A Sister's Love

Marilyn

Guardian and sister for Robert

Robert has resided at Polk Center since 2/21/1989. His target behavior and baseline is symptoms of autistic spectrum disorder and impulse control disorder. He is also nonverbal. Robert was at a group home before moving to Polk. The group home didn't work out and the last resort was Polk. Why the group home didn't work out is because the staff didn't know how to handle his outrage of a behavior which consisted of hitting, head butting, pinching, screams /making the noises he would make when he was upset, which was a lot. Every time my parents or I would go to see him, there were always different workers. When I would ask why there was always different staff and no consistency, I was told they couldn't handle the type of work that took place at the group home. At the time he was at the group home he still messed in his pants but that changed when he moved to Polk. Anytime I went to see him at the group home he also didn't seem happy or glad to be there. Always on edge but that all changed when he moved to Polk.

Polk is his home now and he loves it there.

At Polk he gets the absolute best care ever. They do a lot for him in the cottage plus a lot of activities are planned for him in and out of the cottage. Here are some of the weekly/daily activities he attends; he goes to the canteen and purchases a snack and drink with his own spending money and the canteen that is on grounds, he loves going there on a daily basis and looks very forward to it. Evening bingo in the rec room, evening social where they go and have popcorn and drinks, wagon rides on Friday nights in the summer, dances in the evening with snacks, church services at the center plus he goes on numerous outings in the community like picnics, out to dinner, shopping, look at Christmas lights, yearly formal dance at a fire hall, camping for 5 days and shopping trips. He wouldn't be able to handle being taken out of his home (Polk) he can't handle change, strangers, different surroundings. He has consistency at Polk with staff, group homes don't have that. Staff do not retire from group homes but they retire from state centers. When he gets upset or annoyed he will start pinching, hitting, and pushing away the person (s) that's upsetting him. Plus he will start hollering and making his noises to let someone know he's upset and not coping well. He will also get up from where he's at and move like letting someone know to leave me alone I need space. When there's an issue involving medical in any way nursing notifies me about the situation and what is being done or will be done. At Polk there are nurses on staff 24-7 along with a few doctors there every day ... That's why I feel he needs to stay at Polk the workers at his cottage give him the best care ever. They know his wants needs and fears He feels loved. The workers go above and beyond with their job at assisting him with his daily living skills. Everyone gets treated equal and if needed he would have 24 hour one on one care. When he's admitted to the hospital a familiar staff member from cottage 4 stays with him in his room 24-7 until he gets released /discharged to go home .... he gets his haircut there right at the center about every 4-6 weeks. He gets his podiatry work (toes nails cut) every 6 weeks there. He gets all his blood lab work done at the center. He has a routine that's the same every day and that's how he likes it.

He hates change.

So I feel he should never be taken out of Polk or Polk should never close!!

Save their homes PLEASE!!