Dean: It Was Like a Bomb Went Off in the House

I pulled up in front of the lovely white house with black shutters on Portland Avenue in St. Paul and parked my car. Mature shade trees lined the street and their leaves fluttered in the breeze. I walked up to the door and rang the bell. A smiling woman named Denise, the program supervisor, answered the door. She knew I was there to visit with Dean, but he wasn’t home yet from his job at the Roseville Bakery. The two of us visited while we waited.

Denise told me that Dean is 39 years old, has autism and has been a participant in Volunteers of America-Minnesota programs since the age of 12. He has lived in our Portland Home for 15 years. Before that, Dean lived at two other Volunteers of America residential sites. The Portland Home is part of our Services for Persons with Special Needs program and provides residential supportive services to adults with developmental disabilities and autism. The Home’s comprehensive services include skill development, sensory/motor development, interpersonal skills, behavior programming, community living, health care, recreation, and money management.

I learned from Denise that Dean does not speak, but instead uses written language, sign language, gestures and symbols. Denise told me that when Dean first moved in, he had difficulty expressing his needs. But over time, he has learned to convey his needs effectively. He has also learned appropriate social behaviors and how to cope with change. I wondered how the interview would go.

After about 20 minutes passed, a lean, youthful-looking man quietly joined us at the table. This was Dean. I introduced myself and Dean politely shook my hand. As I asked each question, Dean’s expression was very serious and contemplative. After careful consideration, he neatly printed each answer on a sheet of paper and showed it to me. His writing was very intentional and every word was spelled perfectly.

Dean told me he likes washing pans at the bakery where he works. He has numerous responsibilities at the Portland Home including setting the table, cleaning the bathroom and dining room, and sorting recyclables. Dean rakes leaves in the fall and shovels snow in the winter. He likes to go home and visit his parents every other weekend in Elk River. While he is there, he makes latch hook rugs. When he is not working, Dean likes to watch TV.

The news and Rachael Ray are his favorite programs. He loves baking, especially chocolate chip cookies, but also enjoys making supper for his housemates. He saves his money so that he can take vacations. He has traveled to Duluth where he enjoyed meals at Pizza Hut and Perkins Family Restaurant. While in Vermont he ate spaghetti, French bread, and vanilla ice cream. It was obvious, Dean enjoys food and loves to cook!

Next, I was given a tour of the house and Dean proudly showed me his spacious room upstairs. Its blue walls were decorated with an assortment of his colorful latch hook rugs.  Everything was neat as a pin and in its place.

After the interview, I had an opportunity to speak with Dean’s mother, Clareen. She told me that as a baby, “Dean started speaking, but lost his words. He didn’t respond.” That’s when Clareen and her husband Dale knew something was terribly wrong. After extensive testing, Dean was finally diagnosed with autism. As Dean got older, things got worse. “It was like a bomb went off in the house,” recalled Clareen. “He was so hyperactive and sensitive to noise. He was angry because he could not communicate. He would run away when he was frustrated.” Then, Clareen noted, “I love my son and I wanted to keep him at home, but I felt like his jailer. I was afraid he might hurt someone and I had two other children to care for. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown.” Clareen explained that she and Dale wanted Dean to live, learn and grow in an environment where he could have choices, make decisions and lead a stable, happy life. “Volunteers of America has been great and truly a godsend.”

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