Admissions Process
  
The Admission Process begins with an appointment set up for the parents, parent or guardian to come in and talk with the social worker about the problem. Following this meeting, appointments are arranged at the Center for the study of the child by our psychologist and our psychiatrist. If certain psychological tests have been given recently, we would not repeat but rather supplement. Depending on the child and his age, cognitive and projective tests that might be administered are the WISC (updated version), the Rorschach, the WPPSI, Stanford-Binet, the Bender and the Peabody. Others might be indicated from time to time but these would be most frequently used. The caseworker would be meeting with parents at the same time. With parental permission, background reports from schools and studies conducted elsewhere are requested. Medical reports are submitted by the child's physician or clinic and at times a neurological study is important to have.

When this material is received, along with our own studies, a staff conference of all pertinent, professional members is held to decide about acceptance. This decision will consider the type of problem, the need for our type of treatment, the possibility of working with the child and his family and the child's fitting into the group at that particular time. If there is space available and if we feel the child will be able to profit from the program, we will accept the child. A psychotic or mentally retarded child would not be accepted, nor would a child for whom out-patient treatment would be sufficient.

Upon entering, the child has a reading, language arts, and educational assessment. There is also a complete physical examination which is reviewed and co-signed by the Center's physician. This, along with other accumulated background material and the existing and then the revised IEP, provides the basis for planning a child's individualized educational program. Students accepted into the program are then placed in classrooms suited and tailored to their individual needs. These classroom placements reflect the child's ability to function academically, socially and cognitively, based on the child's records, formal and informal psychological and educational testing and observation by the professional staff. The children in his/her classroom resemble him/her in abilities, age and coping capacity.

Once accepted in the program, the average stay has been 2 to 3 years. Given our upper age limit at intake of 10½ years, we could therefore, keep a child through his 12th year. If a child had reached his 13th birthday, he would not be eligible to begin a new semester.