Placing a Child in Residential Treatment # 2

This blog will discuss "how do I know when we should try a Residential Treatment Center (rtc/rtf)??"

AS with most areas of Mental Illness Treatment, there is no one magic answer. It is very individual for the child, the family and how the 'system' (school, insurance etc) works for you. I will just touch on a few basics and hope you post responses so we can have an informative and interesting discussion.

If you are thinking that an rtc may be the answer, the situation at home, school and/or community has likely become very difficult. What are the difficulties? A few that typically lead to rtc/rtf placement are: aggression, being repeatedly suspended or expelled from school, the school being a negtive or hostile environment for your child, your child having legal issues, the safety and well-being of other children in the family, your child needing extraordinary levels of supervision to remain safe.

With my son, John, his level of aggression, legal issues and the safety/well-being of my other son are reasons for John being in rtc. We have an excellent pdoc (psychiatrist), we had superior in home support, the school was not great, but not horrible, we are very involved in MI issues. So, we truly felt there was nothing more we could add or do differently at home. Other than something ridiculous like following JOhn's suggestion of selling our 8 y/o, Adam. Or, letting John do as he pleased 24/7, making no requests or demands, not making him do school work etc, etc, etc.

So, if you are using all available resources but your child is still not safe or family members are not safe, rtc needs to be considered. If school is so bad that having your child in rtc would give them the opportunity to flourish, rtc needs to be considered. If your chld has had legal issues due to their behaviors, rtc needs to be considered. If you feel you have tried everythig else, rtc needs to be considered. And, this one is tougher to define, but if your child is severely effected and a different environment may help them, rtc needs to be considered.

What level of aggression can be tolerated at home? no good answer there, it is different for every family. But, if you feel unsafe or siblings do, it is important to discuss rtc.

If they would benefit from the high level of structure at an rtc, it should be discussed. As mominva stated, her dd wishes rtc had been persued earlier, she feels she would have done better if she had had the experience years previously.

It is vital to remember, it is not a failur to send your child to rtc. Margie has also shared with us how her son has made incredible progress she never thought possible since he was admitted to his Therapeutic Boarding School. For my family, my 8 y/o has stopped having nightmares and being afraid, daily, of what his brother would do.

If there are legal issues, you may have to consider rtc to avoid the Juvenile Justice (JJ) system. A facility where the illness is the focus rather than just legailities is important.

If your schooling options are very limited or non-existant, being way from home for school may be the best option for your child.

Anyway, this is more of a "Food for Thought" blog than one with specific answers. I hope you will share your thoughts and feeling so we can have an interesting and informative discussion.

Debbie aka Johnsmom (even though he is currently claiming that he has divorced us)