Monday, January 27, 2020

Funeral Home Business Plan

Funeral Home Business Plan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Death is an inevitable phenomenon. When one dies, it is inorder that he or she gets a good send off from friends and family members. Ohio, one of the greatest states in America has numerous towns with funeral homes. However, they do not offer an all round service for the disease. Unfortunately, Monroe, one of the towns in Ohio has no funeral home consequently citizens move to other towns, an expensive and time-consuming issue. This plan outlines the strategy by which a new funeral home, Dobrozsi will define and dominate a new perspective of funeral service provision in Monroe town, Ohio State and extend to the whole USA. It also focuses on the untapped opportunity in the cremation of the dead bodies. Up to now, very few funerals home are cremating the dead bodies. Change in worshipping has resulted into many people going for cremation instead of burial. The plan outlines how these opportunities will be made use of to increase the business scope and turn over there by increasing the profit margin of the business. It will also bring out how these services will be achieved in both the long and the short time. It explains how it shall use the competitive advantage to ensure that it is on top of the business. The plan also brings out the mission, vision, and the objectives of the business. It analyzes the mission of the business its vision and goals as well as the organizational culture. The business will be built on the philosophy of divided we fall united we stand this means that the business can not do a lone minus the other key stakeholders in the sector which include the families, employees, the owners and the environment at large. It describes the culture and what will be done to attain the culture of the business. On a different perspective, the plan describes the business to be started. It gives a brief summary of the business, the type of the business, which is Limited Liability Company. It clearly defines the shareholder who is the sole owner of the business. The plan analyzes the opportunity available through research and how the opportunities will be exploited. The plan identifies the very good and many good opportunities, the entities already in the market, how the incoming entity will take a competitive advantage over the other rivals and outwit them. It mentions the available competitors in the market. It goes ahead to discuss the marketing strategy and plan that the business would use. In this chapter, it discuses identification of the customers or consumers of the product will be identified and mechanisms to reach them. Market segmentation is discussed in this chapter with at least four different segments that the business will try to meet in its endeavors to provide the best quality diseases. It identifies the target markets out of these segments and a market strategy to reach to them. It discuses management and operations of the service business the entity is going to engage in to meet the needs of the customers. The competition in the business has been described vividly together with the different buying patterns experienced in the industry. The plan also identifies the competitive edge and the sales strategy that may be employed to attain the target sales. To conclude, the plan gives a financial breakdown of the required amount for financing the project. It the goes ahead to give a request for funding and the exist strategy. It closes by giving appendix. MISSION, VISION AND CULTURE Mission The mission of the Dobrozsi Funeral Home is to take the best care of the families and friends in the time of a lost loved one by providing the homely environment. The facilities involved will help accommodate the families and friends and the homes serenity will give much consolation to them. The funeral home will, through provision of such services grow to be the best funeral home not only in the town but also in the state of Ohio and to the larger USA. It will use these service provisions to be the most profitable home in the environs. Vision The vision of the funeral home is to be the first successful funeral home in Monroe with the best service. This will be attained through provision of the highest quality services with well the best facilities in the state, well trained, and experienced personnel at the most affordable rates. Culture In order to achieve the set mission and vision, the funeral home will develop a culture of a combination of healthy work environment, hard work, and family and customer service. The healthy work environment will be ensured through provision of better working equipment to the employees with good pay in turn promoting hard work amongst them. The main concern of the funeral home is to take care of families at the point of bereave thus, they will form part of our culture achievable through provision of better services and more especially customer service. COMPANY DESCRIPTION Dobrozsi Funeral Home a comprehensive type or mode of a funeral home with unique services and characteristics form the other funeral homes. It will handle services for all