Why broken children? We use this term to help parents understand that they are not the cause of the problems that their children are facing. These “broken children” are not functioning properly and it is not the parent’s fault. The parenting skills need to change to help the children cope with their issues. Similar to children with learning disorders, teaching them the same techniques as other children won’t be effective with them because they don’t learn in the same way. This, of course, is not to say that all parents have great skills but more often than not it is good skills being applied to the wrong children. This is most obvious in families that have multiple children with one child that can be readily identified as the “problem child”.
Is it the parenting styles that create the behavior disorder in the child or is it the behavior disorder child that creates the parenting style? Most families we see never thought they would be in their current situation and cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is a sad and serious problem when you begin to feel hatred toward your own child. Hopefully you are not at that point, but if you, are we can help. What is meant by “treatment resistant”? This is a term we use to describe someone who doesn’t respond to the typical services from providers. Oftentimes these children have been in therapy for years and have seen little or no improvement. How do you help families in need? The in-home behavioral service is a 12 session program that works with the parents/caretakers in providing simple, effective techniques in parenting children that exhibit behavior problems. The program is designed to be simple yet provide life changing results. How long before I can expect improvements? Each individual case varies but, most typically, the initial results can be seen within two weeks. You may experience a temporary change in the first day or two (e.g. honeymoon effect) but the lasting changes (after the child reverts to their old self) take several weeks before the child displays more permanent positive behaviors.
Unlike traditional therapy where the child talks with the therapist to uncover psychological issues and learn ways to behave in a more appropriate manner the in-home behavior services focuses more on the parents/caretakers than the child. The goal is to change the behavior, not necessarily the underlying thinking, or reasoning that initiates the behavior. For example if a child that was sexually abused and consequently began acting out sexually in the community, my job would be to stop the sexual acting out and a therapist would work on the underlying trauma. The idea is that the family usually has been through multiple professionals before utilizing this service and the child didn’t follow through on the advice given. Therefore the child would probably not listen to words of wisdom given by this worker. The idea is that the family usually has been through multiple professionals before utilizing this service and the child didn’t follow through on the advice given. Therefore the child would probably not listen to words of wisdom given by this worker. Do I spend time alone with the child? No, all interactions with the child are open. Since we are addressing behaviors exhibited by the child that means the child did something for all to see and hear. As a general rule, we do nothing in private. The child has the choice to decide if they would like to attend the session. We seek their understanding, not their consent or permission.
Probably not. Most children that exhibit behavior problems can be handled effectively through services provided by the school, therapists or doctors. We specialize in “treatment resistant” children. This means that when the other services aren’t successful they call us. Most of our clients are readily identified by service providers because they are being defiant, physically or verbally aggressive, and may have been psychiatrically hospitalized multiple times, have had several police contacts, numerous suspensions or expulsions from school or other repetitive problems or behaviors. Does my child need to have severe behavior problems for us to call you? The program specializes in moderate to severe behavior problems within 12 sessions. If the child has behaviors that are less severe (i.e. swearing at parents, truancy, etc.) the program will often take less than the typical 12 sessions. The $2,500 Program cost includes: • Assessment Our experiences focus on behavior management, which consists of a fairly wide array. However, we specialize in children under the age of 18 years old. Children that are developmentally delayed may be eligible for service until the age of 21. In special circumstances, those age limits are waived. Also, those that are chemically dependent on alcohol/drugs and the primary reason for their behavioral problem is due to this dependency do not meet our criteria for treatment. These Individuals are recommended to work on their dependency issues with trained professionals with that specific area of expertise. What if my child is mentally retarded or developmentally disabled? We work with many children that have mental retardation and developmental disorders that include, but are not limited to, Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism. We have experience working with mental retardation from mild to severe, and in some instances, profound. Do you work with the schools or other service providers? We will contact both the schools and other service providers at the request of the families. The first rule is to stabilize the child in the home, then in the school. Some schools have a