Troubled Children Research Articles

Book Review Article

Book reviewed in this article:Helping troubled children, A. T. ALTSCHUL CBE FRCNChild and Adolescent Therapy: A Handbook, D.A. Lane & A. Miller (eds)Children's Phobias: A Behavioural Perspective, N. King, D.Z. Hamilton & T.H OllendickThe Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, F.C. Verhulst & H.M. Koot (eds)Parenting and Psychopathology, C. Perris, W.A. Arrindell & M. Eisemann (eds)Preschool Children in Troubled Families: Approaches to Interventions and Support, R. Nicol, D. Stretch & T. Fundudis

Bridge Arts Education Centre ‘A Real Chance for the Arts’

SUMMARY: Bridge Arts Education is a centre for troubled children, part of Warwickshire Education Support Service. In this article, I explore its history and some of the strategies employed to work effectively with what can be a highly stressed group of children. At Bridge, the education department employs artists to work with children who have serious emotional and behavioural problems. I explain our use of creative themes and mention some of the practicalities of getting disillusioned children down to work. I discuss the value of this arts approach in meeting our National Curriculum and GCSE obligations. I also mention our approach to behavioural problems. We attracted the interest of West Midlands Arts and the article ends with a look at a Trainee Artist Placement which they funded at Bridge.

Teaching troubled children: a case study in effective classroom practice

This text follows a teacher at a residential treatment centre for boys who are emotionally disturbed or learning disabled, as she works for two years teaching five of the most troubled children in the school's history. It raises criticial questions about current practices in special education.

Correspondence between child dysfunction and program intrusion: Evidence of a continuum of care across five child mental health programs

A fundamental goal of the continuum of care concept is high correspondence between child dysfunction and program intrusiveness. Yet the small body of relevant research has identified major discrepancies. We used the Child Behavior Checklist to compare entry-level behavior problems of children from five child mental health programs sequenced in order of level of intrusiveness: Outpatient clinic, parent training, intensive family preservation services (IFPS), residental care, and inpatient hospitalization. Our results contrast with existing research by showing correspondence between level of child dysfunction and program intrusiveness. A possible reason for our contrasting results is that we included a larger number of mental health programs than were used in previous studies. These results are important because they reflect the continuum of care concept being put into practice and support the assertion that increasing mental health options with alternative community mental health programs increases the chances of appropriate treatment for children in trouble.

Concerns about School-Linked Services

The systems that serve families and children should address the basic developmental needs of children. Those needs can best be met within a broadly defined service system that offers both services to promote general development as well as services to respond to the specific problems of individual children in trouble. The question the authors address is whether the model of school-linked, integrated services that places the school in the central position to facilitate access to the range of necessary services is the best approach. Although the school may seem like the logical choice as the lead institution, the authors cite arguments against building a governance structure that favors any single institution. They contend that multiple access points are essential for serving all children in a community and that citizens should participate in defining their community's needs and the strategies for meeting them. Chaskin and Richman present an alternative to the school-based model: they describe the community-based model, in which a diversity of service providers, administrative contexts, and institutions work under collaborative governance in a system of linked services. A community-based system involves the major public and private entities in the community, including schools, social services, churches, health providers, and other community organizations which collaborate within a consortium of existing agencies or a newly created entity. (Abstract Adapted from Source: The Future of Children, 1992. Copyright © 1992 by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation) Model School Based Community Based Child Development Youth Development Social Services Intervention 02-04

Concerns about School-Linked Services: Institution-Based versus Community-Based Models

The systems that serve families and children should address the basic developmental needs of children. Those needs can best be met within a broadly defined service system that offers both services to promote general development as well as services to respond to the specific problems of individual children in trouble. The question the authors address is whether the model of school-linked, integrated services that places the school in the central position to facilitate access to the range of necessary services is the best approach. Although the school may seem like the logical choice as the lead institution, the authors cite arguments against building a governance structure that favors any single institution. They contend that multiple access points are essential for serving all children in a community and that citizens should participate in defining their community's needs and the strategies for meeting them. Chaskin and Richman present an alternative to the school-based model: they describe the community-based model, in which a diversity of service providers, administrative contexts, and institutions work under collaborative governance in a system of linked services. A community-based system involves the major public and private entities in the community, including schools, social services, churches, health providers, and other community organizations which collaborate within a consortium of existing agencies or a newly created entity. (Abstract Adapted from Source: The Future of Children, 1992. Copyright © 1992 by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation) Model School Based Community Based Child Development Youth Development Social Services Intervention 02-04

Counseling the Troubled and Defiant Child

Counseling the Troubled and Defiant Child

Caring for Troubled Children in Flanders, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom

This article reviews research on residential care and other services for troubled children in Flanders, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. We begin by looking at Flanders and the Netherlands. This includes an account of the organization of services and a critical evaluation of initiatives resulting from the growing dissatisfaction with residential care over recent years. We then compare the evidence from these two countries with the situation in the United Kingdom. Notwithstanding important differences, there are clear similarities in the issues surrounding the residential care of children in the three countries. We conclude by outlining likely future developments in residential child care.

Adlerian Play Therapy

Adlerian play therapy represents an integration of the concepts and techniques of individual psychology into a method of using play to help troubled children.

Study of community-based services for children and adolescents who are severely emotionally disturbed.

