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Therapeutic & Educational Assessment
by Brian Fisher, AdmissionsQuest, Inc.
Therapeutic assessments and environments provide the opportunity to step back and examine a child’s fundamental building blocks.
Seeking
out a therapeutic program requires a process more fundamental than
the selection a of traditional school setting in which seeks to enhance
or improve the the talents and abilities of a student. Again, call
a professional- a family therapist, an educational consultant, a psychiatrist-
to begin the process. The situation demands expertise. Step back, take
a deep breath and realize that the child’s behaviors may be more
complex than they seem and, that as a parent or someone else close
to the family, you may not be able see the situation objectively. Take
the time to evaluate everything.
Therapeutic assessments and environments provide the opportunity to
step back and examine a child’s fundamental building blocks.
Why is the student acting out, smoking pot, defiant, angry, refusing
to do homework, or, more fundamentally, refusing to attend school?
An assessment will likely begin by examining the fundamental building
blocks in the child’s life. The child may, for whatever reason,
lack a sound foundation from which to grow. The first order of evaluation
is to examine the foundation to see if anything is amiss.
Is the child safe? Can the child make decisions that that keep him
or her safe? How does the child see himself or herself? Positive self
image, self esteem? Does the child build healthy relationships? Does
the child have good relationships in place. How does the child interact
with authority? What is the nature of the child’s relationship
with his or her peers? What does the child think about school? How
does the child see his or her future?
The family, and the child’s place within the family will also
receive scrutiny. Traditional school works with the student. In traditional
school settings, the family functions well enough so that the parents
and students can consider a school that meets the child’s needs.
In evaluating a special needs child, assessment and treatment incorporate
the entire family system, which may need attention and adjustment.
Parents cannot be objective about the family structures and relationships
for which they bear responsbility.
Assessment, evaluation and treatment are th
e fundamental differences.
In choosing, families have the luxury of concentrating on character
development, maturation, academic rigor, and academic skills. The mainstream
student buys into notions of education and desires to participate and
grow. The student wants to be in school and will work to keep himself
or herself safe within the environment. In short, family functioning
is intact and most things are going well.
With the child and family in crisis, the family does not have the expertise
to look at the needs of both the child and family. The therapeutic
family must commit to trusting health care professinalsand implementing
strategies created by them.
Next - Finding Professional Help
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