Prepping with autistic adult

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by dystopia, Nov 9, 2011.


  1. dystopia

    dystopia Monkey+

    My son has aspergers a form of autism. He's 21 6'2" 220lbs. but is more of a gentle giant then anything. Has anybody a plan how to prep with a person that has special needs. I've tried bringing up the subject that one day things might not be as they are now but if i'm getting through to him he's keeping it a secret. I've checked other sites without much sucess. As always thanks for any feed back.
     
  2. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    dys, if you jammed all I know about autism into a thimble, you'd still have space for your fist. But will he cooperate with prepping tasks without understanding the why? (Put this xxx with the yyy in the basement, for example.)
     
  3. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    How deeply affected by Aspergers is he? What is (are) his trigger(s)? Could he nominally live on his own or is he care dependent? What is his focus - astronomy, trivia, music, art?
     
  4. dystopia

    dystopia Monkey+

    For the most part he's a good kid, he's an adult by law only. He still enjoys Sesame street every morning. If a routine can be established then he does well with most assigned task, but if an unexpected event involving stress is encountered then a meltdown is usually the result.
     
  5. dystopia

    dystopia Monkey+

    His focus right now is music, his triggers are any sign of anger or disappointment with his actions, we are able to leave him alone for short periods and i hope one day that he'll be able to have a so called normal life.
     
  6. Falcon15

    Falcon15 Falco Peregrinus

    Prepare as if he was a child. explain it to him, have him participate. Call it being ready. Establish some drills, where if you call out HIDE! He runs to an assigned "safe place" and hides, but also establish a very stringent routine of practicing this. Make it a game. Keep an Ipod or some other headphone centric item in the hiding spot, with a flashlight, so he can play music while he is hiding - this will lower his stress level if a stressful situation occurs. Also, has he been exposed to the loud noises of gunfire? Do you have weapons in the house and plan on using them if needed? If he has not been exposed to the sudden violent sounds of gunfire, when it happens, it could trigger him. Music, again, could be helpful to drown out the sounds if he is sufficiently far away from the weapon discharge, but he should be exposed to gun fire - even if that means taking him to an open air shooting range to see what it is like. No shooting etc. Just stand in the parking lot, with the loud sporadic sounds happening in the background. Gauge his reactions to this. Calmly explain what is going on, help him understand. Aspergers is not mental deficiency, but it does profoundly affect a person's social skills. It sounds like there are other considerations beyond the autism.

    Just some background: I have a close friend whose son has Aspergers. He is a "normal" 10 year old, except he cannot censor what he is saying and does not understand subtleties in conversation or body language. You have to be VERY direct with Sam, or he gets lost and frustrated. His trigger is loud sudden noises.

    I also have a cousin who suffers from the effects of severe heavy metal poisoning. He has the mental capacity of a 4 year old and he is over 40. He is physically unable to move on his own, and has been wheelchair or bed riden almost his entire life. He has groups of volunteers that help him (and my aunt and uncle), daily to survive. They help him do his daily physical therapy, speech therapy, reading, using the "facilities", things we take for granted and can do pretty much on our own. He has been this way since he was about 10 years old - 1978. His family lived in Mexico at the time and he was drinking a LOT of orange juice out of unglazed clay pottery that, unfortunately had a large amount of lead in the clay. The grown ups did not drink the juice so were unaffected. Sad but true fact, the family can care for him, but we always think, what happens in a SHTF scenario? No good answer has ever come of that conversation. My Aunt and Uncle are getting on in years and have declining health themselves, and it is becoming more and more difficult to care for him, even with the volunteers. My uncle has spoken several times about putting him in a care facility, but knows that it is not the best thing for my cousin. His case is unique, and profound, but it is indeed on all of my family's minds, all of the time. I understand your concern.

    Just an FYI - I enjoy Sesame Street every morning, with my children. It is part of their dad time. =)
     
    chelloveck, BTPost and Sapper John like this.
  7. dystopia

    dystopia Monkey+

    My son and i used to go shooting when he was in his military firearm period, so he is no stranger to gunfire. I'll have to spend more time and effort with him and control my frustration that what seems so glaringly obvious and easy to me is complicated and strange to him. Thanks for the story of your cousin, made me think of the story of the man with no shoes crying about it until he saw a man with no feet, my son will have difficulties in life but i'll never have to go thru what your aunt and uncle are experiencing. P.S. Maybe instead of being irritated with Sesame street in the morning i'll watch it with him.
     
  8. larryinalabama

    larryinalabama Monkey++

    I rally dont know what IM talking about but it would seem to me prepping and planning should not be much different than planning for other dependents. If a SHTF is purley economic he might be a huge benefit to you both for help and your spirit. For something like gunfire I would have a safe room you could lock him in, you wont be able to protect yourself and family if hes in the way. Other than that buy some sesime street DVDS. Funny thing my kids like the old TOM AND JERRY cartoons, I watch them as part of my dad time.
     
    Falcon15 likes this.
  9. Witch Doctor 01

    Witch Doctor 01 Mojo Maker

    If you are into bushcraft type activities you can teach him simple survival skills like making a leaf bed ( large pile of leaves a blanket/sleping bag and more leaves on top), lean to, collecting wood for the fire (big, medium,and small), fishing (if he knows how to swim)... it will depend on his interest level and the amount of supervision he needs... I have taken special needs kids on overnite trips and done some of the above... some liked it and wanted to do it again and some didn't last the night...

    YMMV
     
    dystopia and chelloveck like this.
survivalmonkey SSL seal        survivalmonkey.com warrant canary
17282WuJHksJ9798f34razfKbPATqTq9E7