Access to IDD MR Services Mystery Caller Scenarios Please remember that this endeavor is for determining access to routine services, not crisis resolution. Also, if you have a scenario that you came up with, go ahead and use it. Then share it with the group for the next IDD Mystery Call rotation. 1) I have a brother who has lived with me since my mom died last year. I promised my mom that I would take care of him, since he was always slow and couldn t live on his own. Well, I need help with him. My husband left us and I need to work, but I don t want to leave Bill by himself. He is 25 years old (DOB 7/10/1982), but he acts like a nine year old. He okay by himself for a couple of hours at a time, but he can t stay at home all day. He doesn t know how to cook for himself, he doesn t know how to take his seizure medication and I just don t feel comfortable leaving him alone for the whole day. Bill was always in special ed classes and has had seizures since he was a baby so he never was in any regular classes. Mom found a doctor who got him on a seizure medication that seems to work pretty good, since he has only had two seizures since he moved in with me, an that was right after mom died. Mom always said that he was special and we needed to do things for him, but I think Bill can learn some things and I heard that MHMR could help him learn things like how to cook, take care of himself and maybe even learn to do laundry. I don t think he is as retarded as mom treated him, I think he just got used to everyone doing things for him. So, can you help me? 2) Hi. My name is Sue Miller and I do a lot of volunteer work at the hospital. This man came in the other day and I was assigned to him, because he had a hard time telling people what was wrong with him and why he came into the emergency room. Since I had a son with Cerebral Palsy and he had a hard time talking, I could understand this man better than anyone else. Anyways, he is okay, physically, but I think he still needs help. I asked him if he went to MHMR and he said that he didn t. He said he lived in the garage behind his brother s house and he basically watched tv all day or walked around picking up cans. I told him about MHMR and that you all have people that will help him find work and other things to do during the day. He seemed interested in MHMR so I asked him if he would like help contacting you. I am at his apartment, now and his brother said the he didn t care what Matt did as long as he stayed out of his way and it didn t cost him anything. I know Matt has Medicaid and I think his brother is handling his money. Matt doesn t have anything in his apartment but a bed, chair and tv. He says he eats and uses the bathroom in his brother s house. Matt is a really bright guy, but seems to be limited due to his cerebral palsy. He said he was in special ed and his brother confirmed this. Can I help Matt get an appointment to see if he can get services there? I have an authorization signed by Matt and his brother saying it is okay for me to help. Matt is 35 years old. (if asked about school records, say that you will have to get with Matt s brother to see if he can help get them).
3) {disclaimer you might find some of the wording of this offensive but I swear this is a true to life conversation I had with a lady, words and all Andrea Tippit} This lady from my church told me to call MHMR. She said that you can help me to do things like cook and work. I really want to work and I don t cook too good. I told her that the reason I can t read the bible is because I am special. I went to special ed in school and that s why I am special. I even graduated and they gave me a piece of paper telling me how good I am. I was married once. Momma made me get married and sent me to Texas to live with him, when I got pregnant. I didn t like Bobby and he always said that he was going back home. My baby died. I didn t want to go back home, so I stayed in Texas since it s not as cold as Arkansas. The lady at church said I was retarded. I don t like that word. I am not retarded, I m just a little slow and I can t read. My sister always called me retard. I don t like that word. Can you help me with my medicines and stuff? I get sick a lot and I have to got to the doctors and I get these letters about my welfare check and I don t know what they mean. (If asked about school, say that you were in special ed in Mount Ida, Arkansas and graduated in 1983 you are 42 years old you have SSI because you aren t very smart ) 4) The school counselor told me to call your agency because of my daughter. Christi has Down s Syndrome and just turned 15 years old. I am having more problems with her now that she has discovered boys and I didn t think this would happen, since she is disabled. She is getting in trouble at school, because she is always touching herself and she has started turning her attention on to some men in our church. Needless to say, we are now having problems at the church, since she wants to marry certain men and she will cling to them. They have gone to the pastor and told him that they don t feel comfortable around her. I work every day and she has been going home and her 17 year old brother makes sure she doesn t get into trouble, but he s going to graduate this year and he will be going off to college this summer. I don t know what I will do with her during the summer. I also don t know what to do with these behaviors of hers. I just never thought she would be interested in boys and it s like all of a sudden, she is just like any teenage girl, but she doesn t know when to stop. I am afraid she is going to get hurt by someone who will take advantage of her situation. The school has her on a behavior program, but I don t know what to do at home. Do you all have a program that can help her or help me with her? 5) My daughter, Janie, graduated from high school this last year. She was 21 and they said she had to graduate so they gave her a diploma. Since then, she just sits at home during the day. I work. She knows how to do some basic things, like making sandwiches and not opening the door to anyone. When she was in school, she was happy, but now that she doesn t have any friends, since most of her friends still go to school, she just seems sad. I would like her to have something to do during the day and this lady at work said that MHMR might have an adult day care or something for Janie to go to. I don t want her with a bunch of old
