I was IRL tard wrangler AMA - I'm amazed I'm not an alcoholic

Did you have to keep a tard log? Like a daily record of all the tarded shenanigans?

My brother worked as a tard wrangler for one summer when he was in college. He was assigned to a single tard, but the guy was a behemoth, he was rambunctious, and he had scary exceptional individual strength. My brother was a strapping boy so he got pitted against the leviathan, and it was basically Thunderdome rules.

They had a routine where my brother would wrestle the guy into the short bus van after breakfast and drive him around aimlessly for a few hours, because it was one of the few things that kept the turnip head docile. My brother would listen to Howard Stern on the radio, and his tard developed a habit of shouting "Bababooey! Bababooey!" constantly and it drove everybody at the tard hut crazy.

So yeah, my brother was required to keep a log of the daily activities of his tard, and, on Friday nights, a bunch of us would meet up at a bar, and my brother would regale us with readings from his tard log. It was hysterical. Episodes of public masturbation, pants pissing, "fecal smearing", "self harm", etc... but the "self harm" was mostly my brother's way of explaining away the bruises, because the scuffles to keep his tard under control would often necessitate full Nelsons, camel clutches, dropkicks, and figure 4 leglocks and the like.

We'd be laughing so hard at my brothers' Adventures of a Tard Wrangler stories at the bar that we'd often attract a crowd. Some nights there'd be like a crowd of upwards of a dozen people laughing themselves to tears at my brother's recounting of the week's tard malarkey.

Good times, good times.
Yeah, we had to document everything. No one ever read them, because I had a coworker write the preamble to the Constituion as a log entry and no one said anything.
Did you ever have to use a lasso like a cowboy?
No but I did lure someone back inside with a box of Twinkies.
What was the worst shit related incident you had to deal with?
Guy in a wheelchair shat himself, and it overflowed his brief and got all over his wheelchair and the floor. Took me and the other staff member an hour to clean it up.
What was the general age range for the tards you had to take care of? Late teens? Early 20s? Older?
All over the map, but I had several who were in their 40s.
Where do profoundly exceptional people get put since the institutions closed?

A friend of mine worked for a while at a hospital unit which housed profoundly exceptional people. All of them were non-verbal, most required special diets, many were also blind and some had their teeth removed so they couldn't bite staff and other residents. A few years ago the decision was made to close the unit (it was on extremely valuable land) and move them to group homes. I often wonder how that turned out given how extremely high needs they were, but it's hard to see how their needs could be met outside an institutional setting.
They all get put in group homes, which are modified to accommodate their needs. It's actually much easier to check on them in a group home. The facilites were all out in the stixs so the normal folks wouldn't be bothered.
@DrJonesHat
How much do you attribute the actions of some of our long-time lolcows (Chris, ADF, Kengel, etc) to ASD, versus to another source like personality flaws or external/learned behaviors? Are you more "forgiving" of anti-social behavior of people with developmental disabilities?
Everyone we talk about here to my knowledge has a normal IQ (except ADF, I think his is in the 80s). People who don't have a full deck get a pass from some social conventions. Chris was coddled. ADF is a violent low-functioning psychopath. Kengle is a drama whore.
Worst tard moment ever?

What got you into that field anyways? I had a few career counselors try to nudge me in that field of study until I politely told them to fuck off, I’m not interested.
Worst tard moment? I can't pinpoint just one. Maybe the one who tried to get me fired for not giving him money (we weren't allowed to anyway).
What was one moment on the job that made you laugh your ass off?
I tried to cheer up a client by dancing, and it's simply not my gift. She fell off the couch laughing at me, and my boss (who was black) said "DrJonesHat, you're a nice guy, but you are really white." Trurer words were never spoken.
Did you ever think maybe the nazis were on to something for wanting to gas them?
The ones who were just fleshsacks yes. They had no awareness and never did. There was no person there. The ones who could talk and move around were people, just like us. I took it personally when someone insulted them for things beyond their control.
 
