Webster Thomas High School senior Kellynn K. is so outgoing and personable, it’s hard to believe that her father, Steve, and stepmother, Angie, considered placing her in a residential treatment facility just a few years ago.

Kellynn was diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) as a fifth grader. “The problems really started in middle school,” Angie says. “Kellynn didn’t mature as fast as the other kids and they wouldn’t socialize with her.” Kellynn began resorting to self-destructive behaviors, including cutting, to draw attention to her pain.

Outpatient therapy and partial hospitalization helped and, by the time Kellynn entered high school, “she was looking at herself as not that person anymore,” Angie says. Unfortunately, the other students didn’t recognize the changes in her. “They called her a cutter and a loser,” Angie says. Kellynn’s grades began to fall and stress levels in the family home began to rise. “There was constant yelling and screaming in the house and things breaking,” Steve says.

Then Kellynn became sick with what seemed like the flu. “She refused to eat or do anything to make herself better,” Angie says.  Kellynn was hospitalized several times and did well while she was in the hospital, only to relapse when she returned home. Not only was the situation stressful for the family, it was extremely disruptive to Steve’s and Angie’s work. Angie cut back from full to part-time employment and eventually stopped working outside the home.

After Kellynn’s fifth or sixth hospitalization, Steve and Angie had reached the end of their rope. ”She wasn’t going to school and nothing was working,” Angie says.” We were beating ourselves up and feeling like bad parents.” A team of doctors, psychiatrists, and social workers at the hospital recommended Hillside Children’s Center’s Family Crisis Support Services, which provides short-term, family-driven supports to help stabilize the home environment and improve family functioning. Steve and Angie were skeptical at first. “We looked at each other and said, ‘It’s not going to work. She’ll just end up in residential treatment, but if this is what we have to do to get that, okay,’” Angie says.

Hillside assigned Parent Advocate Anne Marie Switzer and Skill Builder Carrie Biehl to work with the family. According to Angie, “our first meeting with Carrie and Anne Marie gave us hope. We were very impressed when they sat down and simply listened to us. They came up with a plan and we agreed to try it.” Steve adds, “They helped us understand Kellynn and how to handle her.” Steve and Angie learned that the techniques they had used successfully with their other children weren’t the best way to handle Kellynn. “Our immediate reaction to Kellynn’s bad behavior was discipline,” Angie explains. “But Kellynn thrived on confrontation. When Anne Marie told us to walk away, it seemed wrong. It felt like we were teaching her she could get away with it. But we learned that walking away was preventing escalation.”

Anne Marie and Carrie also helped Kellynn understand her behaviors. “They explained in a way I could understand,” Kellynn says. “They didn’t talk to me like I was below them. They treated me like an adult.”

Thanks to Hillside Family Crisis Support Services, the family home became noticeably calmer. However, in the fall of 2009, Kellynn got sick again. She had trouble recovering and refused to start school. In October the family transitioned into Hillside Children’s Center’s Home and Community-Based Services Waiver Program (HCBS). HCBS is an intensive program that provides a variety of services, including coordination of community services.

HCBS Individualized Care Coordinator Angela Heaney started working with the family. She kept Webster Thomas High School involved at every step. Angie credits the school with helping Kellynn return to classes and succeed. “They were phenomenal at helping us,” she says. “It would have been so easy for them to give up on Kellynn, but they didn’t.” Together, they worked out a schedule for Kellynn to attend small classes half days and receive tutoring to help her keep up. As she got better, they added more subjects and helped Kellynn return to larger classes and a full-day schedule.

By the end of the 2009-2010 school year, Kellynn had attained High Honor Roll with Distinction. At the school’s annual Titan Scholar Awards ceremony in June, Kellynn received Titan Scholar Awards in both English and Business. She was also honored with the Junior Vice Principal’s Award in recognition of having turned her life around and shown persistence, diligence, Titan spirit, community leadership, and excellence in academics.

“Kellynn was able to take responsibility for her actions and her parents were willing to try new things,” Angela says. “They’ve worked together to work through the challenges.” As a result, family life has improved. Angela also helped the family connect with other community resources, including two local support programs in which Kellynn has become very active. “Hillside opened doors to other programs we would never have been aware of,” Steve says.

Kellynn is now a Webster Thomas senior and has just been accepted by Monroe Community College, after which she plans to transfer to a four-year school. She loves animals and wants to become an animal therapist. Kellynn, Steve, and Angie now enjoy sharing family activities such as tennis, watching Sunday football games, taking their dog for walks, and challenging each other in cribbage games.

 “I feel I’ve improved a lot with Hillside,” Kellynn says. “Without them, I probably wouldn’t be where I am now. I always wanted to change, but I wasn’t willing to do it. I’m in a better place now.”

“Kellynn pulled herself out of a very deep hole,” Angie says. “We realize she will always have mental health issues, but they’re treatable and manageable. Through Hillside, we’ve gotten the help – Kellynn,  us as parents, and as a family – so Kellynn will have a successful life.”

“For every problem you face,” Kellynn says, “there’s always an opportunity to learn from it and change what you do. It makes you a better person.”