faiths, cremation, and pre-planning on a location of 45050 Monroe at Ohio State found on street 6305 Hamilton along the Lebanon Rd with operations of the business scheduled to begin on February 1, 2011. It is going to be the first funeral home ever in Monroe. The funeral home will be a limited liability corporation (LLC) and the owner will hold all its shares. Evan Dobrozsi, the owner of the funeral home is known for his well-managed entrepreneurial skills that have helped him start up businesses resulting into changing lives of most citizens. With this motivation, he has decided to start up a funeral home at Monroe. This is will be a funeral home of its kinds though with competition from Middletown, Hamilton, Franklin, and Liberty Township and West Chester area having other different funeral homes. Making it an exceptional funeral home will be the normal home looking buildings together with different chapels of different sizes. The home looking building will create a home environment for the mourners giving them a sense of hope while the different chapels sizes will be due to different service-size demands. Their main intentions are to help in the celebration of a life well lived by the deceased, provide consolation, and hope to friends and relatives through services in the chapels. In addition, it will ensure better customer service to take on board the families as part of the organizational culture. OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH State of Ohio has a population of about 11.5 million people being the seventh highest in the USA. The death rate of the USA citizens has been on the increasing note every year according to research conducted of late. In Monroe, the death rate has been significantly increasing with no funeral home around. The closest funeral homes are found in the other towns of the Ohio state, making people to move for long distances taking a lot of time before they get a funeral home.There is no funeral home in Monroe and the death rates are increasing considerably. This means that the cost of sending off a loved one is higher due to the additional costs incurred in transporting the bodies to and from the far funeral homes. It also leads to too much time wastage between the towns of the state and looking for a funeral home. Time lost is a very valuable resource and once lost can never be recovered. Many people in turn are getting disappointed and demoralized when they, in real sense as supposed to be consoled. Though there are funeral homes around, their services have been limited, slow, and expensive. Staffs in these funeral services lack the experience to offer the best funeral service. Whats more, they concentrate so much on the dead rather than on the people bereaved. There are no measures to console them. In addition, they do not take of other ways of sending off the loved ones such as cremation. The funeral homes having these facilities are very poor with inadequate number of employees some of whom do not have the skills to offer such services.Research has proved that many citizens are now going out of the state to look for a friendlier funeral home for the services of these loved one lost. Most of these funeral homes in any case, use the non-automated systems making service delivery ineffective. There is push towards cost, as people prefer funeral homes with low costs without compromising on the quality of the service offered. Majoring on these weaknesses of the competitors and the unavailability of the funeral homes in the state, Evan Dobrozsi created an opportunity and is about to venture into serious business. Dobrozsi funeral home will take up the opportunity by focusing much on the competitors weaknesses in order to strengthen them as well as taking the bigger opportunity of the lack of funeral homes in Monroe. In this case, it will enjoy the monopoly status within the region. It will bring services closer to Monroe citizens as compared to the others. MARKETING STRATEGY AND PLAN Identification of the customers In a bid to know the real customers of the funeral home, it is better to segment the market, dividing it in need categories. Most funeral homes if asked today will admit that they do not know their customers. American population is segmented in correspondence with generations making up the population. The funeral will hence concentrate on the generations. Statistics has proven that people age 23 and over are capable of making a purchasing decisions, thus our strategy will be to reach out to people of ages 23 and above. The funeral home will also target other faith that believes in the cremation of the dead. Most funeral homes have ignored this area for a very long time. Our better, high quality resources will enable us perform the cremation services to the bodies of the deceased who believe in the cremation. The most effective market among the segments id the Generation with a high demand and very little supply hence the funeral home will focus on the market. Market Segmentation Monroe has a family percentage of 76% with an average age of 39.7 years old. Our market segmentation will be based on the Americas division of people in terms of ages. We have realized that within