Weekends at this time are becoming a bit trickier now that taking him out is a bit more difficult. The best thing we have done is Papa proof the house. We have regular security camera system and Dropcams. We also have connect sense door monitors that will send alerts to our phones if doors are opened, and water sensor alarm in case a plumbing issue happens in the basement for the fourth time. The Dropcams are awesome. They allow you to wireless monitor any room and they have two way sound. I can talk to him and get him calmed down or tell him I will be bring home ice cream if sits and plays cards. The funny thing about the Dropcam is he never once has asked how are you talking to me. I guess I am just another voice in his head. We can’t go to far or be out to long but these steps, and medications have helped us to not be tied down to the house.
Yeah. That is kinda hard to deal with!!! But I bet he just is thinking in his mind that he just should be left alone. Anyway, weekends are awesome!! 🙂
One of the ways we keep Papa occupied while we are out of the house is we have set up “stations” downstairs in his living area. We can see through the DropCam what he is doing so if he’s sleeping a lot, we talk to him through the DropCam and get him up doing things like playing cards, rolling pennies, and even putting poker chips back in their holder (yes we dump them out every chance we get so that this can occupy his time and he enjoys it!) Dan even rigged the table so that when we do the poker chip pile, they won’t slide off the table. This was not an overnight thing, but through trial and error, we figured out how to get as many of the things he likes to do right and effectively.
Has to be a team effort! Couldn’t do without my family.