Personal Observations
Edwin Glenn, Team Leader ~ April 2004
At the time Robert and Christine Chandler began to work with professional guidance from Jeff Fortuna and Ed Podvoll to develop the strong nucleus of a specific care plan, Tagtrug had several challenges demanding attention. Most basic was a major seizure disorder resulting in two to three seizures a month, which seemed to effectively 'erase' development progress, making it hard to work with the behavioral challenges Tagtrug presented. These included attacks on staff ranging from bruise-inducing pinching to more serious, potentially life- threatening, attacks. He was severely underweight (at 104 pounds at 5'10", you could count his ribs) because he refused to eat well, and exhibited other problems such as extreme introversion, minimal verbalization, autistic-like ticks, and a general disinterest in his world.
Matthew Nowakowski, previously legal guardian, long-term caregiver ~ April 2004
Since May 1996 when I started taking care of Taggie, I have seen Taggie become relaxed and at home in/with his environment and the world at large. He is cheerful and inquisitive much of the time. Yes he is still Taggie, but it is different. Being with Taggie is not the strain that it was during 1996 through 2001. I feel that is because of boundaries that we set for him. These boundaries might seem a bit tight but they are what he needs. I feel luck in that I did not have to go through the five plus years that the Chandlers did to learn these boundaries. I can never thank them enough for their sacrifice, so that we can now relax a bit with Taggie.
Eric Gonsalus ~ April, 2004
This was my first shift working with Tagtrug in over two years. He is doing *very* well. He seems much more responsive and quite a bit calmer. The new drug, Topomax, has really been effective. Ed, Matt, and Heike have done well keeping his environment stable and consistent.
Herb Elsky ~ 1991
We've shown that we can provide a home for Taggie. It's our responsibility and it's our blessing to actualize what we have been taught. I know that our community can rise to the occasion.
After he had been at Dayspring for almost a year, it became really clear, he made it really clear, that he wasn't happy there, and that he wanted to be with our community.And I decided that he and I would live together here at BPB.When he and I started being together, he would not bounce the ball back and forth. He would watch me bounce the ball, but he would not engage with me and do that. And the first time that we bounced the ball back and forth, it was like a minor miracle.
Jeannie Boardman, teacher ~ early 1990s
Well, Taggie's there. He fills up your day. I mean when you're with him, he's complete, he just has a magnetism about him, I think that you don't often find in people. And I've always felt with Taggie that he is so close to my mind or my being, whatever, that it's almost like he can sense what's going on with me, and he communicates that sometimes without ever saying a thing.