these segments, generation as used by USAs demography, the purchasing power differs and focusing on all of them leading to a variety of market hence needs and services. The market divided according to decision makers on purchasing is has the following segments for focus: V.2.1 The GI Generation (born 1901-1924 and may be referred to us post World War I)   According to the USA demographics as at 2003, these are people who are now 76 years and above. In this business, it is the most active with a mortality rate of about 10.9% per annum. Due to this high mortality rate, they have to make funeral arrangements either by themselves for those not afraid or their caretakers will make for them. They in most cases have very little hope in living, more that is a fueling factor for their mortality. The new funeral home will take on this market with a lot of enthusiasm. V.2.2 The Silent Generation (born 1925-1945) With a mortality rate of 3.1%, most funeral homes tend to concentrate so much on them. Unexpectedly, the Boomers rather than the G1 have influenced them. Much of their lifestyles revolve mainly on the Boomers trying to much them. A reason that has made many funeral homes to concentrate so much in them is due to other causes of death other than natural attrition. It is considered the working generations with so much experience and many years of service. In effect, they are the richest and help the G1 and the Boomers meet their expectations of funeral services. V.2.3Boomers (also called the post World War II born 1946 through 1964)  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Compared to the two generations, their mortality rate is quite low about 0.5%. However, the majority of this generation are considered very productive, innovative and more enthusiastic than the above two generations. As a result, they are engaged in planning services and especially for funeral arrangements. For our success, we cannot leave the generation since they will bring business when are attracted to good and high quality services. We win them they bring business. V.2.4 Generation X (1965-1980)   Amongst all the cohorts, this is the last and the youngest with a low mortality rate but may experience some changes due to change of behavior. They are so adventurous, a fact that is currently changing their mortality rates. They believe in themselves but are also very influential not necessarily in death but they also participate in the funeral arrangements of their parents and grand parents. Even though they have very little to do with funeral matters, they still influence decisions regarding the funeral arrangements especially if they have no relations in Silent and G1 but boomers. The Target Market for the home The target market of the funeral home will be the G1, Silent, and the Baby Boomers. The three cohorts have different needs, tastes, and potential very significant in the operations of the funeral home. Through the three cohorts, the funeral home will learn how to provide differential high quality services to the customers and the families involved. The other target will be the less tapped opportunity in cremation services especially around Monroe. Many funeral homes fear venturing into this type of product and we shall take advantage of this fact to help us have differentiated products to the customers. Marketing Strategy Our culture is to enhance the correlation between the employees, the customer and the management, the funeral home focus will to establish a link between the three parties for the success of the business. This will be achieved through provision of high quality services to the consumers at an affordable price, ensure that the employees have the best working environment consequently, high return for the owner. The chapels will be available for the families of the bereaved to offer service to the deceased and get consolation that he or she has started a new life for the believers. MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS Having toured the funeral homes and seen the management of the homes below expectations. Dobrozsi funeral home will have the best management of human resources and the services delivered. It is going to gain a competitive advantage through provision of high quality services as compared to the rivals. It strategic management policies will ensure that it achieves the objectives, mission, and vision. The existing funeral homes are far from the people with low quality services and they have failed to offer-differentiated products to the varied needs and wants of the consumers. It is on this basis that the Dobrozsi funeral home will be managed in order to out do our competitors. From Portes five forces that affect the operation of the business, the funeral home shall develop better policies to enhance its effectiveness and avoid any further threats from the incoming entities in the same industry. Analysis of the service business to be implement In the event of death, a person has to be buried of cremated depending on the deceased culture and traditions. Since the remains of the deceased are never useful to the family members and relatives there is an option of a funeral home. Funeral homes