Josh/2010/behavior

Josh needs to have food and drink prepared for him. He is able to use the microwave at home to reheat dishes prepared earlier, but someone needs to check him when he does this (on at least 2 occasions he punched in "22:22" instead of "2:22", resulting in charcoaled chicken and a melted plate; it took weeks for the burnt smell to go away). He also eats exclusively with his fingers and resists attempts to wash his hands afterwards (he will not do it himself).

Josh is able to urinate without assistance (pulls down pants, lifts toilet seat, urinates, replaces toilet seat, flushes toilet, raises pants), but often misses and leaves puddles around the toilet. He defecates without assistance but still needs some supervision in cleaning himself afterwards: he tends to use every scrap of paper available to wipe himself (the entire roll of toilet paper, plus any spare rolls at hand, any paper towels at hand, and any sanitary wipes at hand – everything goes into the trash, so at least the toilet doesn't get clogged), and although he mostly manages to get himself clean, it's clear his technique could use some work.

At home, he wears only a shirt and underwear. We have avoided trying to teach him to keep pants on (for now) as it has been useful as a way of signaling to him that he is about to go somewhere. He can clothe himself, often without prompting, but sometimes he resists or does not cooperate. He can put on shoes but needs to have his laces tied. He can put on sandals or velcro-laced shoes unassisted. He always puts his clothes away appropriately (shirt/pants go in hamper, underwear in underwear bin, shoes/sandals in shoe pockets) when he takes them off.

When we first began regularly bathing Josh 1-2 years ago, he was very resistant -- but he has become more and more cooperative since then, and will now step into the bathtub on request and even wet his hair with the showerhead, though he often resists the amount of wetting needed to really be effective. He still needs someone else to soap him up, rinse, and towel him off. He can't shave himself, though he could probably be taught to do so with an electric shaver. He will tolerate someone else shaving him with an electric shaver for short amounts of time, but tends to shy away; possibly a reward system could help extend this time. Regular shaving sessions, even if incomplete, might also help.

January 2010

His sleep patterns have now been a problem at two different therapeutic foster homes. He tends to sleep very little, and often erratically (e.g. in the morning or afternoon rather than at night), and as long as he is awake in an unsecured environment, he needs to be supervised.

Past Issues

See /past for behaviors which were significant at one point but have now disappeared (for the moment, at least -- in the past, some of his behaviors have returned after disappearing).