Mentally Disabled Brother: Need HELP! (Chicago: job, house, services)

[birdboyee]

Hello, I have a mentally disabled brother who is 26 years old. My parents are old and are having difficulty supporting him. Is there help for me? I live in the Will County Illinois area. Any advise is greatly appreciated! Thanks and God Bless.

[Animal]

First, I would not suggest that you randomly join online communities to see if you can get free help--that just doesn't work.

Now, what you can do is look into local businesses that can help you. His doctors may have some ideas of what to do, so may the courthouse. You'll probably have to ask a lot of people and look into a lot of things, but you'll find something.

These kinds of things are not just going to fall into your lap. If you really want help, you'll need to work for it.

Don't forget to try the government. If he has a disability, then they should be able to help you with all your questions. The local government office in your area would be the best place to look.

[2beamissourian]

Does he attend school now? Group Homes? call one of these places see what advice they can give.

Department of aging might have advice for your folks - and get the help your brother needs as well.

[birdboyee]

Animal, Im not looking for free help, im looking for advice and/or tips for anyone with a similar situation.

2beamissourian, He doesn't attend school. Hes been out of school for some time when we lived in Chicago (Cook County), approximately 10 years after he graduated. My parents have made a poor decision on not following up with any kind of help because they were afraid he would get abused.

I since then married, noticing my parents burden, I moved them in with my family at Will County, I have contacted mentally disabled job assistance at 815-730-4200. But I think he'll need more help than that. he has grown to be very uncooperative and difficult to deal with, to the point that he controls my parents. I see them paying a toll with no direction.

Any helpful advice please email at rudy2000k@yahoo.com. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

- Rudy

[sbd78]

Birdboyee, I have a disabled brother too, so maybe I can be of some help. What disability does your brother have? Mine has 18Q-, a chromosome disorder in which his 18th chromosome is shorter than the rest. My brother is 27 years old, and is unfortunately a severe case. He does not speak, has autistic like behaviors, and basically has the mental function of a 1-year-old in an adult man's body. (I have a 19-month-old son, and he communicates better than my brother.) He has lived at home with my parents since birth, and since he turned 18 he has been on waiting lists to get into group homes. He has had a handful of group homes interested in him since he went on waiting lists, some were no longer interested in him after seeing how difficult he can be, and some my Mother felt uncomfortable with. (Since my parents have always been his primary caregiver, they are picky (as they should be) and worry about finding the perfect spot for him. So needless to say, he still lives at home with my parents. They are still able to care for him, but my father just turned 60 and my mother 53 so I worry about when they no longer are able to care for him. My brother currently goes to a day school for the developmentally disabled while he waits for a group home placement. My mother goes through Access Services to find placements for him. (They help with both group home placements and day school placements.) Access Services Of Northern Illinois Looking at their website, it doesn't look like Access Services serves Will County (My parents are in Boone County, I'm actually in Will County area myself but have never looked into services for the developmentaly disabled in our area.) Maybe if you contact Access Services they can hook you up with the appropriate organization for Will County? Its a start?

[birdboyee]

sbd78,
Your brother's condition is almost identical as mine. I googled 18Q- to find out more about it, but he doesn't have that condition. My brother fell from his crib at an infant age causing severe brain damage. He too cannot speak as well.
He attended a special school in which he graduated at age 18, all special training stopped soon after that because my parents were afraid he would be abused by the system, in which they are paying a heavy toll now that he is 28 now. He is very uncooperative and difficult to handle. I'm still waiting for a call back from number I mentioned preciously. I'll look into Access Services Of Northern Illinois website mentioned and keep you posted. Thanks for the support!

- Rudy [rudy2000k@yahoo.com]