Yesterday's Meeting

Good Evening!

We had meeting yesterday for Tyler with his mental health team.  It was an evaluation of sorts to see if there are any issues that a behavior specialist can help to address.  As it turned out there really wasn't anything they need to do at this time, so we will simply continue things along the current path.

Meetings are a part of life for a caregiver.  Sometimes I walk in with no idea what the heck I'm going in to talk about.  Tyler's life has been documented and re-documented so often I think I know his case history by heart.  But....that's normally how each meeting kicks off. "So give me the background on Tyler".  I admit it, I have an internal eye roll I save for such occasions.  But I do understand that each new part of the team wants to get a firsthand sense of who Tyler is and what makes him tick.  I look at it as our opportunity to make Tyler's voice heard from the very start.  

Even meetings that may not seem to be hitting the mark can serve a tremendous purpose. This one was an opportunity to have Ty, a staffer, and his House Manager all around the same table with me and his new behavior counselor.  I gave a summary of Tyler's background, and the house updated the room on Tyler's current goings-on.  We talked at length about the incident from a few weeks ago where Tyler became immensely uncomfortable with a fill-in staffer.  

We left the meeting with a decision to just monitor things and continue moving forward.  But the real value was sitting together and comparing notes.  When we have a meeting where everyone agrees on where we have been and where we are going, its a tremendous plus.  

For Tyler's part he was in a very good mood.  During the meeting he chattered with me with his typical "happy words".  It was a fun little Dad-Son reunion.  But in typical fashion, when the meeting was over, he was ready to hit the door.  He gave me a quick hug and kiss, and out the door he went.

My feelings are always mixed.  I'm proud of him, I love to see him happily go on his way, and I feel a little sad that I'm not his main man anymore like I used to be.  

Be well and God bless.    Tom