people, though. I want her to be with people her own age. Do you have something like that? 6) I have two sons who have autism. One is 16 and the other is 12. I was wondering if there are any services that you all have that can help me with them. I know a lot about autism and I have gotten pretty good at this ARD thing, at the school, but I just want as many services and supports that I can get for my boys. Adrian will be 18 in two years and he knows that the rest of the kids his age are going to graduate. He is very smart, about some things, like numbers and organizing things, but he doesn t handle being in school, because of all of the noise. I know he can go to school until he is 21, but I need someone or some agency to help me make some decisions for him. Jessie is more affected. He is in a self contained class room all day long. I don t have any one to take care of the boys after school, so I can t work. My husband left me because he said it was my fault that the boys are this way. I am living off of child support and food stamps. Do you have any services, like after school programs or summer programs that my son s can be in? I am just stuck in what to do. {disclaimer you might find some of the wording of this offensive but I swear this is a true to life conversation I had with a lady, words and all Andrea Tippit} 7) My next door neighbor is a teacher and she said I needed to call MHR. She said I needed help learning stuff. I told her that I m just slow, she said that that s what MHR does is help slow people. I thought MHR was for retarded and crazy people. I don t like the word retarded. I am not retarded, I m just slow. Mrs. Gomez said not to let that word bother me because it is just a word. I don t like that word. I went to special ed. All the kids at school called us retards. We were just slow, that s what my mom says. My mom died. My brother comes over to help me. He takes care of my money. He told me I have to stop bothering people cause I will get kicked out. My brother can get my school stuff. Do you want his number? Will you guys help me learn to read? Scott said I can only use the microwave because I started a fire on the stove. Can you teach me to cook? I don t like frozen dinners. 8) Hi, my name is. Our family just moved here from Illinois. Our daughter, Pam, is mentally challenged. She is 24 years old and was in a workshop where we used to live. They were teaching her how to work, learning how to recycle cans, bottles and other things, like sort plastics. I found out about your services from the Department of Aging and Disability Services web site. Pam s I.Q. is 62. I would like for her to live on her own, someday. She says she would like that too. I have Pam s last plan and all of her paperwork from the Center she was in before. Like I said before, she was in a sheltered workshop. But she also had someone come over every Saturday to teach her how to do her own laundry and fix meals. Do you have a workshop? Do you have people who can teach her the skills she needs to live on her own? I try, but I think because I am her mom, she and I get too frustrated with each other and it always ends up with both of us in tears.
9) Hi, my name is and I am a teacher at High School. I have a boy who needs your services. He is 21 and will be graduating this year. His mom really doesn t want him to stay at home all day long, because she is afraid he will leave the house and wander the streets. Tommy is very social, but he just doesn t understand the rules of society and this gets him into trouble. The police have been to his house because when he was at Walmart, he started talking to a little boy and playing with him in the toy section. Since Tommy looks normal, the mom thought that he was trying to take her boy and do something bad to him. Tommy just likes to play with kids and do things, like play cars and with action figures. He didn t mean any harm. I think his mom would bring him in. I will get her his testing, since he has an I.Q. of 55 he should qualify for services, right? Tommy really needs a place to go during the day and learn who he can and can t talk to. It is hard to teach that in a school. I even think he could do some kind of work, like janitorial services, since he likes to clean up the class room every day before the bus picks him up. 10) My brother is 42 years old and my mother just passed away. I am unable to keep in at home because I have to work and he can not stay alone at the house. I do not know what to do or who to call. We do not have any school paperwork. It was a long time ago and in another state. We can t get the information from the school. All I remember is that he was not in regular classes with the other kids. He needs direction on what to do and when. John can dress himself and use the restroom on his own. Can you help me? 11) My child, Lisa is about to graduate. She is 21. Lisa was evaluated at the school as mentally retarded. The information states that she has an IQ of 68. We do not know what to do for her after graduation. It would not be good for her to sit at home and not do anything. What are the options for her? 12) George is 15 years old. His behaviors are increasing at home and we are getting calls from the school. He has been diagnosed with ADD and the school counselor thinks he might be PDD. Is there someone that can attend the ARD s with us to help us figure out what to do? 13) I am with the special ed department from (a local school district) and need you to provide information to a student and her parents about available services and supports upon graduation from high school. This individual needs whatever services and supports are available to her, mainly attending a workshop upon graduation. She has worked a community job through the school vocational program. The family does not feel that she can work a community job more than 2 hours unsupervised and therefore would need to be in a workshop program. 14) I am a foster care provider for an adult male, age 27. He wants to live on his own, but I feel like he needs supervision with his day to day living skills and needs someone to watch him every day. I think he should go to a group home, but he doesn t want to. I ve had him since he was 13 years old and I m getting too old to
continue helping him. He can use the microwave, can take his own bath, know how to tell time, get dressed by himself and he can read some. He is too trusting of other people and can be taken advantage of. I met this lady the other day and she said that you all could help with watching him. 15) My daughter is 23 years old and I need some help for her. I had sitters coming in to watch her while I work, but they are unreliable with taking care of her. The sitters did not help her get to the bathroom so she would need changing every so often and sometimes they won t show up on time making me late for work. I can t afford to quit my job to stay home and take care of her. My employers have been very understanding, but I don t know how long this is going to last. My daughter doesn t have anything to do all day except watch T.V. Is there a program that she can go to in the mornings so that I can go to work and not have to worry about her? 16) The workshop told me that I had to contact you in order for my son to come to the workshop. He is 19 years old and he already goes to your clinic to see the Dr. He has bipolar and he s mentally retarded. His bipolar disorder is not always under control with his medications, but he s manageable. What do I need to do in order for him to go to the workshop? *** Make sure to check with the QM Director at the Center you are calling to find out if they have workshops as many Center do not. If they do not, you may want to choose scenarios without workshops mentioned in them.