Help for families: Easter Seals provides children’s therapist in Silverton

By Kristine Thomas

Dr. Linda Brown has sat with parents, watching patiently as they called one mental health service provider after another. Sometimes, the parents would find an agency to help their child. Often, they would be placed on a waiting list. And many times, they would give up in frustration at the difficulty of finding assistance.

Brown, director of special services for the Silver Falls School District, said the challenges facing parents seeking mental health services for their children also include what insurance is accepted by the provider and where the provider is located – often in Woodburn or Salem.

Brown is thrilled Easter Seals Oregon Children’s Therapy Center of Salem has agreed to have a therapist visit Silverton to work with children and families in need.

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“This is really a huge deal for Silverton because Easter Seals will make it easier for parents to access the help they need for their children,” she said.

Easter Seals Oregon Children’s Therapy Center provides pediatric therapy services with a focus on prevention, diagnosis and treatment to help children reach their full potential. The center offers children from birth to age 18 a full range of services including occupational, physical, speech therapies and mental health services.

“We are seeing a whole range of mental health issues in our students from children dealing with domestic violence to the child being bi-polar,” Brown said. “Easter Seals has an extensive network that it can tap into to help a child and his family.”

Doreen Kelly, who is the resource coordinator for Silverton Together, also has found it a challenge for parents to find mental health services for their children. She often receives phone calls from parents who are “at the end of their rope because of their child’s behavior and don’t know where to turn.”

Having Easter Seals in town will help the staff at Silverton Together better serve the community as they receive countless requests for counseling and assessments for children.

“There is a huge need for mental health services in our community,” Kelly said. “Even when we are able to access some programs, the families can’t always make it to the appointments when they are in Salem or Woodburn because they don’t have the transportation.”

Kelly said Easter Seals accepts all forms of insurance, plus have scholarships for those who are indigent.

“It’s challenging to find appropriate mental health services even with insurance,” Kelly said. “If they don’t have insurance, then it becomes really difficult.”

Kelly said she has seen an increasing need for mental health services in the Silver Falls School District.

“The demand isn’t just here but all over the state,” she said. “Many programs come and go because their grant has run out or due to great demand have had to limit the area they service. Programs fill up quickly, too.”

Brown said the mental health agencies and the education community look at the mental health issues in different ways. For example, if a student is showing signs of depression but still attending school and completing homework, he wouldn’t be targeted for mental health services by the school district, Brown said. It’s only when the student stops attending school, completing work or becomes a distraction in the classroom that he would be considered for referral.

Brown said if staff members have a concern about a child’s mental health, his parents would be notified and recommended to contact the Easter Seals therapist. A parent would have to give permission before a child is seen by the therapist.

“We can only suggest to a parent that their child should be seen,” she said. “We can’t require them or make them follow our suggestion.”

Brown encourages families who are concerned about their child’s behavior to seek help, adding a good place to begin is with the child’s primary care physician.

“We need to do a better job as a community and a nation addressing the mental health issue,” she said. “If someone is blind or hearing impaired, there are tests to accurately tell what’s wrong. There are not clear and concrete tests to determine someone’s mental health. We are struggling to understand mental health issues and what they mean to our students.”

Lona O’Dell is the director of The Easter Seals Oregon Children’s Therapy Center.

As one of the providers for the Marion County Mental Health System, O’Dell said her nonprofit agency was approached about having a therapist serving outlying communities. After a visit with the Silver Falls School District and Silverton Hospital, O’Dell said she knew Silverton would be a good place to have a therapist, who will be here one day a week, possibly more if there is a demand. It has not yet been determined where the therapist will have an office.

“Anyone can call us if they think their child or foster child needs help,” O’Dell said. “They don’t need a referral for mental health. When a parent calls, they will be asked a few questions and then an appointment will be scheduled. When the child visits, an assessment will be done to determine what needs to be done.”

O’Dell said the reasons for a parent to seek mental health therapy for their children can range from anger management to insomnia, Attention Deficit Disorder/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to autism, and eating disorders to depression.

O’Dell said parents should never be embarrassed or worried about calling and asking for help or advice.

“There are all kinds of reasons why a child might benefit from mental health therapy,” O’Dell said. “If parents have concerns or thinks something might not be quite right, they should call.”