universally offer some important services to the dead which includes Provision of a service for then deceased Ensuring that the body of the deceased is well preserved   and ready for viewing Moving of the body from the funeral home to residential home and to the burial site Provision of certain resources to aid the funeral such as casket, urns, remembrance products Providing immediate burial minus a service depending on the culture an tradition of deceased Providing cremations service not common to many funeral home Competition and Buying Patterns in the market People would choose a funeral home first for convenience purposes, service to the family and reputation derived from the funeral home. The biggest percentage goes for convenience in terms of location and costs. Monroe has not had a funeral home since time immemorial. Having identified the buying pattern, customers will go for the easiest and fastest option, we are going to launch our funeral home at Monroe to take up this opportunity. Freedom of worship has also changed the buying pattern. Many people are now joining the religious groups of their choices. Consequently, there has been an increased demand for cremation, an are not well exploited by the funeral homes. People are also becoming too religious. For this reason we are going to have different chapels of different sizes and we shall provide cremation to have competitive advantage not only over the rivals in the market but also for those who may want to join the industry. Competitive Edge Dobrozsi Funeral Home is one of the best homes to be started in Monroe. It will provide caring atmosphere with facilities to ensure a person is given a dignified send off by the home. It ensures that the remaining family members and friend are consoled in order to have the faith that one day they will meet again. The upcoming funeral home will explore its competitive edge to offer these values and functions and help promote the living standard of the employees. Its competitive edge is the fact that many have not ventured into the business in Monroe as well as the cremation, which is offered by very few funeral homes. It will uphold the values and purposes of a burial or a funeral for that matter. The values and the purpose of a funeral gathering is to appreciate someone for the life well lived, wish him a farewell and support the ones left behind with consolation. Sales Strategy In meeting our sales, a strategy has been laid down to ensure its achievements. The home will bring on board executive directs sales agent who will employ the process of personal selling to approach customer, present the product, convince the customer to purchase the product and close the sales. The sales executive may then request for more leads from the customer. Once a sale is closed, the customer will be like part of us. Through him, we shall reach other hundreds of customers out there VII. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS AND PROJECTIONS This analysis and plan aims at getting a loan of $ 184,000 with the total net worth of the business being. Our start-up expenses of $32,500 and asset purchases of $151,500 are to be financed by loan Start-up Funding Amount in $ Start-up Expenses to Fund 32,500 Start-up Assets to Fund 151,500 Total Funding Required 184,000 Assets Non-cash Assets from Start-up 58,500 Cash Requirements from Start-up 121,250 Additional Cash Raised Cash Balance on Starting Date Total Assets 235,300 Liabilities and Capital Liabilities Current Borrowing 184,000 Long-term Liabilities Other Current Liabilities (interest-free) Total Liabilities 184,000 Capital Planned Investment Owner 58,500 Investor Additional Investment Requirement Total Planned Investment 58,500 Loss at Start-up (Start-up Expenses) (32,500) Total Capital 26,000 Total Capital and Liabilities 210,000 Total Funding 242,500 VIII. FUNDING REQUEST AND EXIST STRATEGY Starts up costs of a funeral home are much higher than businesses of the same size. The costs of cars are very high and the small amount of equipment that is needed is high. All these items are things that you have to have to operate a funeral home aside from the facilities. All the things that are in this list are things that are absolutely required and are not things that you can do without. To have a funeral home you must be able to embalm a body and make-up which you need tables for. The embalming table is stainless steel which is what makes it so expensive. You must have a van and a cot to make removals. Another big thing is the cost of the hearse with is probably the biggest expense cause it has to in a since be custom made. The last large expense is a cooler to keep bodies in that arent embalmed or are going to be cremated We are therefore requesting for a funding of $ 184,000 which we are sure to pay in the next one year that is a period of 12 months. The amount is to assist us get the required material for the start of the business. We shall repay the amount together with the interest required. On a straight line basis without the inclusion of the interest rate we are sure to pay the following amount: Amount borrowed $ 184,000 Period of repayment 12 months Monthly repayment 184,000 / 12 months = $ 15,333.33 per month Once the amount is paid up we shall be glad to be a member of the bank. All our proceeds shall be used through your good bank. We therefore humbly request for the financial assistance to help us achieve the objective and promote the lives of the people of Monroe by giving the family members of the deceased a good consolation and ensuring that the deceased is given the best send off by the people he or she loved. We are proud to be associated with you and we look forward to doing business. APPENDICES Appendix 1: Financial Requirements Appendix 1a): The financial requirements of the firm visa a viz the actual that we be used up during the implementation Item Cost Estimate/Actual Start-Up Expenses Accountant Fees 1500 Expensed Equipment 2500 Financial Institution Fees Identity Set/Stationary 3000 Insurance 5000 Legal Fees 10000 Licenses/Certificates/Permits 1000 Marketing Materials (cards) 2000 Payroll (with taxes) 2000 Professional Fees Other 2000 Travel Utilities 1500 Web Fees 2000 Other Total Start-Up Expenses 32500 Start-Up Assets Cash Balance for Starting Date Equipment 25000 Furniture Fixtures 30000 Leasehold Improvements Cars Rent Deposit Signage 3000 Utility Deposit 500 Other Total Start-Up Assets 58500 Total Start-Up Requirements 151500 Appendix 1 b): The required assets Item Quantity Cost Equipment Hearse 1 100000 Removel Van 1 35000 Embalming Table 1 2000 Removal Cot 1 1300 Prep Table 1 900 Embalming Pump 1 800 Church Truck 1 1000 Prep Stuff 1 2500 Cooler 1 8000 Other Costs Start-Up Investment-TOTAL $242500 Cash Reserve $121250 Total Start-Up Investment + Capital Reserve $363750 Appendix II: The Work plan and how the activities will be done PROJECT JANUARY MARCH APRIL JUNE JULY SEPTEMBER OCTOBER DECEMBER Drawing the plan Collection of the materials Seeking for funding Purchase of the assets Building project inception Doing a market research for determination of the demand level Getting the required people in time to begin business Registration of the company Appendix III: Statistics found out on the marker of the Monroe State Series 1 represents the Mortality rate of the Boomers Series 2 represents the Mortality rate of the Silent generation Series 3 represents the Mortality rate of G1 Generation

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Essays --

†¢ The purpose is to generate and influence a sufficient number and types of applicants to apply for a specific job and then accurately determine which applicants possess the characteristics dictated by the job that are essential for high performance, whenever there is an inadequate supply of labor and skills inside the organization. †¢ There are four main stages of recruitment and selection process in any organizations which will be: †¢ Firstly, defining the vacant job requirements through grooming job descriptions and specification, settling terms and conditions of employment. †¢ Secondly, attracting and influencing of candidates, that done through review and develop of alternative sources for applicants (inside and outside the organization), advertising, possibly using agencies and consultants, employee referring and many others. †¢ Thirdly, selecting the best candidates that will fit for the job, and that will be handled through resumes and application forms screening, interviewing, testing, references and recommendation list checking, background investigations, physical testing and so on. †¢ Finally, the orientation procedure that will be performed during preparing an Introduction to the organization and its main objectives, terms of employment, the work nature and the colleagues. †¢ The aim of this paper is to discuss the ways in which recruitment and selection used to achieve the goals of success in every organizations by ensuring an effective and efficient approach to these processes. †¢ For any hiring efforts to gain success, picking the right method of recruitment will always be helpful to achieve this goal. †¢ Two of the best and most common recruitment processes that can be used in any organization are: the job posting along w... .... †¢ The advantage of using this kind of models is that; the issues of errors in hiring are very high, and this approach is very assistance to eliminate the defects. †¢ So now, after we finish all the steps and selecting the best candidate for the job, we need to provide him/her an offer letter contain all the information about the job, and waiting for the decision if he/she will accept it or not. †¢ When the candidate accepts the offer, then we need to held some sort of physical examination that may especially contain drug and alcohol abuse tests, to make sure there is no issues will affect his/her work performance. †¢ Then, after the candidate pass the physical examination, we need to guide him/her through holding a job orientation and provide them with the organization guideline and policy. Thus made the candidate feels comfortable and help him/her to do the job well.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Case Study on Adolescent Sexual Abuse Essay

