Teachers Tackle Children’s Behavioral Problems via Teleconferencing

Reading, writing and arithmetic are far from the only subjects teachers must tackle in this day and age. In addition to the “basics,” today’s elementary school teachers must be armed with the knowledge to recognize and treat behavioral problems exhibited by students.

Teaching the teachers about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, signs of abuse, and understanding when a student needs professional care are some of the lessons provided by The University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center’s telehealth/tele-education program.

In 1999, the center received a $500,000 grant from the Texas Telecommunication Infrastructure Fund Board to purchase interactive teleconferencing equipment to bring psychiatric health education to teachers in the comfort of their own schools. Recent additional funding in the amount of $794,353 from the Department of Commerce’s Technology Opportunity Program is now allowing additional resources – both in personnel and equipment – to broaden this program, which serves 23 schools, Harris County Children’s Protective Services and Juvenile Probation Departments, and the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority.

“The technology allows for rapid communication of identified psychosocial problems that are interfering with a child’s ability to successfully function in the school setting and immediate referral to appropriate services,” said Andrew Harper, M.D., director of the Harris County Hospital District’s Child and Adolescent Program, and the project’s clinical director and co-principal investigator. The grant’s principal investigator is Geri Konigsberg, the psychiatric center’s director of public information.

The project primarily targets elementary school children, ages four through 11, who are economically disadvantaged and live in communities where few needed services are available or readily accessible.

During the school year, the program offers a two-hour, live broadcast each week, featuring community and psychiatric center professionals speaking about topics such as normal child development and growth, child psychopathology, and attention-deficit disorder. Teachers may ask questions about specific issues.

“A lot of teachers have questions regarding aggression, exposure to violence, and what to look for with abuse or neglect. They also want to know how to navigate the waters of available resources in Harris County, which can be confusing,” said Harper, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. “Currently, no one else is using this technology in this way.”

Clinicians gain an added benefit by getting a realistic glimpse of today’s classrooms, Harper said.

“It’s easy to sit in your office and make recommendations, but when the teacher has 20-plus kids in the class and has to keep everything going at once, implementing the recommendations can be difficult,” he said. “It really brings home the reality of what you’re doing when you speak with the teacher a week later and she says, ‘I tried what you said and it didn’t work out.’”

Parents, too, have received training via this program through a six-part, parent-education lesson provided at their local schools. Someday, Harper hopes patient assessments can be made using teleconferencing equipment.

“For instance, if you had a kid in active treatment, they could have a video-session office visit and wouldn’t have to miss half a day of school.”

Bringing health professionals to the teachers helps remove the mystery from mental-health care issues, Harper said.

“Now the teachers have more familiarity with mental health – the barriers to psychiatry and mental health are being removed,” he said. “The program also has helped kids who need more than just classroom redirection get referred for assessment and treatment.”

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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