Our children grow emotionally and socially, too. Dealing effectively with life’s ups and downs is an essential
life skill. But very few people are born happily taking “no” for an answer. After all, nobody likes to be disappointed.
Eventually, however, most people learn to handle disappointment, anger and other difficult emotions.
Interacting with others in positive ways is another essential life skill. Sharing, taking turns, making friends, and
respecting others are skills that do not come naturally to many children and need to be taught. To follow classroom rules
and procedures, a child must understand them and remember to apply them across situations.
The staff at Imagination Station work hard to teach these fundamental skills to all the children in our care. When
a child has difficulty mastering these personal and social skills, he or she is gently guided to positive ways of coping and
interacting. Sometimes, the child’s difficulty interferes with his learning or the learning of his classmates.
At Imagination Station, the following opportunities are available upon request to help your
child master these skills.
- BEHAVIOR OBSERVATION WITH CHILD UNAWARE
þ
Your child’s
activities may be observed behind the one-way mirror by a clinical psychologist specializing in child development.
þ
Recommendations will
be offered to your child’s teacher that aim to improve the behavior of concern.
- INTERACTIVE OBSERVATION
þ
The therapist will
interact with your child in the context of his regular program activities. This process will help us understand the reasons
underlying the behavior and the child’s levels of self-awareness, self-control and motivation.
þ Recommendations to the teacher will follow.
A parent conference is always available.
- PARENT AND TEACHER RATINGS
þ
If the previous steps
are not sufficient to address the concern, a more thorough evaluation may be necessary. The therapist will provide behavior
ratings to be completed by the teacher and parents. This assessment will allow us to rule out depression, attention deficits,
anxiety or other conditions.
þ
The results of this
assessment will be discussed at a meeting with the therapist and the parents. The teacher may be invited at the parent’s
request.
þ
Parents are welcome
to request a conference with the therapist at any time.
- CLINICAL INTERVENTION
Should clinical follow-up be indicated, the family may make an appointment with with a mental health provider of their
choice.
