The meeting was not what I expected. I figured it would be about 30 minutes with the team - and I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to get all my concerns addressed....so I had typed up several pages of notes and events in an easy-to-read and take-a copy-with-you-for-the-file format listing all the garbage we've been dealing with.
Instead, supervisor contacted Behavior Therapist and therapist and specifically told them NOT to attend.
So the meeting was just supervisor and me.
And we spent more than TWO HOURS just going over everything. The supervisor seemed to really listen, and she made a ton of notes and cross-referenced some of the things I was reporting with notes that she had reviewed in the file. At one point, she actually THANKED me for being honest - which made me wonder what kinds of parents she usually deals with...so that was interesting.
Bottom line - supervisor agrees that Behavior Therapist has been waaaaayyyy out of bounds on a lot of these issues. But - instead of just "dropping" this therapist....supervisor wants to "transition" from one therapist to another to make things easier on difficult child and the family.
So that's a good sign that the supervisor understands the turmoil these changes can cause with families and difficult children.
She also promised to "recommend" respite services...so that next time there is a fight that results in difficult child heading out the door (or being pushed out the door as the case may be), there will be a foster home lined up where she can spend a few days.
Whether this will actually happen? Gosh, I've asked for respite so many times...and it's never come through before...
I'm afraid to get my hopes up that anything of significance will really happen.
Instead, I expect to hear a song and dance about budgets, and waiting lists, and yadda, yadda, yada so respite is just not available....and to have this Behavior Therapist replaced with someone equally naive and equally clueless.
But - I guess we will wait and see...
Instead, supervisor contacted Behavior Therapist and therapist and specifically told them NOT to attend.
So the meeting was just supervisor and me.
And we spent more than TWO HOURS just going over everything. The supervisor seemed to really listen, and she made a ton of notes and cross-referenced some of the things I was reporting with notes that she had reviewed in the file. At one point, she actually THANKED me for being honest - which made me wonder what kinds of parents she usually deals with...so that was interesting.
Bottom line - supervisor agrees that Behavior Therapist has been waaaaayyyy out of bounds on a lot of these issues. But - instead of just "dropping" this therapist....supervisor wants to "transition" from one therapist to another to make things easier on difficult child and the family.
So that's a good sign that the supervisor understands the turmoil these changes can cause with families and difficult children.
She also promised to "recommend" respite services...so that next time there is a fight that results in difficult child heading out the door (or being pushed out the door as the case may be), there will be a foster home lined up where she can spend a few days.
Whether this will actually happen? Gosh, I've asked for respite so many times...and it's never come through before...
I'm afraid to get my hopes up that anything of significance will really happen.
Instead, I expect to hear a song and dance about budgets, and waiting lists, and yadda, yadda, yada so respite is just not available....and to have this Behavior Therapist replaced with someone equally naive and equally clueless.
But - I guess we will wait and see...