On Thursday, I received a phone call from the principal of Katelyn's preschool (another amazing advocate for Katelyn), asking if it would be possible for me to meet with her and Katelyn's teacher and ABA therapist on Friday. They are aware that I am taking Katelyn to her first appointment with a child psychologist on Monday, so they wanted to provide me with some more input from the school to share with the doctor. Without hesitation, I rearranged my schedule and met with them yesterday. (To see a list of her most concerning behaviors put together by the school, click here.)
As I arrived at the principal's office, she informed me that Katelyn was having the most challenging day yet, and that she wasn't sure if her teacher and therapist could even leave the classroom to come to meet with me because Katelyn needed extra supervision. Luckily, another therapist helped manage Katelyn so that they were able to attend the meeting.
The school and I have had an ongoing dialogue, almost on a daily basis, regarding Katelyn's current issues in the classroom as well as at home, so there were no surprises on either end. Almost immediately, the principal mentioned that they feel that her current preschool classroom and therapies in place are no longer beneficial to her, in that they are pretty much spending the entire day trying to get her to follow the routine of the classroom safely without hurting herself and others. She then explained that, while Katelyn will always have a place at their school, they feel that Katelyn may temporarily benefit from an outpatient psychiatric evaluation and treatment program. She handed me a pamphlet for a Pediatric Partial Hospital Program (PPHP) and reviewed the details with me. Given the current circumstances, I immediately agreed that this was the right road to take at this time.
About the PPHP...
(copied from the pamphlet) "The PPHP is a highly specialized day treatment program that provides comprehensive evaluation and intensive treatment for young children ranging in age from early infancy through 6 years, and their families ... The primary goal of the program is to help children safely live at home while offering children and their families the opportunity to work on behavioral, emotional and social difficulties that occur at home and in the community."
The program offers family therapy, milieu therapy, behavioral therapy, group treatments, and psychiatric medication, if necessary. The PPHP staff includes therapists, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, pediatricians and support staff.
Basically, what this means is that Katelyn will be attending this program Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4pm anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 months, depending on her needs. She will then return to her current preschool setting once she is ready to be discharged from the program, and appropriate followup treatment will be arranged. (Unfortunately, transportation is not provided, so I will be crossing state borders twice a day during rush-hour traffic to get her to and from the program, but hopefully it will be worth it!)
While it is definitely not an easy decision to make to enroll our 3-year-old child into a psychiatric program, we feel confident that this is the best course of action to help Katelyn, as well as our family. Anyone who knows me can testify that I do not do anything lightly when it comes to the well-being of my children. It has been absolute torture on all of us as her parents, family, friends, teachers and therapists, to see her suffering the way that she is, especially since she had been doing so well just a few months ago. However, we are hopeful that this program will be able to provide not only an answer as to what is causing this behavior, but also the appropriate method of treatment in order to help our beautiful daughter return to us as soon as possible.
Thank you to all who have offered us the love and support that we need to sustain us throughout this emotionally exhausting ordeal. We never envisioned this happening, but we are prepared to begin yet another journey to get our beloved daughter back. And of course, I will continue to share our story each step of the way.
As I arrived at the principal's office, she informed me that Katelyn was having the most challenging day yet, and that she wasn't sure if her teacher and therapist could even leave the classroom to come to meet with me because Katelyn needed extra supervision. Luckily, another therapist helped manage Katelyn so that they were able to attend the meeting.
The school and I have had an ongoing dialogue, almost on a daily basis, regarding Katelyn's current issues in the classroom as well as at home, so there were no surprises on either end. Almost immediately, the principal mentioned that they feel that her current preschool classroom and therapies in place are no longer beneficial to her, in that they are pretty much spending the entire day trying to get her to follow the routine of the classroom safely without hurting herself and others. She then explained that, while Katelyn will always have a place at their school, they feel that Katelyn may temporarily benefit from an outpatient psychiatric evaluation and treatment program. She handed me a pamphlet for a Pediatric Partial Hospital Program (PPHP) and reviewed the details with me. Given the current circumstances, I immediately agreed that this was the right road to take at this time.
About the PPHP...
(copied from the pamphlet) "The PPHP is a highly specialized day treatment program that provides comprehensive evaluation and intensive treatment for young children ranging in age from early infancy through 6 years, and their families ... The primary goal of the program is to help children safely live at home while offering children and their families the opportunity to work on behavioral, emotional and social difficulties that occur at home and in the community."
The program offers family therapy, milieu therapy, behavioral therapy, group treatments, and psychiatric medication, if necessary. The PPHP staff includes therapists, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, pediatricians and support staff.
Basically, what this means is that Katelyn will be attending this program Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4pm anywhere from 3 weeks to 2 months, depending on her needs. She will then return to her current preschool setting once she is ready to be discharged from the program, and appropriate followup treatment will be arranged. (Unfortunately, transportation is not provided, so I will be crossing state borders twice a day during rush-hour traffic to get her to and from the program, but hopefully it will be worth it!)
While it is definitely not an easy decision to make to enroll our 3-year-old child into a psychiatric program, we feel confident that this is the best course of action to help Katelyn, as well as our family. Anyone who knows me can testify that I do not do anything lightly when it comes to the well-being of my children. It has been absolute torture on all of us as her parents, family, friends, teachers and therapists, to see her suffering the way that she is, especially since she had been doing so well just a few months ago. However, we are hopeful that this program will be able to provide not only an answer as to what is causing this behavior, but also the appropriate method of treatment in order to help our beautiful daughter return to us as soon as possible.
Thank you to all who have offered us the love and support that we need to sustain us throughout this emotionally exhausting ordeal. We never envisioned this happening, but we are prepared to begin yet another journey to get our beloved daughter back. And of course, I will continue to share our story each step of the way.
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