I was once a direct support professional, which is a hilariously overstated title for keeping exceptional individuals from drinking bleach. There was nothing professional about it. Traning consisted of watching long hours of countless videos. No one knew what they were doing, and ask two people a question about procedure, and you'll get five different answers. The pay is shit (scarcely above minimum wage), and with that comes the kind of people who'll work for peanuts. I dunno how it is in other states, but where I was, we worked for private companies under contract to the state welfare agency. We were expected to be on call 24/7 (lol right). Funding was a shoestring, so our vehicles were in horrible shape, but since many of our clients were in wheelchairs, we had to use vans with lifts. Most of the people I worked with had records, which was allowed, as long as it wasn't for a violent offense or a financial crime. I reported our agency for falsifying records to show we were providing services we weren't, and while it was supposed to be anonymous, mysteriously, I was soft-fired shortly thereafter (they cut my hours in half and wrote me up for things that happened on someone else's shift). I have all sorts of horrible and hilarious stories. Fire away.
Do they really go apeshit for stickers?
 
Everyone we talk about here to my knowledge has a normal IQ (except ADF, I think his is in the 80s). People who don't have a full deck get a pass from some social conventions. Chris was coddled. ADF is a violent low-functioning psychopath. Kengle is a drama whore.
I guess what I mean is...where do you draw the line? I find I am a lot more forgiving -- or attribute a lot more behavior to "just autism" -- than many of the other folks here, but I can't tell if that's because I'm more familiar with ASD, or if I'm just a bleeding-heart. I'm interested in hearing what your algorithm is.

ADF, for example, I think a huge amount of his behavior is explained by his developmental issues. However, there's plenty of people with serious disabilities or behavioral problems who are perfectly nice to other people, outside of having "moments". But ADF has been narcissistic and nasty since his e-discovery. (Example: Autism is when you don't understand that being a 20+ and hanging around with 14 year old girls is unacceptable, even though you both like Naruto. Shithead is when, after being told why this is in appropriate, you spam their blogs, blame the kids, and telling yourself it's actually because you're too cool and they're just jealous.)

Whether or not ADF's parents were "abusive" as claimed, I definitely think they're responsible for that behavior, with the double-edged coddling/neglect. Functional adults I know with ASD agree that raising is the key.
 
DrJonesHat dijo:
The ones who were just fleshsacks yes. They had no awareness and never did. There was no person there. The ones who could talk and move around were people, just like us. I took it personally when someone insulted them for things beyond their control.
That's what I meant. Like not in a sense of "Gas them all!!" but is it really living if you're a veggie? My mom taught sped kids and they weren't the veggie ones. I just think it's more humane to put someone out of their misery. I personally think people have a right to die with dignity. Doing something like making fun of people born with retardation is cheap. They play with the hand they're dealt. Some actually can surprisingly do it better than able bodied/minded people who have the world in front of them. People say that old people should have the right to die. Why not a young person who is more or less gone? I'm assuming you're talking about people who are like Terri Schiavo. Lights on but no one's home kind of thing.
I guess what I mean is...where do you draw the line? I find I am a lot more forgiving -- or attribute a lot more behavior to "just autism" -- than many of the other folks here, but I can't tell if that's because I'm more familiar with ASD, or if I'm just a bleeding-heart. I'm interested in hearing what your algorithm is.

ADF, for example, I think a huge amount of his behavior is explained by his developmental issues. However, there's plenty of people with serious disabilities or behavioral problems who are perfectly nice to other people, outside of having "moments". But ADF has been narcissistic and nasty since his e-discovery. (Example: Autism is when you don't understand that being a 20+ and hanging around with 14 year old girls is unacceptable, even though you both like Naruto. Shithead is when, after being told why this is in appropriate, you spam their blogs, blame the kids, and telling yourself it's actually because you're too cool and they're just jealous.)

