SC SC - Johnny Lamar Brown, 44, Myrtle Beach, 3 Aug 2012 - #1

[Peekerfoo]

Don't feel bad. Technically, he IS special needs, just higher functioning than we originally believed. My guess is he has a mild form of autism, or he is slightly developmentally disabled, and obviously has aphasia... inability to speak clearly or distinctly in order that others can understand.
He may be capable of a lot more than we originally thought, but I'm not sure that his family deliberately misled us. In some of the group homes I worked, we had a few people who, if out in the public were considered normal, they just had some form of mental illness and were unable to take care of themselves on their own on a permanent basis. They might have done well for a day or two, but without someone there to supervise them, they would forget to take their medications, or do other parts of their daily routine.... take baths, brush their teeth, comb their hair, etc.
Anyway, I am happy to know that Johnny is more able to take care of himself than we first believed, but IMO, he still probably needs supervision. If his parents are elderly and become unable to care for him once he is found and back home, my advice to them would be to enroll him in the state MHMR program, and try to get him into a group home, where he will be supervised by trained staff 24/7. It might be beneficial for him to be with other people with similar challenges.

I also believe that he has some special needs, but I was only making the comparison of what we thought they were to what they are. It kept changing and new info would come out in dribs and drabs until Nonni Brenda got the full story.

I believe a group home might benefit Johnny, too. He could live among his peers and learn even more life skills.

Edited to add-- I learned a new word today-aphasia! Thanks for that.

 

[Nonni Brenda]

I don't know if the family has purposely misled people or what... But it is wrong if they have. JMO

I know what you mean rachaellouise. And I agree totally with you. I am at a point i don't know which way to go with my help...reallly confused at this point.

 

[Nonni Brenda]

I can kind of understand why the family would play up the "special needs" aspect, but I find it kind of a slap in the face to those who actually do have special needs children and adults. It's just not right to pull on everyone's heartstrings in that way. Our images of a man with the mind of a helpless child were terrifying to us. Thinking that he was so afraid of strangers that he would run from them and being unable to do much of anything gave me nightmares. I have been beating myself up for not stopping to check if the man in jeans was Johnny and thinking that I'm responsible for this poor man being out there all alone. I know the worker at the Bar-B-Q house must feel the same way and probably all the other people who spotted him. I STILL would've helped if they told us that he had some problems, but could function at a decent level. I guess I am mainly upset that Julie did not disclose these things to me or others in our multiple phone conversations. I am proud of you ,Nonni Brenda for getting to the bottom of this and finding out the truth. It needed to come out and you were the one to make it happen. I think you'd be a helpful addition to CNN, so maybe you should drop off a resume if you go there!:rocker:

I would like you to tell Julie that I will continue my efforts to help find Johnny by putting up some flyers that are directed at him, telling him to call home. Any advice on which direction to go would be most helpful.

I'm glad that when I first had suspicions that I told my friends not to donate any food gift certificates as I first asked them to. I felt foolish, but I didn't want anyone to spend their hard-earned money unless I was 100% sure that this story was legit. I still have the ones that I personally purchased, but since the family didn't call back, I believe I'll be going out to dinner tonight. I did sleep better last night and I hope you did, too.

For me, the search goes on, but my efforts to offer the family support are no longer on my long list of things to do for Johnny Brown.

I agree with you Peek. Also, now that we know he is not a person with special needs (legally)??? is it unethical for us to keep putting it out there that he is? We have to be honest and do the right thing. I'm so confused where to go from here. We have to do the ethical thing, and if Julie has now admitted that she just started out with that so we could get as much attention as possible for him, is it right to continue to keep putting that out to the public?:waitasec:

 

[mikkismom]

I agree with you Peek. Also, now that we know he is not a person with special needs (legally)??? is it unethical for us to keep putting it out there that he is? We have to be honest and do the right thing. I'm so confused where to go from here. We have to do the ethical thing, and if Julie has now admitted that she just started out with that so we could get as much attention as possible for him, is it right to continue to keep putting that out to the public?:waitasec:

FWIW, I have a 'special needs' friend. You couldn't know unless you knew her well. She is very impulsive and doesn't read social cues properly. (there is a name for it - can't remember what it is.) She lives alone but has people come by to make sure she is taking care of herself. She resents the intrusion but really can't be totally 'by herself.' Maybe this is similar to what Johnny has?

