You Give and You Give

I received troubling news today. Nathan's mom called the school to let us know that she was evicted from her apartment and was living with her brother in another town. She also told us that she was pulling Nathan out of his therapeutic after-school program that was run by a local mental health agency. We couldn't believe it. It seemed that Nathan was starting to do really well in school because of this program, and now it looks like he won't be attending anymore. It's really discouraging when you collaborate and find resources for families and then they end up leaving the town. This has happened several times since I've started working in my school. Sometimes it isn't the family's fault; things happen that are out of their control, but sometimes parents seem to sabotage interventions when they seem to be working. It makes no sense, but it seems that when the family as a whole is not doing well, and a child is receiving some help, the parents somehow find a way to thwart the help that their child is getting. Never fails. We all suspected that Nathan's mom was sabotaging his treatment, and our fears were confirmed when the social worker called the treatment center and talked with Nathan's therapist. She said that mom called and said that she had to move in with her brother, and that she was pulling Nathan out of the program because she was enrolling him into another one and he couldn't be enrolled in two programs at the same time. We all knew that this was a lie, which did not bode well for Nathan's well-being. The thought of calling children's services and making a formal complaint of educational neglect crossed our minds, but it is early. We want to give mom a chance to get things in order. We also want to convince her to let her son stay in the program. It's a very good one, and they have a waiting list for patients. If clients miss too many sessions, they are dismissed. This program and school would provide him with the stability that he desperately needs. We hope mom will come around, for Nathan's sake.

BBC