Day Treatment Program for difficult child?

[stepmom47]

I spoke with an NP just now and she asked me all the "questions"
She said that my difficult child is beyond her help.
She said that we need to get him into a day dreatment program immediatly.
husband was going to call her because he had some more q's I did not ask.

Anyone whose has had there difficult child in one of these programs?

Thanks in advance. :smile:

 

[busywend]

There are some members that have children in day treatment. What are your specific questions?

 

[smallworld]

My daughter (easy child/difficult child 3) was in a partial hospitalization/day treatment program for 5 weeks in the fall of 2006. It was very helpful. What do you want to know?

 

[stepmom47]

Np thinks is is the best place for difficult child right now. She says he is out of control. I found a great place today and husband is worried that bio-mom will not drive him everyday...one more hurdle to jump tomorrow!!

My questions are: would it not just add to the problems by pulling difficult child out of school?

What happens after the two weeks...will they medicate or....

They said they spend 1 hour a day on school work, won't difficult child fall behind then?

Ahhhh, so many thoughts running through my head...I can't get them straight :hammer:

 

[susiestar]

While school work is always a concern, sometimes it has to take a back burner.

When we first started homeschooling my oldest (we did this for 2 years 3rd and 4th grade) a friend in the homeschool coop described it as this: Sometimes you have to start with teaching them to be a better person instead of just focusing on being an educated person.

She did NOT mean that a child with problems is a bad or less worthy person. What she meant was that taking the time out to teach our kids how to get along with others, control their tempers, and work with their problems was probably much more important than adding and subtracting or language arts.

School work can be caught up. If we had the chance to do it all over again, I would have driven my son the 1 1/2 hours each way to the day treatment program on the far other side of Cincy. At the time my health just made it impossible, so we did other things.

This can be a great opportunity. If it is just 2 weeks, then it may well be worth the time out of school.

 

[timer lady]

I have to say that the only way kt or wm would be in a school setting of any sort is because of the day treatment setting.

For them it's a long term (wm has been in his program almost 3 years now; kt is into her 2nd year at that program). In many ways they've fallen behind their peers academically. And they were already behind their peers because neither of them were learning in the school setting they were assigned anyway.

Now, kt & wm are both making strides & catching up academically. Only 3 years behind for wm now versus almost 5 years. kt is 2.8 years behind on average. And this is a huge gain for them in the day treatment setting.

Their setting is made up of 6 to a classroom with a teacher & 2 aides. Lots of time for one on one tutoring.

Addtionally, 3 hours is therapeutic/life skills training.

In my mind, for a child who cannot maintain in the mainstream or even the level 3 or 5 setting, needs a day treatment.

It sounds like the program you're looking at is short term & possibly medication management type of setting.

 

[nvts]

I have a question: would this be built into some sort of IEP initiative? If so, could they build busing into the picture? My difficult child 1 is in a day-treatment program, but it's an ordinary school with counseling. It's a public school (specialized for behavioral kids)but still has to maintain the regular curriculum. It has its ups and downs (I really believe there's not perfect school settings, so I've gone with it!), but it's more crisis oriented. He's has a mini-bus that picks him up every day.

Just a thought!

Beth

 

[stepmom47]

Timer lady...thanks for the post...you are correct about the schoolwork. I guess since I spent soooo much time working for the past few years with all difficult child's teachers I kind of always have that on my mind too.

I always let my kids know how important school is because I dropped out, then later got my GED even though my mom was a teacher...how ironic.

nvts...I know the np said something about a h/s that is like that, but did not say anything about a middle school.
I will check on that today

We had an IEP done on difficult child last year and the school said" he's fine, he's not add/adhd, he doesn't need any extra help"
He manipulated them too

 

[guest3]

difficult child II went to a day program that made the hospital where he had been hospitilized look like the joke that it was. It was a great program, but only 2 weeks, and he came away better from it, better but not healed, but it was a positive experience