JMO

 

[rachaellouise]

FWIW, I have a 'special needs' friend. You couldn't know unless you knew her well. She is very impulsive and doesn't read social cues properly. (there is a name for it - can't remember what it is.) She lives alone but has people come by to make sure she is taking care of herself. She resents the intrusion but really can't be totally 'by herself.' Maybe this is similar to what Johnny has?

JMO

Aspergers?

 

[Ten-96]

Has anyone checked into cartersville VA? Has the police there been alerted?

Yes. I spoke w/ Cumberland VA County Sheriff's Dept. back on 8/24 and faxed them a copy of the MB police report. Carterville, VA doesn't appear to have a police department, but the sheriff's office was extremely receptive.

 

[MissJames]

I know what you mean rachaellouise. And I agree totally with you. I am at a point i don't know which way to go with my help...reallly confused at this point.

I don't think that was necessarily intentional . Maybe we should have been asking his parents the questions.

I look back and see that I made assumptions,also.

The MBPD fliers still say he went for a walk . No mention of Family Kingdom ,no mention of being picked up by the Georgetown police or where they dropped him off.

I think the MBPO believed they would run across Johnny before now. If he was picked up before he was even reported missing ,you would think he's be picked up again for something.

This is all so weird,but I hold some responsibility for the information of Johnny's special needs ,in the beginning. I have mixed feelings because I still don't think Johnny is safe ,and he needs to be found.

I couldn't sleep last night trying to sort through this,and ended up sleeping most of today.
Just getting ready to catch up.

 

[MissJames]

I haven't posted in this thread before but check it every day to see if there is any news about Johnny...and praying each day that God will lead someone to him or lead Johnny to someone who knows how to help him. NonieBrenda, Miss James and Peekerfoo, you are wonderful :tyou: Thank you to include anyone else I've not named.

About the calling home ~ The change in area code might be his problem. He might not know about that. He knows how to call home at home, probably not how to call long distance.

IIRC Johnny's call went through to his house and a younger relative was there .

Nonni Brenda,maybe you can clarify what actually happened for us? When I asked Julie what Johnny's abilities were she said he knew his home phone # and had tried to call home,but they were still in MB.
The guy at Denny's said Johnny wanted to use the phone but the manager kicked him out.
Is Johnny still calling home?

 

[Considering]

The 'not' calling home, when we know he is able to, is what makes me wonder if he is wanting to stay out on his adventure for longer. Maybe he met a group of homeless people who are like a little family. I only say that because I knew some like that when I worked briefly as a volunteer in a shelter. Small groups of developmentally disabled adults could group together and be a very efficient and cohesive unit. Maybe he even met a woman that he likes and so he does not want to go home yet. I may be dreaming, and hoping, but it kind of makes some sense, imo.

If he had been harmed/injured or something then I think he would have been left somewhere and been found already. But I think he might have met up with a homeless encampment and decided to say for awhile. I could be wrong, but his not calling seems like it is by choice. Either he is traveling and trying to get back on his own or he is living with the help of others. imo

:idea: I had a thought about Johnny calling home. Johnny knows how to call his home when he's in Cartersvillle, BUT from Myrtle Beach, Johnny would have to use an area code and I bet he doesn't know anything about area codes. If he's trying to call home by dialing -XXXX, the call won't go through.

 

[Considering]

I haven't posted in this thread before but check it every day to see if there is any news about Johnny...and praying each day that God will lead someone to him or lead Johnny to someone who knows how to help him. NonieBrenda, Miss James and Peekerfoo, you are wonderful :tyou: Thank you to include anyone else I've not named.

About the calling home ~ The change in area code might be his problem. He might not know about that. He knows how to call home at home, probably not how to call long distance.

I should have kept reading, MNlady, and I would have seen that you had already suggested Johnny not knowing the area code.

BBM

But from what I understand, and correct me if I am mistaken, he apparently DID call home almost immediately when he was lost. But no one was home there yet. It concerns me that he has stopped trying to call.

If Johnny really did call home before the family arrived, then he must know about area codes. If he knows what the area code is for Cartersville and when he needs to use it -- well, Johnny's functioning level is getting higher by the post.

 

[MissJames]

Hi everyone
I was speaking to a few of the W/Sers a couple of nights back about trying to raise the profile for Johnny.
We need to get to the big news channels as well as the ones in the area, Johnny could be just about anywhere by now so we need national coverage.