Elias is a five year old Mexican American male who has recently been referred to the community counseling center due to the exposure of sexual abuse by his stepfather. Elias was a client of this community center approximately 18 months earlier. Elias had been referred for poor impulse control and hyperactivity. At that time he was diagnosed as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He also met with the agency psychiatrist who had prescribed Elias Focalin. His cased was closed after only a few sessions due to the family’s inconsistency and withdrawal from services. At this point in time Elias has been attending his sessions with his mother and baby brother. Stepfather’s whereabouts are unknown and he has not had any contact with the family since the abuse was exposed. Elias has returned to taking Focalin, since he failed to continue taking his medication after withdrawing from services. However, there have been no changes noted in his behavior since he has begun to take the medication. The psychiatrist believes that this may be due to the low dosage he has prescribed Elias and because of such, the psychiatrist has opted to slowly increase the dosage and closely monitor any changes. The clinician notes that Elias is extremely hyperactive and exhibits minimal impulse control. Other than his high levels of restlessness, Elias shows no observable signs or symptoms of reaction to the sexual abuse. When clinician has attempted to process with Elias about the abuse or his feelings about the abuse, Elias has changed the subject or ignored the clinician all together. Mother states that she has noticed no changes in his behavior since the abuse was discovered. Practice Effectiveness Questions  The special population in discussion is children, the social problems in focus are sexual abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which leads the target client group to be children who have experienced sexual abuse and have been diagnosed with ADHD. Our client is Elias who is a child, who has experienced sexual abuse and is diagnosed with ADHD. For the purposes of this discussion our practice effectiveness questions are: 1) What are effective interventions for children who have been sexually abused? and 2) What are effective interventions for children who have been diagnosed with ADHD? Search Description Procedures The databases utilized for this search were: Google Scholar, Social Work Abstracts, Child Welfare Information Gateway, Academic Search Complete, Professional Development Collection, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, SocINDEX with Full Text Sociological Collection, Academic Search Premier, and JSTOR. It was also helpful to review the journal entitled Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment for relevant articles. While searching the aforementioned databases, the following keywords were utilized: ‘sexual abuse and ADHD’, ‘sexual abuse and interventions’, sexual abuse and co-morbidity’, ‘ADHD and co-morbidity’, ‘children and sexual abuse’, ‘sexual abuse and interventions. ’ All articles selected were peer reviewed, found in scholarly journals, and published within the last ten years. In searching for relevant articles regarding treatment of sexual abuse, most articles addressed interventions designed to treat perpetrators of child sexual abuse; a few articles were uncovered that discussed treating adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Fewer still were articles that identified interventions for children who are recent or current victims of sexual abuse. In order to find information relevant to our target client group, we began pulling sources from reference pages of relevant articles which provided more focused research relevant to treatment of children who have experienced sexual abuse. Results The result of our exhaustive search of available literature led us to identify eight articles to focus on. Out of these articles, four dealt specifically with children who have experienced sexual abuse, two focused on abuse of children which included physical abuse along with sexual abuse, two were focused primarily on ADHD, four focused on co-morbidity of either post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or ADHD and sexual abuse, and four specifically discussed treatments and interventions. Half of the selected articles were literature reviews while the remaining four were reporting from the standpoint of a primary source on research studies of treatments and interventions. The research studies varied in their sampling and control or comparison groups; only two studies were able to utilize a true experimental design with random assignment of study participants to control and experimental groups. The literature reviews provided an extensive overview of relevant studies and interventions from a secondary source standpoint. The eight identified sources provided an assortment of research-based perspectives as well as a sampling of evidence based on authority by those who reviewed the literature and discussed their findings in literature reviews. Research Findings Description of Articles In the article Sexually Abused Children Suffering from PTSD: Assessment and Treatment Strategies by David Heyne, Neville J. King, Paul Mullen, Nicole Myerson, Thomas