Well...not as expected..

[DDD]

Truly, you (and any other parent dealing with "the system") could drive yourself nuts trying to analyze what "they" understand and what they don't understand, what "they" want and what they don't want. There are far TOO many of them. There are far TOO few of you.

If you can get help and support thru NAMI or any bona fide group I agree that you should go for it.

The biggest problem (after the sheer number of "them") is that you are trying to represent the best interests of your child AND defend you and your son from system assault. The GAL is designed to be independent of all interference and solely recommend what is seen as best for the child.
The PO office is there protecting the citizens from the bad guys (sure they are) and see it as their responsibility to run the show once a family has a weakened link. The Court (or at least I used to think so) is there to make sure that just and legal decisions are made when there has been an infraction.

Another problem is that you are involved in this crisis 24/7. The other adults are involved during work hours. Your intensity, stress, concerns etc are NORMAL for a Warrior Mom but may be seen as "off the wall" by
the detached participants.

You can't anticipate questions and answers for psychiatric testing. You need
to be rested, chill as much as possible and answer questions without extreme analysis. I wouldn't volunteer too much but would be truthful.
I would also ask who gets copies of the test and make sure that if they will not cc you...that you have someone on your side as a guaranteed recipient.

Meanwhile.....do your best to slow down the pace a bit and seek out any pleasant diversion you can afford. Walking? An afternoon movie?

You're doing fine and we are all here for you. Do exhale a bit. DDD

 

[Star*]

klmno -

(after thought) the part that I'm not BUYING? Is the courts having YOU take a psychiatric evaluation. test. I do belive you - but I really, really think it's time to get some legal aid.

Find a local college prof. in law that does probono on civil rights -

 

[klmno]

Does anyone know what all these leads to? What happens when they are trying to force the kid going home with in-home services but this comes in that the parent is whacked and the parent gives up custody anyway? Do they ignore the difficult child's psychiatrist's report and put the difficult child in foster care? If the parent is going to be involved in family therapy whether or not the difficult child is in Residential Treatment Center (RTC) or at home, what is the psychiatric evaluation supposed to determine? If they think I am unfit, why are they not just shooting for placing difficult child somewhere else? Is this what they are doing? What exactly do they want from me? The gal brought up to the judge that I had put in a request to talk to dss for relief (parental placement) then I said I had withdrawn it since this happened. I don't get the point. If he needs to be in Residential Treatment Center (RTC) and gal is truly advocating for that, exactly what difference would it make if I was a whack job in addition to that?