Peace River Successes
The Collaborative Service Delivery (CSD) and the Early Intervention (EI)Programs in Peace River celebrated success stories recently.
Collaborative Service Delivery
The file is still in assessment and closing next week. The child is 12 years old and has high behaviors, and suicide notes had been found in the child’s bedroom.
In the first week after receiving the referral the child’s mom was connected with Triple P to learn new parenting skills, she has completed a 3-week course already and is applying what she has learned in her daily routine. The family has also been connected with Mental Health. The child has attended two scheduled visits with a Mental Health counselor, and the mom has shown me different work sheets that the child has completed during her sessions. Things appear to be going well.
A referral was also made to Dr. Soper and there was a scheduled appointment on Nov 20, Mom wrote down all her questions that she would present to Dr. Soper. The child’s medications are also in question, so I will be receiving an update from the parents when we next meet. I also helped Mom and Dad complete and send in the application for funding for FSCD. They now have had a scheduled appointment with FSCD at their home. We are hoping that FSCD will be able to provide funding to the family, so the child can have access to counseling from a behavioral specialist.
Both Mom and Dad have been very engaged over the last few weeks and now have the supports in place to help them understand and cope with the child’s abnormal behavior.
The FSS received an email of appreciation for her hard work and detailed session summaries which will allow this file to close under assessment!
Early Intervention
Our client is a fourteen-year-old male who was living in Peace River with his parents and adult brother. He suffered from anxiety whenever leaving his home and could not attend school. The youth was enrolled in home schooling, but was easily distracted by video games, and did not complete assignments. This writer would persuade him to leave his home for short outings in the community ranging from shopping at Walmart to drives in the country. This writer and the youth built a relationship and talked about self-esteem and coping skills.
The youth spoke of missing a friend who lives in Barrhead. This writer encouraged him to visit his friend, which he did. He eventually traveled (in a motor-home) throughout Alberta and B.C. on vacation with his family. Upon returning from vacation he informed this writer that he is moving in with his friend in Barrhead. Mom informed this writer that he has been attending school in Barrhead. She stated that the schools in Peace River had informed them that he was too far behind and would not be able to catch-up with classes, but the school in Barrhead tested him and found that he is ahead of the students in his grade in all classes except Math where he is only slightly behind.
Six months later, this writer was approached at the grocery store by the clients mother, and she informed me that he is planning to return to Peace River, and would like to be involved with the Early Intervention Program again when he returns.
WJS Roadshow and Team Building
The Peace River and High Level teams also took part in the Roadshow in Slave Lake, followed by a team building experience with Slave Lake and High Prairie teams which everyone enjoyed very much. Everyone enjoyed the time they got to spend with Liz John-West, and appreciated the great conversations shared by all.
Submitted by: Deb Erkinger; Lead Practice Specialist