I tried to think of an angle that may give us some interest from the big companies and came up with a song.
I have uploaded it with a short video about Johnny, none of it is finished yet but if it helps its there! (just adding, I don't want anything from this, apart from Johnny safe and sound)

this is the link
http://youtu.be/gwdYC7YwgN4

thanks to Peekerfoo and also Nonni Brenda and Miss James for the inspiration

you can find it by going to youtube and typing in Johnny lamar Brown Hapetunez

Amazing!
That gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes. Hope you don't mind if I send this to Briana at CarolinaLive .

Johnny's mom needs to see this!

 

[Considering]

Don't feel bad. Technically, he IS special needs, just higher functioning than we originally believed. My guess is he has a mild form of autism, or he is slightly developmentally disabled, and obviously has aphasia... inability to speak clearly or distinctly in order that others can understand.

I think you mean apraxia instead of aphasia. Apraxia of speech is a motor speech disorder in which people have difficulty sequencing the sounds in syllables and in words. Aphasia is a disorder of language. People with expressive aphasia have trouble using words and formulating sentences.

 

[nosysw]

I think we're putting too much emphasis on Johnny NOT being special needs. From everything I'm reading he has developed some life skills but that does not negate the possibility (probability) that he is, at least mildly, if not moderately, cognitively impaired (used to called Mentally Retarded and may still be but I'm using school language because I work in special education). The fact that he can do what he can do, and has memorized certain things, held a job, etc. does not mean that he doesn't have cognitive limitations. For example, some cognitively impaired people can read "well" but when you test them, they demonstrate no comprehension of the material, or they seem to but can't retain it, or they can't generalize it to another concept. So, there is a lot of leeway here- cognitive abilities are variable and I'm guessing he is on the lowest end of the below average range or below. Just because he does not receive disability does not mean he is not disabled. The family response (lack of) that is frustrating everyone would make perfect sense. In order to get disability, they tend to weed out the people who aren't forceful or persistent about it. So, in my experience, you will see someone getting disability who is mildly disabled and someone who is much lower functioning not getting it. Squeaky wheel syndrome definitely applies here.

The way I look at it, if Johnny had average to below average cognitive skills, even though he had a severe speech impediment, he would absolutely know how to communicate in some other way by this point in this life. But, the fact that he has been seen, and heard, and even picked up by the police, and still not managed to communicate that he is in trouble and what that trouble is, IMHO, indicates that he is indeed a person with special needs and no one should feel uncomfortable about putting that out there.

ETA: someone mentioned upthread, I believe, that Johnny's siblings(?) or other family members had saved to send his mother and father on this trip yet they took Johnny. This would further suggest to me, that he has special needs, or I think they would have left a 44 year old at home while they enjoyed their well-deserved, and probably long-over due, vacation.

 

[Peekerfoo]

I agree with you Peek. Also, now that we know he is not a person with special needs (legally)??? is it unethical for us to keep putting it out there that he is? We have to be honest and do the right thing. I'm so confused where to go from here. We have to do the ethical thing, and if Julie has now admitted that she just started out with that so we could get as much attention as possible for him, is it right to continue to keep putting that out to the public?:waitasec:

That's a good question. Does anyone in his family have guardianship of him? I feel like he is missing and until he calls home or is found, I will consider him STILL missing. With his speech problems alone, he is at some risk. He doesn't know his way around here(unless he's got a GPS we haven't been told about) and he has no money. I don't think he meant to get lost or he would've taken his wallet.

I believe it would be better to consider him as an "At Risk" missing person rather than "special needs". He has reasons to be At Risk, so I can live with that. What do you think?

 

[Peekerfoo]

I think we're putting too much emphasis on Johnny NOT being special needs. From everything I'm reading he has developed some life skills but that does not negate the possibility (probability) that he is, at least mildly, if not moderately, cognitively impaired (used to called Mentally Retarded and may still be but I'm using school language because I work in special education). The fact that he can do what he can do, and has memorized certain things, held a job, etc. does not mean that he doesn't have cognitive limitations. For example, some cognitively impaired people can read "well" but when you test them, they demonstrate no comprehension of the material, or they seem to but can't retain it, or they can't generalize it to another concept. So, there is a lot of leeway here- cognitive abilities are variable and I'm guessing he is on the lowest end of the below average range or below. Just because he does not receive disability does not mean he is not disabled. The family response (lack of) that is frustrating everyone would make perfect sense. In order to get disability, they tend to weed out the people who aren't forceful or persistent about it. So, in my experience, you will see someone getting disability who is mildly disabled and someone who is much lower functioning not getting it. Squeaky wheel syndrome definitely applies here.