H. Ollendick, Stephanie Rollings, and Bruce T. Tonge states that sexual abuse of children is a major societal problem because of its high prevalence and devastating impact on the victimized child. Children who have been sexually abused often demonstrate anxiety, depressive moods, improper sexual behaviors, nightmares, social withdrawal, sleep difficulties, anger, shame/guilt and school problems. The authors did diagnostic interviewing with their participants. The authors interviewed thirty six children and sixty nine percent were primarily diagnosed with PTSD. Within the thirty six children four of the children with full PTSD had no other diagnoses. Nine had one co morbid diagnoses, ten had two co morbid diagnoses, and two had three co morbid diagnoses. PTSD is not always prevalent and at times other emotional and behavioral problems are prevalent. In fact, many studies confirm that on clinical evaluation a large proportion of sexually abused children meet diagnostic criteria for PTSD (Heyne, at el. , 2003). This particular article showed that often there are other diagnoses that go along with PTSD but in an article by Peggy T. Ackerman, Roscoe A. Dykman, Jerry G. Jones, W. Brian McPherson, and Joseph E. O. Newton, did research on groups that have been affected sexual, physically abused, or both. The article Prevalence of PTSD and Other Psychiatric Diagnosis in Three Groups of Abused Children (Sexual, Physical, and Both) was a study done with children that are sexually and or physically abused. Fortunately, many children who are victims of horrifying events do not develop PTSD or other psychiatric disorders (Ackerman at el. 1998). Very little is known as to why some victimized children do and others do not develop psychiatric disorders. Even such basic variables as gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, intelligence, and age at time of trauma, have been inadequately studied. They were in a large children’s hospital in which sexual and or physically abused children were referred. The groups were divided into three, sexually and physically abused and both. Through the finding there were more boys who were physically abused and girls who were sexually abused. Anxiety and behavior disorders were more frequent than mood disorders. In concordance with clinical observation, abused boys, regardless of type abuse, had higher rates of behavioral disorders and abused girls had higher rates of two internalizing disorders: separation anxiety (caregiver reports) and phobic disorder (child report) (Ackerman at el. , 1998). Studies show most clearly that children who have been jointly physically and sexually abused are at greatest risk for psychiatric disturbance. There are many different treatment interventions one can go through to minimize PTSD and attention deficient disorders. Maryka Biaggio, Darlene Staffelbach, Dan Weinstein wrote the article ADHD and PTSD: Differential Diagnosis in Childhood Sexual Abuse which shows different interventions used for victimized children. Treatment interventions for ADHD children predominantly consist of behavior management, social skills training, and stimulant or other medication. Treatment interventions for children with PTSD generally consist of management and alleviation of emotional distress using play, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy modalities (Biaggio at el. 2000). Relaxation techniques and hypnosis have also been effective in treatment of PTSD in children. Misdiagnosis may lead clinicians to use inappropriate interventions for PTSD. Side effects experienced by ADHD children on stimulant medication may include difficulty falling asleep, lack of appetite, irritability, headaches, stomachaches, nausea, dizziness, tachycardia, muscle tics or twitches, slowed physical growth, and skin rashes (Biaggio at el. , 2000). Another undesired onsequence of ADHD misdiagnosis in SAC (sexual abused children) is the failure to address and treat the trauma symptoms of children who actually have PTSD. Given the risk of wrongly prescribing, untreated trauma, and negative impact on self-esteem for children misdiagnosed with ADHD, it is unfortunate little attention has been given to this issue (Biaggio at el. , 2000). Increased attention to clinical decision-making in the differential diagnosis of ADHD and PTSD may lead to more appropriate, beneficial, and timely interventions. Darcie) Allison M. Briscoe-Smith and Stephen P. Henshaw’s article entitled: Linkages between child abuse and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in girls: Behavioral and social correlates, was an excellent source to explore the relationship of sexual abuse and ADHD and begin to discuss the co-morbidity of these events for children. The article described a research study carried out with a sample of 228 females at a summer camp for girls with ADHD over a three year span. Each year cohort groups were created to identify the prevalence of abuse among girls diagnosed with ADHD and those who had not received a diagnosis of ADHD. Out of the twenty-four identified cases of abuse histories, twenty of these girls were diagnosed with ADHD, and of those abuse histories ten were sexual in nature which