Messages By: granoffive

Our son, age 49 and born deaf, holds a good job and lives in hi co-op apt. but I'm afraid he'll lose both someday.  He was evicted, a 2-year process, but we disovered it when they locked his door.  After many court appearances etc. tons of  newspapers papers were hauled out and he kept the apt. But he still has problems, made more difficult by his denial of problems until they become critical, and because he was born in 1957 when educators of the deaf believed in "the Oral Method", not allowing babies and toddlers to learn sign language!  It was he worst mistake in education of the deaf!  Most deaf people in his age group, taught orally and denied sign as young children are difficient in grammar and communication skills as a result of this.  His latest problem is losing the use of his car because his auto insurance bill got lost in the mounting pile of mail on his dinette table and insurance was cancelled for non-payment.  I'm trying to convince him that he must turn in his license plates immediately.  My husband, another procrastinator, is of no help.

My daughter's stepson, age 16 1/2 is antisocial.  He spends most waking hours on the computer, but presently is not allowed to use it.  He comes into the kitchen only to grab and eat food, leaving a mess.  He sometimes goes to his dad's mother's for a couple of days at a time. He had been skipping school and they got him into a special high school which worked for a few months but now doesn't go there either. He spent most of his childhood with an alcoholic, dyfunctional mother.  I think he nees a boarding school.  My daughter and her husband (his dad) have a 7 year old son and they don't want him influenced or worse, harmed by this teenager.  He has "playfully" put his hands around the younger brother's throat.  He curses at anyone who tells him what to do.  How can I help them find a place that can help him? I live in NY, they are in Cambridge, MA.