The way I look at it, if Johnny had average to below average cognitive skills, even though he had a severe speech impediment, he would absolutely know how to communicate in some other way by this point in this life. But, the fact that he has been seen, and heard, and even picked up by the police, and still not managed to communicate that he is in trouble and what that trouble is, IMHO, indicates that he is indeed a person with special needs and no one should feel uncomfortable about putting that out there.

I agree that he seems to have some issues that could put him in danger. I just posted to Nonni Brenda that perhaps "At Risk" would cover a lot of that? Then add a brief explanation about his speaking problems, etc. I want to be as honest as possible without jeopardizing Johnny's chances for a safe return.

 

[Peekerfoo]

Amazing!
That gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes. Hope you don't mind if I send this to Briana at CarolinaLive .

Johnny's mom needs to see this!

I hope everyone takes the time to give this a listen and I agree that Johnny's mom needs to hear it. It's so touching that someone so far away would do this for Johnny. Fabgod rocks (literally!) :rocker:

 

[Peekerfoo]

I should have kept reading, MNlady, and I would have seen that you had already suggested Johnny not knowing the area code.



If Johnny really did call home before the family arrived, then he must know about area codes. If he knows what the area code is for Cartersville and when he needs to use it -- well, Johnny's functioning level is getting higher by the post.[/QUOTE]

bbm
It seems that way..... (I couldn't help but giggle there for a sec.)

 

[Nonni Brenda]

:idea: I had a thought about Johnny calling home. Johnny knows how to call his home when he's in Cartersvillle, BUT from Myrtle Beach, Johnny would have to use an area code and I bet he doesn't know anything about area codes. If he's trying to call home by dialing -XXXX, the call won't go through.

Hi Considering, in Ga. we have to use the area code to call anywhere in the Atlanta, and surrounding areas, including Cartersville. Atlanta has an extremely large local dialing area. There are 3 area codes local to the Atlanta area, 404,770, and 678. many yrs ago, 404 was for atlanta only.but because of the growth in atlanta, and 770 was for the rest of N. Ga, which at that time was Long Distance. Because so many people in N. Ga use Atlanta businesses, the decision was made to make it all local calling. Then 678 was also added as a 3rd area code. Anywhere in N. Ga (that is served by ATT) can have any one of these area codes. Clear as mud, right?
The area code always has to be dialed on every call in N. Ga including Atla.

 

[nosysw]

Memorizing numbers does not negate cognitive limitations...In NJ, every time you use the phone, even to call next door, you need to enter an area code. We have at least eight different area codes now. When you coach your children on the phone numbers they need to memorize, the area codes are included. Even young children can memorize several phone numbers. My son knew most of our numbers (home, 3 cells, and my sister's) by the time he was 7, and at least 2 when he was 5.

Although Johnny may not be as limited as we originally thought, I still feel strongly that unless there is more information, he would still qualify as special needs. I have worked with the special needs population for 15 years and feel qualified to make this statement based on the information we have, including the updates. If that isn't accurate information, then, that's another story.

Nonni Brenda, is there anyone else around who could clarify this a little more since you're from their town?

We have a group home on my block for adults with disabilities...they walk around all day, going to stores, etc., but mostly just walking. They almost never speak to anyone but they certainly come and go independently. I can guarantee they qualify as special needs.

 

[Peekerfoo]

I don't think that was necessarily intentional . Maybe we should have been asking his parents the questions.

I look back and see that I made assumptions,also.

The MBPD fliers still say he went for a walk . No mention of Family Kingdom ,no mention of being picked up by the Georgetown police or where they dropped him off.

I think the MBPO believed they would run across Johnny before now. If he was picked up before he was even reported missing ,you would think he's be picked up again for something.

This is all so weird,but I hold some responsibility for the information of Johnny's special needs ,in the beginning. I have mixed feelings because I still don't think Johnny is safe ,and he needs to be found.

I couldn't sleep last night trying to sort through this,and ended up sleeping most of today.
Just getting ready to catch up.

:what:You have nothing to feel reponsible for other than trying to help someone who went missing! You, me,and anyone else that spoke with the family could only go by what we were told. Who would think otherwise???? You have done EVERYTHING right!