I went to visit the Therapeutic Day School that Easter Seals has out in Tinley Park. They are in the process of opening a similar school in my town, so I was excited to be invited to tour the facility.
Visiting this school was a real eye-opener. The first thing I noticed was the incredible atmosphere there. The children (and young adults) were treated with respect and dignity. The staff was protective and supportive. The teachers obviously loved their jobs, and their students. And parents were also treated with respect. There was open communication between the teachers and the parents, and the parents weren't enemies, but more like partners. It was refreshing, and impressive.
They showed me a small room they referred to as their "remodeling project." It was an empty room, and the plasterboard was broken in places, and there were large holes in the walls. Turns out, this is not really a room in the middle of a remodel (well, it sort of is, but that's not why it looks like that). This room was used for the students that have extreme aggression issues. They can come to this room and literally rip it apart. They would rather allow the kids to do this, than to apply restraint. They really are in the process of remodelling it, by eventually replacing the drywall with a smoother material that has more give to it, and won't crumble like drywall. But the holes in the walls and the damaged plaster was caused by a young boy who takes out his aggression on the walls of that room. They preferred to allow him this release of his stress, rather than to restrain him. (You know this caught my attention.)
Restraint is used as a last resort at the school. (Yeah, I've heard that before, but at this place, they really seems to MEAN it.) First, parents need to sign a consent form that restraint can be used. Then, the people who administer the restraint have to go through many hours of training. Once they complete training, they must pass THREE exams, before they are even allowed to attempt restraint.
Consent?? Do you think my school district could adopt that policy??? And extensive training? You can bet your sweet bippy that the five adults who held my son down on the classroom floor had not gone through such extensive training, if any at all. If I'm lucky, one of them had some training, but I wouldn't count on that.
Anyway, as we toured the rest of the school, I was amazed at all the individualized attention the children received. Their education was individualized, their schedules, their therapies, everything. There was an apartment set up within the school, where kids could go practice such things as setting a table for dinner, preparing a simple meal, using a microwave, using an oven, doing laundry, folding clothes, making a bed, finding a book in a library. It was so cool! They were trained on social skills, and they worked on such things as ordering food in a restaurant. You know, the kinds of things the kids will need in everyday life.
The classrooms were based on level of functioning, as well as age groups, and the staff to student ratio was tiny. I think the biggest ratio we saw was one staff member to three students. Sometimes it was one to one!
Many of the kids were gone the day I was there - they go bowling about once a week.
Parents receive daily updates on their children's progress. Some teachers also have monthly newsletters as well. If they are working on a particular skill, the parents are told about it, and when they master it, the parents are told as well. It is also encouraged for parents to send notes to the teacher, describing if their child had a good or bad morning, or was working on a skill at home, or whatever. Open communication between staff and parents!
I wish my son's school could see that one. If only to bear witness to the caring attitude of the staff. (And to learn how restraint should be used as a last resort)
I applaud Easter Seals on their work. I think they have a fabulous school in Tinley Park, and I hope they are able to achieve the same success for the kids here.
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