Working toward a goal

Students learn better behavior through day treatment program

By MARK LAW, Staff writer
BLOOMINGDALE — A group of 10 students sits around a table and talks about anger management. Several of them talk about punching another in anger. One boy keeps breaking the point on his pencil and asking to use the sharpener. The behavior specialists work the table, keeping the students focused on the discussion.

This is a typical day at the Jefferson Behavioral Health System day treatment program operated at Wayne Elementary and at Indian Creek Junior High School in Mingo Junction.

Jefferson Behavioral Health has operated a day treatment program in one form of another for the past several years.

The day treatment program is for students with behavior problems that keep them out of their regular classes. The students receive classroom instruction and three hours of group therapy a day. The goal is to return the students to their home school classrooms.

Doug Scisciani, Jefferson Behavioral Health clinical administrator, said the need is there for the program but the funding isn’t available to expand the program.

Jefferson Behavioral Health has operated the day treatment program countywide at the former Wintersville Elementary School on Fernwood Road and at the former Wintersville Village Building on Leonard Avenue, Scisciani said.

Because of budget constraints, Jefferson Behavioral Health needed to look at how the service was structured and how it was provided. Rent for a building was becoming difficult to pay and behavioral health officials thought it was a good idea to take the program into the schools.

Indian Creek Local School District officials volunteered two classrooms, but they limited it to only Indian Creek students, Scisciani said.

Kim Vich, a day treatment therapist, said the students in the day treatment program have a variety of mental health disorders that affect their behavior in the classroom. She said some of the children are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and have difficulty focusing in the classroom or at home.

The students also have oppositional defiant disorder and have a hard time listening, are disrespectful and don’t not follow the rules. She said they basically do the opposite of what they are told.

Others have adjustment disorder or experience feelings of depression or anxiety and may act out against rules at home or school.

Other diagnoses include bipolar and mood, anxiety, conduct and personality disorders.

There are five students in the day treatment program at Wayne Elementary. Those students receive classroom work and group therapy. Five more students in regular classes at the school also attend group therapy. There are six students at Indian Creek Junior High School who attend day treatment there.

Shannon Holtz, the Wayne Elementary day treatment teacher, said the students in the program bring their school plan and books with them and work on assignments during the classroom hours.

Vich said the kids work on a level system and receive points for good behavior. The students go from level 1 to level 5 and then are eligible to return to their home school classroom. Points and levels are deducted for bad behavior.

Vich said the students are able to trade in points for prizes, such as a CD player, movie tickets or food treats.

The students will go to the rear of the classroom at Wayne Elementary to a round table where Joyce Kennedy and Janis Vojvodich, behavioral specialists, conduct group sessions on appropriate behavior, both in school and at home.

The behavioral specialists at Indian Creek Junior High School are Janet Watson and Cheryl McCombs.

Referrals for the students to attend day treatment come from social educators in the schools, juvenile court and mental health therapists, Vich said.

Most of the children in the program also receive mental health services outside the school.

Scisciani said other school districts are interested in the program.

“We would like to get into other districts, but that would require hiring a lot more staff,” he said.

Jefferson Behavioral Health will operate a summer program open to all school districts. Scisciani said the program will be open to about 40 students, and they will receive about four to five hours of group therapy a day. How the other school districts respond to the summer program will help determine if the day treatment program is expanded during the next school year, he said.

Vich said parents are educated on the mental health problems their children are facing.

“A treatment program is established and parents are fully aware of the issues for which the child is being treated. Some parents may or may not realize the severity of the problems. We meet with the parents and work on goals for the child,” she said.

Scisciani said Jefferson Behavioral Health has conducted surveys of children who have gone through the day treatment program.

He said 57 percent of the students have successfully completed the day treatment program. There is a 97 percent satisfaction rate with the program based on survey results from parents and students, and he noted 90 percent of the parents believe their child has more stability after going through the program.

Holtz has eight years of experience in special education.

She said she knows the issues with each student and how each will act. She noted she works closely with each student so they understand the consequences for their behavior.

She has seen it all as the teacher — chairs thrown, students spitting on staff, students yelling and cussing and even running out of the building.

“Even though the kids have problems, I still enjoy them and I want to help them with their education,” Holtz said.

She noted many of the students have low self-esteem.

“Every morning the kids get a goal that is attainable. You should see their faces when they achieve that goal,” Holtz said.

She said she may not see the behavior changes right away.

“We give them the skills and knowledge on how to behave,” she said.

Holtz said she may not hear about behavior changes for several weeks or even a couple years.

She said it is important to have consistency between the home and school. Holtz said she needs the parents to work with the school on the child’s goals.

A daily notebook about the child is sent home to the parents, and the parents are expected to write their own observations about the child, Holtz said.

Vich said the staff at the day treatment program have skills and knowledge on how to deal with children with behavioral problems. They know how to diffuse a situation before the child begins acting out, she said.

Kennedy said the staff has to say “no” and stick with it and make sure the student knows the consequences.

“You have to let them know who is in charge,” Kennedy said.

Scisciani said the teachers and behavioral specialists know the secrets of what triggers behavior problems and how to bring the child back down.

“If they see a behavior issue coming on, the teacher can diffuse it before it gets worse. When the student returns back to their home classroom, the other teacher may not recognize the triggers,” he said.



(Law can be contacted at mlaw@heraldstaronline.com'>mlaw@heraldstaronline.com'>mlaw@heraldstaronline.com'>mlaw@heraldstaronline.com.)