SED (Severely Emotionally Disturbed) label

I’m not experienced in this area but if I were in your shoes I would ask the therapist and psychiatrists about this. I’m not sure that I would want that label because it is not very specific and may imply to some that she has something that she doesn’t like violent tendancies. She probably has a more specific diagnosis. If she is going to be labeled, why not have it real accurate?

Just thoughts. I didn’t like your post not being answered.
Other active boards and resources:

http://schwablearning.org

http://millermom.proboards23.com

Good luck,
Terry

Thank you for your answer :)

We asked the therapist but she is not specialized in violent kids… in fact it’s why we got a lot of concerns as our little one is everything but violent.

Thank you for the ressources.

Pierre

I don’t know anything really about this either but just had a few questions to think about.

1. What services do you think you need for your daughter?

2. Will the label even get them for her?

My concern would be that she would be placed in a self contained classroom with severely emotionally disturbed children. As Terry suggested, most of these children have violent tendencies and have been labeled because they can’t be handled in a regular classroom.

My sister works with post adopts with a state agency. My feeling having listening to her and having tried to get appropriate services for my own LD/ADHD child is that you would be better off trying to get more services from the state than from the school. Also, you would be likely to get services that would help her. In my opinion, schools do not do a great job for any kid that is outside the box.

Beth

From what I’ve seen during the past 30 years as a Virginia state employee working directly with individuals with disabilities, as long as you retain legal custody you’ll maintain control of the situation. The SED label is likely just what the county uses to declare someone eligible for casemanagement services. This is similar to what public schools do when they assign children labels that are not accepted legal diagnoses.

I found a little info on your county’s mental health services, but I haven’t read it all the way through because I’m supposed to be packing up my office so they can begin painting and laying carpet tomorrow (oh joy, oh bliss.)

www.co.hennepin.mn.us/vgn/portal/internet/hcdetailmaster/0,2300,1273_82267_109024446,00.html

In conclusion, if you are the parent or legal guardian or legal representative, then their confidentiality comment is pure hogwash. Did they pat you on the head and tell you that you are a good boy when fed you that line? <grin>

Good luck.

John

I didn’t want to chime in on this earlier because it isn’t really my field. However I do want to concur with the rest of the posters; I would be quite concerned about an ED label and *very* concerned about a “severe” label. This can come back to haunt the kid for the rest of her life, people not letting her into this program or that, often with the best of intentions thinking something might be too stressful for her. John is right, confidentiality in schools is a farce, and people whisper “hints for your own good” all the time. The poor kid would spend a lot of time with people looking at her funny, and yes, assuming violence.

I had a student who had a genetic disorder, Kleinfelter’s Syndrome, and after not teaching him to read and stressing him out for two years the school then placed him in an ED class. He was a nice kid, tendency to withdraw if anything, and he just got ignored while the teachers tried to control the aggressive kids. He learned nothing in four years in that class, except that for a job he should go and offer to clean people’s basements. I met him at age 12 with Grade 1 reading level, pre-K math (this was the kid who couldn’t count accurately past 6) and a belief that he was destined to begging for employment.

If you need the label absolutely to get some service that is available in no other way, OK, weigh the pros and cons and balance out what you see as best — but even then try to get the “severe” knocked off unless you’ve just got to have it to get treatment. But take a look at the treatment first — hopefully you have already discovered that some public services are very shoddy and you don’t want them anyway. Some, not all, do check of course.

Thank you for your comments.

We will not accept the SED label. Instead we will turn toward associations to get extra ressources regarding sexual abuses and trauma linked to these abuses.

Keep you posted.
Pierre

Pierre,

If this is about qualifying for help from the Hennepin County Children’s Mental Health Collabrative, I can only advise one thing…..accept the label.

It is how you can qualify for extra insurance, it is also how you can get an advocate to help you navigate the shoals at school. My daughter received this label due to severe oppositionality co-morbid to ADHD/combined type. We had an advocate for about 18 months and she did wonders with the school helping us get her a 504 plan. My daugher is also “gifted” so the school didn’t want to do anything to help us, but now we have teacher choice, preferred seating and protection for some of her behavioral issues. We also received some monetary help with additional counseling and programs.

The SED diagnosis was “blacked out” on everything that the school received in our pursuits so they were never even aware that this was part of her full diagnosis - all they saw was ADHD/combined and mood-disorder/conduct disturbance. SOMETIMES - these labels are scarey, but keep in mind the goals of advocacy, support and resources - in these times of budget cuts, ridiculous healthcare costs…et al SOMETIMES you just have to close your eyes and do what you have to do to get what you need for your child.

Many adults that work with my daughter are “shocked” to learn that she has any issues, she compensates very well in public, but she was falling apart at home and inside herself….the folks at the collabrative are a wonderful resource and I am very sad to report that she has been budget cut out of program - but happy to report it was because of all the help they gave us :D