Whether or not ADF's parents were "abusive" as claimed, I definitely think they're responsible for that behavior, with the double-edged coddling/neglect. Functional adults I know with ASD agree that raising is the key.
There in lies the rub, huh? ADF is an idiot but not anymore than your usual suspect idiot. There are people who have suffered documented abuse and neglect who don't become giant psycho assholes. At some point a person has to accept they were dealt a shitty hand in life and grow from it. Some can, some can't. ADF's problem is that technology allows him to broadcast his shittiness when 30 years ago he'd just be beneath the town drunk and routinely mocked and ignored locally.

Perhaps it goes beyond his parents and him. It is a symptom of our narcissistic look at me society.
 
Última edición:
If you could change one thing about how the world sees exceptional individuals, what would it be? What did you learn through your years of experience that people in general don't know or think they know but don't come close to realizing it to its full extent?

Good thread OP. I can finally say "thanks for doing this AMA" without being sarcastic!
 
Do they really go apeshit for stickers?
Not all of them. They're individuals. Some are very grown up. Some are not.
I guess what I mean is...where do you draw the line? I find I am a lot more forgiving -- or attribute a lot more behavior to "just autism" -- than many of the other folks here, but I can't tell if that's because I'm more familiar with ASD, or if I'm just a bleeding-heart. I'm interested in hearing what your algorithm is.

ADF, for example, I think a huge amount of his behavior is explained by his developmental issues. However, there's plenty of people with serious disabilities or behavioral problems who are perfectly nice to other people, outside of having "moments". But ADF has been narcissistic and nasty since his e-discovery. (Example: Autism is when you don't understand that being a 20+ and hanging around with 14 year old girls is unacceptable, even though you both like Naruto. Shithead is when, after being told why this is in appropriate, you spam their blogs, blame the kids, and telling yourself it's actually because you're too cool and they're just jealous.)

Whether or not ADF's parents were "abusive" as claimed, I definitely think they're responsible for that behavior, with the double-edged coddling/neglect. Functional adults I know with ASD agree that raising is the key.
My criterion for cutting people some slack is intelligence. If you're in the normal range or over, I expect you to behave, autism or no.
That's what I meant. Like not in a sense of "Gas them all!!" but is it really living if you're a veggie? My mom taught sped kids and they weren't the veggie ones. I just think it's more humane to put someone out of their misery. I personally think people have a right to die with dignity. Doing something like making fun of people born with exceptionalism is cheap. They play with the hand they're dealt. Some actually can surprisingly do it better than able bodied/minded people who have the world in front of them. People say that old people should have the right to die. Why not a young person who is more or less gone? I'm assuming you're talking about people who are like Terri Schiavo. Lights on but no one's home kind of thing.

There in lies the rub, huh? ADF is an idiot but not anymore than your usual suspect idiot. There are people who have suffered documented abuse and neglect who don't become giant psycho assholes. At some point a person has to accept they were dealt a shitty hand in life and grow from it. Some can, some can't. ADF's problem is that technology allows him to broadcast his shittiness when 30 years ago he'd just be beneath the town drunk and routinely mocked and ignored locally.

Perhaps it goes beyond his parents and him. It is a symptom of our narcissistic look at me society.
ADF should not be getting SSI. Being a shitheel is not a disability, it's a character flaw. He could stock shelves, or unload trucks or whatever doesn't involve human interaction.
If you could change one thing about how the world sees exceptional individuals, what would it be? What did you learn through your years of experience that people in general don't know or think they know but don't come close to realizing it to its full extent?

