 | Jody Patterson is the director of COMCARE’s Children’s Services. Jody has been involved with children’s mental health programs and services for more than 18 years. She is dedicated to helping children live healthy and productive lives in the community. If you would like to speak confidentially to a professional about your child, call COMCARE Children’s Program at 316-660-7540. COMCARE of Sedgwick County is the licensed Community Mental Health Center for residents of Sedgwick County. Help is available. |
Mental Health
2013-01-02 13:49:20
Proud of me
Q-My son is having trouble following directions, playing with others and making and keeping friends. We have been asked to find alternative child care because of his disruptive behavior. What can we do?
A-Over the past several years, a number of studies have shown a rise in behavior problems among preschoolers. Investigators say that these problems include "prolonged tantrums, physical and verbal aggression, disruptive vocal behavior, property destruction, noncompliance, and withdrawal.” At the same time, the study has found that U.S. preschoolers are three times more likely to be expelled from their classrooms than students in grades K-12. Challenging behaviors in young children are one of the strongest predictors of more serious problems as kids grow older, including delinquency, aggression, anti-social behavior, and substance abuse. For this reason, COMCARE Children’s Services developed “Proud of Me”, a therapeutic program for preschool-aged children.
COMCARE began its first Proud of Me Program in 2005 and since that time the program has grown to five programs in three different locations that operate in the morning and afternoon. Proud of Me is a therapeutic program for preschool-aged children ages 2-5 who display challenging behaviors at home, in their academic or day-care setting, and in the community. These behaviors are often serious enough that they are limiting to their day-care, pre-school, or other placement options. Some children may find themselves dis-enrolled from other day settings before coming to Proud of Me.
Proud of Me uses a highly structured group format founded on the Conscious Discipline model developed by Dr. Becky Bailey. The main function in the Proud of Me setting is to provide children the opportunity to learn and practice positive social, emotional, and behavioral skills. Utilizing a supportive and nurturing environment, children develop and rehearse skills such as assertive communication, conflict resolution, self-control, problem solving and anger management in addition to learning coping and self-regulation tools that will help them to be successful in school, at home, and in the community. The group setting encourages the development of these skills through structured therapeutic interventions and activities and then encourages children to practice their new skill set with their peers all with support and guidance from trained staff.
Proud of Me is designed to work in conjunction with academically based preschools. Children generally attend for 12 months, however, length of service and frequency of service per week are both based on each child’s individual needs.
Children ages 2 1/2 - 5 years old who have serious social, emotional or behavioral problems that cause serious disruption to family, preschool, childcare or other community relationships may be eligible. Eligibility will be determined by a qualified mental health professional at COMCARE Children’s Services. Children must be residents of Sedgwick County to be considered for admission to PROUD OF ME. No one will be turned away based on inability to pay. COMCARE Children’s Services will work with families to find and access resources. Some methods of payment include private insurance and Medicaid. COMCARE uses a sliding scale fee based on income.