closed system which is a nice way of saying that they are resistant to outside professionals. As with the in-home program, all phone contact is included. Any face-to-face time is treated as an in-home session and counted as one of the twelve sessions. There are several sources of funding that may pay for the in-home behavioral services. The funding used in the past include, but may not be limited to: SASS, ICG, foster care/intact families programs, DCFS post adoption, LAN/Community based programs, local school districts, Mental Health/Juvenile Justice (probation) department, and private pay. Unfortunately, at this time we do not accept Medicaid or private insurance. What hours and days do you work? What is the geographical boundary? Most of the clients are seen during the weekday in the afternoon and evening hours (e.g. after school). Saturday visits are during the daytime hours. Sunday and Holidays are non-scheduling days which mean only under special circumstances. The geographical boundary typically includes the following counties: Lake, Kane, Dupage, Cook, McHenry and Will. Client’s geographical area may limit days available. For instance, if Monday and Thursdays are when clients are scheduled in the South Suburbs of Chicago a client that lives in the South Side of the city will be scheduled on these days (pending availability). Someone living in Lake County would not have Monday or Thursday times available. We are currently looking to expand to the Rockford area. If you are in that area or another county and feel the services would suit your needs feel free to call and check on the status of our geographical boundaries. Do you really come to my house? In-home behavioral services means just that...in-home. We come directly to your house on a predetermined time. Because we do not charge for missed appointments we will usually call before driving to your house. If on an occasional visit a more suitable place is requested the location may be changed. For instance, most of the time the visits are scheduled for your home and one visit we may include an ex-spouse. That visit may be scheduled at the ex-spouses home if all parties agree. However, it is important to note one major reason that the results of this program are achieved quickly is due to the visits being scheduled in the location where the problems are most prevalent. That will give us the quickest way of determining recommendations and people are more likely to be themselves in their own home than in an office. Yes. Another key component of the program is that the parents/caretakers have phone access. More often than not, the child will agree to most recommendations and be polite (almost like a sweet little angel) when we are there. However, results are determined not how well they do when we are there, but how well they do when we are gone. So when we leave and the child says “Forget him. I’m not doing anything he says”, the parents/caretakers are urged to use the techniques and call if they aren’t working. It is better to call and ask a quick question than practice the homework assignments incorrectly for the next week. I often tell my clients “Call once or call a hundred times. You only pay for the cost of the phone call”. The success of the program is often based on the ability of the parents/caretakers to utilize their resources, which means us. The phone contact is included because we want you to call. We find that the phone contact helps to accelerate the learning process significantly. Should I call when there is an emergency? That depends on the nature of the emergency. If the child if chasing you with a knife or sets the house on fire...then no. Call 911 immediately. If the child is sitting on the couch refusing to comply with your request and you can’t think of anything else to do...then yes. Try to think of the phone contact as an information line. Call anytime with questions, to report on progress or when problems arise and you don’t know how to deal with the situation. However, we are not 911. The police and fire department can usually be at your house within minutes. It may take me hours to get there. If we are in a meeting with another family, away from my phone or just doing the day-to-day life activities we may not be able to respond immediately. You are encouraged to leave a message and we will call as soon as the situation allows. That is why it is never a bother to call. If we can’t pick up please leave a message – that includes Sundays, Holidays, nights, etc. Times that we will be unavailable for days (vacation, conferences, etc) we will typically leave on our voice mail and/or inform the families personally. This is a resource for the families to help provide support, encouragement and education. You keep saying “we”. Is there a team or is it just one person? Currently the services are being conducted by James Kling and Ric Shanks. However, several people are being trained in the Fair But Firm model in order to provide effective in-home services to a wider range of communities. The Behavioral Consultant will be identified and made known to the family prior to the onset of any service. What are the intake procedures? How will I be billed? There is little difference between private pay and other funding types. Generally speaking we will need the following information: Name and address of the individual, basic problem needing to be addressed (this sometimes can be quite extensive), name of caretakers, type of funding, and payment approval. The payment approval process is an agreement by the family or agency that they will pay for the services requested. |
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