Josh/2007

In 2007-8 the effects of puberty (mainly restlessness, I think) have combined with a very poorly-managed transition from middle school to high school (his first year at Jordan) resulted in a lot of acting out both at home and at school. He has long been known for hitting smaller kids when he wasn't happy, but he has apparently graduated to larger people (including Sandy, his older brother Mel, and me) when he is sufficiently angry or frustrated, and was having spells where he cried like he was being tortured and would go around stomping and hitting the walls of the house (and sometimes windows and mirrors, which is worrisome when it happens -- though mostly he avoids hitting anything delicate). See this video for an example (he had many episodes like this when he wasn't being taken out anywhere over the summer).

A worker (Willie) began taking Josh out several times a week over the summer of 2008, and Josh has calmed down a great deal since then (and especially since school started back up) -- though he still becomes unhappy on weekends, when there is nobody available to interact with him.

It was at this time that we lost any hesitation we might have had earlier about finding a different living situation for Josh. He clearly would be happier living elsewhere, and our house does not have adequate resources to provide for his safety when he is exhibiting certain behaviors (which were predominant at this time and have continued to some extent since then); see Josh/group home.