is much higher than any other form of maltreatment documented by the researchers. All girls who had abuse histories had a co-morbid diagnosis of Oppositional Defiance Disorder. The study found that girls with both ADHD and abuse histories were more likely to display externalizing behaviors and be negatively received by their peers. The study also analyzed the relationship between the prevalence of an abuse history and the rejection from peers and found aggression to partially mediate that relationship. The authors concluded that girls with ADHD were at increased risk of having abuse histories and questioned the accurate diagnosis of ADHD. It was suggested that the girls who had histories of abuse may more accurately be diagnosed with PTSD and/or share a co-morbid diagnosis with PTSD. Judith A. Cohen and Anthony P. Mannarino conducted a research study comparing two interventions to treat children who have been sexually abused; their findings were published in the article entitled: Interventions for Sexually Abused Children: Initial Treatment Outcome Findings. This article was one of few that specifically addressed interventions for children with the focus being treatment of sexual abuse. The sample consisted of 49 children between the ages of 7 and 14 who were randomly assigned to either sexual abuse specific cognitive behavioral therapy (SAS-CBT) or nondirective supportive therapy (NST) for a twelve week duration. The study found that children in the SAS-CBT group improved significantly in social competence and in the reduction of feelings of depression. Also, substantially higher percentages of children involved in SAS-CBT experienced what is considered clinically significant improvements. In regards to deterioration while in therapy, higher rates were found in children who received NST. For the safety of the other children in the groups, children who were consistently displaying repetitive extreme sexually inappropriate behaviors were removed from treatment groups; seven NST participants were removed from the study as compared to two children participating in SAS-CBT. Parental satisfaction with treatment was high in both treatment groups which either treatment modality. The clinical impressions of the authors conclude that sexual abuse specific cognitive behavioral therapy is superior to nondirective supportive therapy in the reduction of depressive symptoms. SAS-CBT was also favored due to the benefit of including parents in treatment (NST did not formally include parents). The authors also concluded that there is value and importance in providing a directive therapy technique in dealing with the effects of trauma caused by sexual abuse. Assessment of Evidence Implications of Evidence Interventions for sexual abused victim’s trauma may include based cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy, parental involvement- parent training, behavioral therapy, coping skills training, psycho-education, and prevention awareness. PTSD interventions may include trauma based cognitive behavioral therapy, and play therapy. Attention deficit disorder can also be treated with behavioral management techniques, medication, social skills training, play therapy, parent training, behavioral classroom interventions and summer treatment programs. Many sexually abused children have other diagnosis along with PTSD and several possible co-morbid diagnosis are more than likely behavioral, but often can be confused with PTSD. When looking at interventions and treatments clinicians need to look at the client’s cultural background so that way we do not intrude on their lives.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Dyslexi A Common Disorder Within The Learning Disabilities

When it comes to disabilities there are many different types that can affect a person, for example learning disabilities. Learning disabilities affect the way a student learns new information or even process it. Dyslexia is a very common disorder within the learning disability. Dyslexia is a neurological disorder that affects the brain and other scenes in the brain. Although it’s not clear as why people have dyslexia a study was done in order to figure out if may be eye movements where the cause of the disorder. Due to lack of scientific evidence a proper treatment cannot be given to a person with dyslexia. Disabilities A Disability is consider a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, activities or even a person senses. A disability could occur throughout a person’s life or may be presented at birth. Some disabilities are hidden and make it hard to be seen. The disability may be a mild case to a moderate or even a severe profound case. A person may be able to be have multiple disabilities as well. There are different types of disabilities that range from physical to mental impairments that can decrease a person’s activities in a day to day bases. A disability can affect different areas such as Mobility and Physical Impairments, Spinal Cord Disability, Head Injuries involving the Brain, Vision, Hearing, Cognitive, and Psychological, and Invisible Disabilities. Students Students have difficulties either when it comes to homework or exams