Elizabeth's PPT

We had an interdistrict PPT for Elizabeth today. It was an interdistrict meeting because Elizabeth is under the custody of Children's Services. Our goal was to get her former district to provide an aide to supervise Elizabeth in our school. There were many people at this PPT. Representatives from her former district were there, as well as her educational surrogate, foster parents, and numerous therapists. The staff members from my school were also present. We discussed Elizabeth's issues at length. We came to a decision that her therapy at school and in private practice shouldn't overlap, which was fine with the school. We don't feel comfortable providing therapy for her sexual abuse. It sounded like her therapy is going well, she has a lot of issues to deal with. The positive thing is that she is very open about her past, which is something rare in victims. At the end of the meeting, we revised a few of her goals and the other district agreed to pay for a paraprofessional to work with Elizabeth. Mission accomplished.

BBC

Elizabeth Has a Crush

I believe I talked about Elizabeth's* case in one of the first posts, Confidentiality. Elizabeth is a new girl who has a significant history of sexual abuse. Similar to other victims, she has a history of abusing other children as well. We learned this information on the first day of school. One of the measures we took was to limit her exposure to younger children. The one place we had limited control was the school bus. She rides a small special-ed school bus, which creates a more intimate situation. Apparently Elizabeth has developed a crush on a student 2 years younger than her. Unfortunately this student is immature and he isn't aware of her intentions. It all started when I saw the two of them walking off the bus, she had her arm around him. That didn't sit well with me. Later, when I met with the social worker, her intern informed me of some of the things that Elizabeth mentioned to her. Elizabeth told her about having a crush on this particular boy and her desire to kiss him. We knew that something had to be done immediately. The trick is doing something that doesn't raise the alarm of everyone in the school, yet ensures the safety of all children, including Elizabeth. I redid the bus seating arrangement. There is supposed to be a perimeter of empty seats around Elizabeth. I had to move her crush farther away. I often wonder if any of the children, including her, get why we go through all these motions. I wonder if she knows why she has an escort whenever she leaves her classroom. I wonder if she scares herself as much as she sometimes scares us.

BBC

Confidentiality

Today we met with teachers to discuss the accommodations page in each child's IEP. This meeting usually isn't a big deal because the teacher has only known the child for a couple of days at this point. We met with the specials teachers (art, music, gym and media) to discuss all of the children who have IEPs. We had to discuss the new child who has a history of sexual abuse. We had to make certain arrangements so that the child would have an escort for whenever she left the room. We had to inform the teachers about this plan, without explaining why. It was hard to emphasize the need for constant supervision without giving any details. I adhere to confidentiality, almost to the point where I don't even share information with team members. I don't participate in hearsay, if someone wants information I tell him or her to consult the file, if he or she has permission to do so.

I am sensitive to this child's needs, but I'm also sensitive to the safety and well-being of the other children. I also don't want to single-out this child, but I'm not sure how to ensure safety without doing so. This will be tough.

BBC

Throw-Away Children

My principal has a term she uses for children that come from terrible homes, suffer from serious neglect, are deeply involved in Children's Services, foster homes, and generally bounce around from place to place - throw-away children. She doesn't mean this in a disparaging way towards them; its more of a reflection to how they are treated by their families and the system. Usually the most consistent, vigilant ones are the school personnel, but often we can't do much because the children are only with us for weeks or months if we are lucky. Then they move away to start over, after we have spent time and energy lining up resources to improve their lives. But they aren't at fault. It's not like a 7 year old can just up and leave. It's usually an agency, or a foster parent, or the biological parent that decides to move away. Sometimes I'm not sure if people realize how much the upheaval really disturbs a child's well-being. There was a student who didn't show up yesterday and we all assumed that he would eventually come to school after Labor Day (there are always those few families that take it upon themselves to extend summer vacation.) Well I got a note in my box informing me that he moved away. This was a kid that we worked so hard to get him what he needed and really planned out who he would have as a teacher. Now he has to start over in another place.

I have new student who's case is absorbing a lot of my mental energy. She's a child with significant history of abuse and her psychiatric report painted a picture that, quite frankly, scared me. What do you do as a school when someone arrives with a significant history of being a victim and perpetrator of sexual abuse? How do you maintain safety in your school, keep all of the necessary personnel informed, without letting that knowledge spread throughout the entire school. How do you protect the welfare of other children, while maintaining one child's confidentiality? This is something I know I will struggle with for the next few weeks. Luckily I am adept at telling people that I have to maintain confidentiality and I have a competent team of support people who are confident in their decision-making skills. This should be an interesting year.

BBC