them because he stutters so much and communicates in his own way. He tries to find work, but he goes in to interview wearing t-shits and pants that are unwashed. He shaves rarely and wears clothes until they turn dirt brown and eventually fall off from being so tattered. I could give him new clothes but he refuses to wear them until the current one wears out. So with all this he is unable to work at all.



dogfish
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 9 Sep 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 44
Location: UK

11 Sep 2008, 11:59 am

Hi doug

Gosh, that sounds tough.

I can only suggest things i know from nursing/living in the UK. Firstly, he needs a referral from his GP for some kind of community mental health or learning disabilities health care. Whilst we all know that ASD is not a mental illness, his low functioning abilities put him at serious risk. He should then get access to a team of specialists who would help with some of the issues. Good luck. It might take a few visits. Or you can request a home visit on his behalf.



Tim_Tex
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 2 Jul 2004
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 46,400
Location: Houston, Texas

11 Sep 2008, 12:30 pm

Welcome to WP!


_________________
Who’s better at math than a robot? They’re made of math!


autism
Toucan
Toucan

User avatar

Joined: 4 Apr 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 297
Location: IL, USA

11 Sep 2008, 1:09 pm

Hello

Welcome to Wrong Planet


_________________
For best Results be sure to post at Wrong Planet Often.

The only thing I got was the error message because I have to reboot my best friend sometimes.

I have two cousins and a younger sibling who have Asperger Syndrome.


schleppenheimer
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 31 Aug 2006
Age: 65
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,584

11 Sep 2008, 2:09 pm

dughr, first of all, I am very impressed with your story. I can't believe the lengths you are going to in order to help this man.

Unfortunately, I don't have much experience with finding resources for adults, as my son is still young. Also, I think that resources for adults on the spectrum are slim to none, usually. Others out there might know what one could do for this man, but I don't. I think that your beginning with the Veteran's administration is a good idea, and I think that I would really pursue that as far as you can. They should have more of an idea of any available resources for someone on the spectrum, or could at least direct you to the right people. Also, this man sounds REALLY SEVERE in terms of disability. Maybe trying to find help by using his AS diagnosis isn't the quickest way to find help, whereas some other route (Veteran's, etc.) might be more appropriate.

I really hope somebody else can give you more pertinent information --

I would check this link for the Autism Society of America --

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer

Maybe they can direct you to help available in your state, or possibly a support group where you could talk to parents, or actual individuals with AS, who could help you in your search for resources.

Kris



JetLag
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 7 Aug 2008
Age: 75
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,762
Location: California

11 Sep 2008, 8:00 pm

An honor to meet you, dughr. The concern that you have for your tenant/neighbor, and the help that you have given him is inspiring. You may wish to try "The Haven" forum on Wrong Planet. You'll find some good advice and receive some good suggestions there. Please keep us up to date on how things are going for you and your friend. Take care now.



Eggman
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,676

12 Sep 2008, 3:08 am

yo



richie
Supporting Member
Supporting Member

User avatar

Joined: 9 Jan 2007
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 30,142
Location: Lake Whoop-Dee-Doo, Pennsylvania

12 Sep 2008, 6:19 pm

Image
To WrongPlanet!! !Image


_________________
Life! Liberty!...and Perseveration!!.....
Weiner's Law of Libraries: There are no answers, only cross references.....
My Blog: http://richiesroom.wordpress.com/


asplanet
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 10 Nov 2007
Age: 66
Gender: Female
Posts: 2,258
Location: Cyberspace, New Zealand

15 Sep 2008, 9:34 pm

Hi Doug welcome, and its nice to know there are honest people out there looking out for those in need.... any of the bigger organizations should be able to advise... depends where you are.
It sounds like he also needs legal advice this is the sort of website may be worth contacting.. Changing Laws, Lives and Attitudes - .ttp://www.justiceactiongroup.org/ and hopefully they can direct you to the nearest support to you, Human rights always good to get advice from, Citizens advice etc... or National Autistic Society UK http://www.nas.org.uk/ will be able to advise best course of action, good luck


_________________
Face Book "Alyson Fiona Bradley "