This article presents the results of a descriptive study of community-based services for children and adolescents who are severely emotionally disturbed. The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) and was designed to obtain state-of-the-art information about several promising and innovative treatment approaches emerging in the field--home-based services, crisis services, and therapeutic foster care. The methodology involved literature reviews, a survey to identify programs, detailed questionnaires to learn about identified programs, and site visits to a sample of programs in each category. Two of the service components explored in the study are described in this article. Home-based services include intensive counseling, support, and case management services provided on an outreach basis to troubled children and their families in their own home. Both crisis-oriented and longer-term home-based models are discussed. The crisis services described include a variety of innovative residential crisis services which have been highly successful as alternatives to more restrictive placements in crisis situations. The authors emphasize that these services should not be seen as panaceas but as essential components of a comprehensive, community-based system of care for emotionally disturbed youngsters and their families.

AIEJI: Creating a profession to work with troubled children and youth

The evolution of the International Association of Workers for Troubled Children and Youth, founded in 1951, is outlined in terms of the evolving goals, themes, and activities of the organization. AIEJI has developed alongside the profession of “educateur” in Europe, and it continues to promote international awareness and understanding of the needs of young people in more than 20 countries.

World Congress of International Association of Workers for Troubled Children and Youth Association Internationale des Educateurs de Jeunes Inadaptes ?the world's children: Building their tomorrows together? New York Hilton New York City July 2?6, 1990

World Congress of International Association of Workers for Troubled Children and Youth Association Internationale des Educateurs de Jeunes Inadaptes ?the world's children: Building their tomorrows together? New York Hilton New York City July 2?6, 1990

World congress XII of international association of workers for troubled children and youth association internationale des educateurs de jeunes inadaptes ?the world's children: Building their tomorrows together? New York Hilton New York City July 2?6, 1990

World congress XII of international association of workers for troubled children and youth association internationale des educateurs de jeunes inadaptes ?the world's children: Building their tomorrows together? New York Hilton New York City July 2?6, 1990

Bibliotherapy. The right book at the right time.

Laura ]. Cohen, MA9 BSN9 introduced this innovative self-help approach in the October, 1987, issue when she discussed bibliotherapy for troubled children. She now extends this creative method to the adult community.

Continuity and Orchestration of After-Care Services to Disturbed Children

Placing older children from a Residential Treatment Center into adoptive families can be a risky process. The after-care process becomes a very important part of the treatment, and requires a positive working relationship with the other agencies involved in the process. By using family systems concepts, and paying attention to the meaning that separation, loss and transition have for troubled children, the chances of success can be increased.

Ecological effects of home-based, school-based, and community-based training of parents of children with learning and behavior problems.

A federally funded three year project to train parents of children with learning and behavior problems is discussed in terms of its ecological impact on parents, their children, their children's teachers, and on the community at large. The design of the project including the home intervention component, the school-based support group component, and the community component is briefly detailed. A comprehensive analysis of data on the effects of the various parent training components on parent, teacher and student perceptions of each other, as well as on student achievement, attendance and self-concept measures are reported. Overall, the data demonstrate the success of the project and support the ecological premise that making changes in one system surrounding a troubled child causes resultant changes in other systems surrounding the child.

SIBLING THERAPY WITH MULTIPROBLEM FAMILIES*

Most family therapy deals with the parent‐child system. However, with chaotic multiproblem families, this often is not possible. When parents refuse to, or cannot, participate in the therapy, working with just the siblings (Sibling Therapy) offers one way to provide help to troubled children. When parents offer inconsistent or inadequate nuturing, seeing the children together is a way of developing or strengthening the bonds among them and teaching them how to be available to each other. This article proposes setting treatment goals that are consistent with the cultural and family styles of these children, describes methods for developing caring and cohesion, and presents techniques for working with these children.

Children and Youth in Trouble

Children and Youth in Trouble

Foster Family-based Treatment

Pressley Ridge Youth Development Extension (PRYDE) is a foster family-based treatment program for troubled and troubling children and adolescents. PRYDE represents a movement away from treating youths in groups within institutions to treating them individually within the context of a normal family. Highly qualified parents attend 25 hours of preservice training, successful completion of which results in placement of a troubled child in their home. These "treatment parents" are required to document their use of a variety of treatment and relationship-building behaviors and evaluate the youth's performance each day. In each PRYDE home, the youngster earns or loses points for engaging in specifically targeted appropriate or inappropriate behaviors, respectively. The accumulated points for each day result in a certain level of privileges for the next day. Frequent in-home training and supervision and 24 hour on-call services are provided to each PRYDE family. Since its inception in 1981, PRYDE has served over 100 youngsters. During 1984 (as of September), 82 % of the youth discharged from PRYDE successfully returned to a less restrictive setting within their communities (e.g., their families, regular foster care, independent living). Of the 28 youth successfully discharged from PRYDE since 1982, only one had returned to a more restrictive placement within 6 months of discharge. Thus, PRYDE represents a viable treatment alternative to institutionalization for extremely difficult to treat youths.

The Learning Center

School needs to be fun. If children are to receive lasting learning, this is a basic requirement. Frequently I hear teachers say that they never have time to have fun with their classes any more. It is true. The demands on a teacher's time to teach a certain amount of subject matter are greater now than ever before, but I suggest that children learn faster and remember longer if play-time is extended. Not only is this true for learners of all ages but particularly for the learning disabled. I like to use playing with puppets as a way to reach the troubled child, the child with developmental delays, the child with learning problems or with children in general. To children universally, puppets become immediate friends. When I first began play, I had several problems to overcome with my students. The first one was the l-can't-dothat syndrome. I must admit this took me completely by surprise. Have we programmed our children into thinking that even a puppet must be made perfectly or not at all? How sad! What if the dog's ear looks lopsided and the duck's beak is not distinguishable? So what? I agree with William Purkey, Dean of Education at the University of North Carolina, who says, We need to teach our children that doing things well comes directly from doing things poorly.