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1.
Program Description:
Mountainbrook Comprehensive Academy, a member of the Georgia
Psychoeducational Network is a comprehensive treatment program
which serves children with severe Emotional/Behavioral disorders
from birth through 21 years of age who live in the following
Northwest Georgia School Systems: Cherokee, Pickens, Fannin,
Gilmer, Murray, Dalton City, and Whitfield. The program began
in 1971 and is funded through the Georgia Department of
Education and receives some federal support. No fees are
charged for services. Local school systems provide
transportation for students and help to meet some of the
program's operational costs.
The staff consists
of administrators, psychologists, clinical personnel,
counselors, special education teachers and paraprofessionals all
trained in the behavior disorders field. Consultative
psychiatric and clinical psychological services are also
available as well as vocational support through the local
Department of Human Resources.
Children and youth served
by the program have a variety of backgrounds, different life
styles, and intellectual levels. However, all of them
experience emotional conflict and are usually underachieving
academically. Anxiety, anger, depression, reality confusion, or
autistic behavior may be evidenced. This might be observed as
problems in learning not due to intellectual limitations or
neurological reasons; problems establishing meaningful
interpersonal relationships, difficulty with authority and
accepting supervision, or unexplainable fears. Youngsters with
discipline problems who exhibit a conscious unwillingness to
comply with school rules and societal expectations qualify for
services only if emotional conflict also exists. Hyperactive
children and/or students with attention deficit disorders must
also experience severe emotionally based problems to qualify for
services.
Referrals are
channeled through the Special Education Department of the local
school systems. Service eligibility is based on comprehensive
educational and psychological test results, a social history,
medical data, anecdotal records, observational information and
psychiatric assessment.
The nature of the
services depends upon the individual education plan for each
child. School-age service consists primarily of
psychoeducational class placement. Students enroll in classes
at the center instead of going to their regular school on a full
or part-time basis. Emphasis is given to social-emotional
growth and helping student’s master basic academics as defined
by the Georgia Quality Core Curriculum. Field trips and day and
overnight camping experiences are offered and provide additional
opportunities to reach individual goals. Pre-vocational skills
training is also offered throughout the program with emphasis on
helping adolescents make a transition to the world of work or to
receive further vocational training beyond high school.
A variety of unique therapeutic services are offered through
trained staff members and selected program consultants. The
school's educational philosophy addresses both emotional growth,
as well as, academic goals. To facilitate achievement of these
goals a carefully structured, stimulating and meaningful
environment is created for students to learn and grow. It is
felt that once a student has been placed at Mountainbrook, he or
she is considered to be experiencing significant emotional
conflict. This conflict is viewed as stemming from both within
the student and through their interpersonal interactions with
others. Interactions may involve significant others, including
parents, siblings, peers, and teachers. The interactions are so
severely impaired that intensive therapeutic techniques must be
employed that will focus upon both long and short term
rehabilitation. It is hoped these techniques and experiences
will assist the students in better understanding their intrinsic
motivations and help them obtain more appropriate self-directed
behavior.
Mountainbrook
provides a number of ways to help students meet their personal
goals by offering a variety of placement options including full
and partial-day programming, brief and extended therapeutic
strategies, social skills training, psychological counseling,
psychiatric consultation, mentoring, vocational programming and
a parent training model. However, the most commonly utilized
approach is the therapeutic counseling/teaching interactions
between teachers and students which focus upon the development
of personal insight and related problem solving skills. Typical
methods in a Mountainbrook classroom would involve the use of
small group instruction and structured discussions to enhance
self-concept, intrapersonal and interpersonal development,
social competence, and self-awareness. The staff members become
a valuable and active agent of change by providing a
relationship based on nurturance and positive environmental
support. Therapeutic change occurs when children gain insight
into themselves while being guided and encouraged by the teacher
in the acquisition of real skills. Ultimately, it is the
student who must act upon and take personal responsibility for
individual actions.
2.
Initial Diagnostic Services:
Upon entering the
program, the student is interviewed by the coordinator.
The Student Intake Form for Treatment (SIFT) is used to
establish rapport and identify problem areas. With this
information, supportive services are determined, such as
individual counseling, medical consultation, family
intervention, etc.
Throughout the
year, functional-behavioral assessments are made. The
procedure is implemented at the beginning, middle, and end of
the school year. The functional behavior assessment
provides useful information for continuing the provided
services.
The level of
academic achievement is assessed on selected subtests of the
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) within the first
6-weeks of enrollment. For students with IQs below 70, the
Brigance is used. Social/Emotional development is assessed
on the Developmental Therapy Objective Rating Form (DTORF) and
the Walker-McConnell Scale (adolescent or elementary version).
Within 30-days,
after the above data is collected, a meeting is held with the
parent, representatives from the home school, the Mountainbrook
psychoeducational teacher and administrator, to share the
assessment findings and the very specific services that
Mountainbrook will provide.
3.
Behavior Management Program:
Students
who attend Mountainbrook participate in a behavior management
system. With responsible behavior, students earn
privileges. This may include attending classes for part of
the day at the home school or having significant autonomy while
at Mountainbrook.
4.
Prescriptive Instructional Design:
Developmental
Therapy (DT) is the foundation of the Psychoeducational
classroom program. Every 6 to 8 weeks, students are rated
on developmental objectives in communication, socialization and
behavior tracts. The grouping of objects determines one of
4 developmental stages. Each stage has specific techniques
and activities that the psychoeducational teacher is able to
employ.
Lifespace Crisis
Intervention is provided to students by trained staff.
These therapeutic interviews teach the skill of processing a
student's distorted thinking and defensive statements in a
non-threatening and insightful way.
Affective education
is offered at least 30 minutes per day. It is provided
through a structured and unstructured format. Affective
education is provided in addition to time for reviewing student
and class goals and achievements.
Targeted groups
are periodically offered to selected students. Groups
focus on similar student needs. Group leaders may be staff
members and/or program consultants.
Direct
counseling is provided by the program's consulting
psychiatrists and psychologist to selected students. All
students are seen by the psychiatrist for an initial medical
assessment. This includes interviews with parents and
teachers.
Community based
education is offered. Weekly field trips help students
to apply acquired knowledge and to practice new skills in a real
life situation.
Students meet with
Parent Student Facilitators on a weekly basis.
Concerns are shared and supportive services are provided.
Initial interviews are done by the parent student facilitator
who is later responsible for being the student's and family's
advocate.
5. Therapeutic Services:
Psychiatric
and psychological services are part of the program. Child
and adolescent psychiatrists may prescribe medication, if
necessary, for a student to benefit from class placement.
Prescriptions are given to parents to fill. Consulting
psychologists see selected students for individual and group
counseling.
6. Parent Participation:
Parents are
encouraged to regularly meet with the Mountainbrook staff.
Through conferences parents receive support and learn effective
parenting skills.
7. Staff Input:
Mountainbrook
solicits input for program planning from all staff.
Teamwork is important. A center coordinator/principal,
center facilitator works with department heads and committee
chairpersons to provide a well planned coordinated program.
The entire staff meets with the center coordinator to discuss
programmatic issues.
Once per week
department heads debrief individually with the coordinator.
At the weekly staff meeting, a different teacher each week
presents a weekly lesson plan. All classes use the same
lesson plan format which is submitted on Fridays to the
coordinator.
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