12/25/97

What services are available for non-Special Education students?

Q: Many children have emotional problems which cause them to be periodically unproductive at school. They don't qualify for special education services, but do need help. What services are available for them?

A: Many guidance counselors and school psychologists offer short term socialization groups to students, usually for six to eight weeks, to address stressors in their lives. The groups are often organized around common child/teen problems such as family stress, low self-esteem, alcohol/drug use, anger management, sexuality, or grief. Individual counseling is often available in the schools, too, if a student wants to discuss a specific problem, again on a short term basis. Counselors or school psychologists routinely discuss such interventions with parents and should recommend further evaluation if student adjustment or academic difficulty lasts longer than a few weeks.

Some schools have had good success with assigning adult mentors to individual students with social, emotional or academic problems. Mentors are often adults from the community who volunteer an hour or two per week to work with a student. Students from single parent or impoverished families often respond well to mentorship. In one of the schools where I worked as a school psychologist, we enlisted the support of a corporation in the community, which recruited mentors from their staff. We, in turn, invited teachers to recommend students for the program and then matched students to mentors. At the end of each year the corporation threw a party, complete with professional entertainers, for mentors, students and their families. It's an excellent program which has steadily grown over the years.

There are also many community based programs which provide support for individual students. For more information, contact your local YMCA or YWCA, local chapters of Big Brother/Big Sister programs, or ask the school guidance counselor, school psychologist or social worker about programs available in your community.

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.