the notebook

My former co-worker Connie and I used to always talk about how we should write a book about the unusual situations and conversations that we see and have daily at our job as a result of working with people with developmental disabilities.  But who wants to go through all of the trouble and expense of going through a publisher when there's blogging?

Yesterday was awesome.  One of the participants was sitting with his walker out in the office hallway.  I asked him why he wasn't in the ATE room and he stated that he was having problems with another participant because she was too loud.  That's kind of like me saying I have problems with someone because they talk about their dog too much.  This guy is one of the loudest people we have.  However, I told him he could sit at another table away from her.  He stood away from his walker and declared, "That's right!  AWAY from HER!  I hate her VOICE and her PONYTAIL!  And you know what, THIS IS WAR!"  while he pointed to the ceiling in such a dramatic fashion that Charlton Heston would have asked for his autograph.

Today was not so awesome.  My favorite guy, who's hit me with a hat before, hit me with his notebook this time.  He was having an outburst, saying that another participant hit him.  That person hadn't come near him that day and of course, denied it.  That made him more mad and he started saying stuff like, "I don't get to go to the store in May."  We have an agreement that I will take him to the store in May on his birthday so he can buy a bottle of Diet Coke.  We have to go over this arrangement every time I see him.  He gets a Diet Coke everyday but getting it in a bottle is special to him.  However, his sister/guardian recently discontinued pops for him because of health concerns.  So, when he said he won't get to go to the store, I assumed he was putting it together that, since he doesn't get a Diet Coke everyday, he won't be getting one on his birthday anymore.  When I said, "Yeah, no more soda," he exploded.  He grabbed his notebook, which he had previously thrown on the floor and launched it at my face.

In all honesty, I could have ducked it but I had another participant standing in front of me and I was more concerned about it not hitting him.  My favorite guy then took his shoe off (which is standard practice for him) and threw it at a co-worker of mine, hitting her in the shoulder.  I was preparing for the other shoe to come flying when the guy I wanted to not get hit by the notebook brought the shoe back over to my favorite guy, asking him to put it back on.  "Shit," I thought, "The one thing that we have working in our favor is that he only has two shoes.  Don't reload him!"

He continued his fit and finally I decided it wasn't worth it so I lied to him and said that I would take him to get a pop on his birthday.  I'm 95% sure that he won't be in our program in May so it's a lie I can live with.  It's a shame too because, when he's not throwing items at my face, he can be completely awesome to be around.  Without him, my job won't be as interesting and I won't have as much to write or to look forward to.