Good thread OP. I can finally say "thanks for doing this AMA" without being sarcastic!
I'd like to people to learn that despite not having a full deck, they're people, just like anyone else. Some are good, some are bad.
Was there a mortality rate to speak of when it came to clients? Just from natural causes, mind you. Perhaps not so much as a retirement home and certainly not as much as a hospice, but it has to be rough nonetheless when a client ends up buying the farm.
I never had one die on me, though there was one guy that I would not have been shocked if I showed up one morning and he had died in his sleep. We had a protocol to follow if someone died, and because of his poor health, it was regularly reviewed. He weighed 400 lbs and refused to use his CPAP, and ate like shit. He'd get violent if we tried to put him on a diet, so the state just gave up trying to get him to lose weight. He was still alive when I left that company. I don't keep track of the people I supported. I prefer to put that behind me.
 
Última edición:
I guess what I mean is...where do you draw the line? I find I am a lot more forgiving -- or attribute a lot more behavior to "just autism" -- than many of the other folks here, but I can't tell if that's because I'm more familiar with ASD, or if I'm just a bleeding-heart. I'm interested in hearing what your algorithm is.

ADF, for example, I think a huge amount of his behavior is explained by his developmental issues. However, there's plenty of people with serious disabilities or behavioral problems who are perfectly nice to other people, outside of having "moments". But ADF has been narcissistic and nasty since his e-discovery. (Example: Autism is when you don't understand that being a 20+ and hanging around with 14 year old girls is unacceptable, even though you both like Naruto. Shithead is when, after being told why this is in appropriate, you spam their blogs, blame the kids, and telling yourself it's actually because you're too cool and they're just jealous.)

Whether or not ADF's parents were "abusive" as claimed, I definitely think they're responsible for that behavior, with the double-edged coddling/neglect. Functional adults I know with ASD agree that raising is the key.
Phil's parents have most likely neglected his development in many ways, mostly because they had their hands full with his more severely autistic older brother Neil. Both of his parents were also alcoholics.
 
Phil's parents have most likely neglected his development in many ways, mostly because they had their hands full with his more severely autistic older brother Neil. Both of his parents were also alcoholics.
If his mom drank while she was pregnant with him, that would explain a lot. People with fetal alcohol syndrome have horrible impulse control issues.
 
Did you ever have clients who wanted inappropriate relationships with you? E.g. “will you be my boyfriend?”
I had a female client try to kiss me, but I dodged and told her she didn't want to cheat on her bf. She accepted that, and I documented the hell out of it to cover my ass.
 
How exaggerated are the stories on /b/ I was never able to see stuff like that since my school separated the tards in their own building?
 
Última edición:
Do you think its possible to be pro life after working as a wrangler? Seeing the every day reality of developmentally disabled people is alarming. I never wrangled, but saw a lot of them transferred in to hospitals, it was pretty fucked up. They seem to end up in restraints when they get sick and die, not a good way to go (more manageable ones got a cna for themselves).

Hey speaking of which, did you have to send any of your tards to the hospital?

Ever read tard blog? They were a special ed teacher, but still good. Someone mirrored a bunch of it before it went down.

http://tard-blog-mirror.blogspot.com/2002/12/1222-review-of-riti-speds-christmas.html?m=1
 
What was the last crazy event of note you experienced before you left your job/quit? Feel free to go in depth if you wish.
 
Do you think its possible to be pro life after working as a wrangler? Seeing the every day reality of developmentally disabled people is alarming. I never wrangled, but saw a lot of them transferred in to hospitals, it was pretty fucked up. They seem to end up in restraints when they get sick and die, not a good way to go (more manageable ones got a cna for themselves).

Hey speaking of which, did you have to send any of your tards to the hospital?

Ever read tard blog? They were a special ed teacher, but still good. Someone mirrored a bunch of it before it went down.

http://tard-blog-mirror.blogspot.com/2002/12/1222-review-of-riti-speds-christmas.html?m=1
Pro-choice all the way, even moreso than before. Yeah, we sent a couple. One guy would call an ambulance if he got bored. I got tired of getting called up at 10 at night to go pick him up so my boss told him he was on his own to get back home. He called a cab one time, then realized it cut into his food budget, and stopped doing that.
 
What is your assessment on Clawshrimpy/Christopher McGee, psychological wise.
 
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