It's Where I Am with Zandra Polard

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Zandra Polard 0:53
Good morning Las Vegas Zondra polearm. With it's where I am. Today, my guest is Dr. G, from positively kids. So Dr. G works with children and positively kids from ages three to so

Unknown Speaker 1:10
my birth to five specialist Sondra. So I predominantly have a caseload of children under the age of five, where I'm supporting them providing emotional regulation, play therapy, providing young people opportunities to learn how to manage those uncomfortable feelings that we all experience from time to time, when we're feeling overwhelmed or frustrated when we're mad. And and really helping young people learn from a very young age, how to better manage themselves so that they can be more successful in their home environment, their school environment. And as well as working with the children. It's a privilege that I also get to support the parents, the caregivers.

Zandra Polard 1:58
Because they're learning a lot of this from the parents. So the parents are not regulating the behavior. Right? Or don't know how to Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 2:06
absolutely. So I you know, I want to always just acknowledge my parents and, and, you know, you and I always have a good time on your show. So thank you for inviting me back.

Unknown Speaker 2:17
Thanks for coming.

Unknown Speaker 2:18
I really believe you know, I meet parents where they're at, and, and really want to uplift them and identify and celebrate their strengths. So that they just feel empowered as a caregiver as a parent. And they feel equipped, hopefully and more confident to meet the needs of their children.

Zandra Polard 2:37
Well, you know, so this is the thing, I'm a grandmother, now that I grandbaby is three years old, and our mother had a tantrum in the store. Right when she was about her age, actually, when she was about two, she had a tantrum in the store. And I totally ignored her and pretended like I was leaving her there. But I had a watchful eye. She didn't know I was watching her. But she had thought that I was leaving her. She never throw another tantrum again. So I tried to explain to my daughter, now that she's a mother, he kind of got to do that. So she will stop because it's about the attention. So I mentioned that because the child is just being a child, yes. But the child has to learn how to you know what I mean? That's right, how to act from the parent. Yes. And then also, you know, children also have their own temperament. So that was the story about my daughter. Now I have a son, my oldest son, who is actually in studio today, hey, Donovan. Now he had his own, like, his temperament was like, I'm not doing anything you say, I'm going to do what I want to do. And so that was different. It was more difficult to kind of shape and mold that behavior. Yes, because he was very headstrong as a child.

Unknown Speaker 4:12
Well, that intervention Zatar that you did with your daughter is impeccable. You know, I process different ways that parents can better encourage influence and positive ways shaping their children's behaviors, hopefully leading to a more desired outcome where there's less stress in the family system. There's less stress in the home, and the parents can go to work or go about their day, feeling a little bit more reassured. I think that they might not receive a phone call from their children's school or daycare or what have you. Being a parent myself and raising two boys that I adopted from the foster care system. They each came with their own unique individual Eyes

Zandra Polard 5:00
needs why now old are these kids? Now? I know you have an adult son. Correct. I

Unknown Speaker 5:04
have two adult sons, and they are now 26 and 22.

Zandra Polard 5:08
Wow, you look amazing.

Unknown Speaker 5:10
Thank you so much. It's all natural.

Zandra Polard 5:15
And what about the two younger ones that you've just recently? Welcome to your home? Yes.

Unknown Speaker 5:19
So we're in the process of welcoming a sibling group into our home. And so this is something that we've been working towards, because we wanted to grow our family. And that emptiness syndrome Zondra hit me, hit me hard. And, you know, it's something that we talk about with caregivers and parents to help prepare them, and anticipation that this is a real thing. And boy did it hit me hard. You know, the first year that my boys, both of them when they were both out of the house, that was so challenging for me, because so much of my identity was being a full time dad was being a full time parent. And then I had to re identify who I was as a man as, as a person and find new activities, adult activities that I was interested in doing. And, and that was, that was a lot. That was a very, very challenging, and it certainly took me to go through my own process to be able to come out of it, where I feel like okay, you know, like, I'm me, I'm David again. So

Zandra Polard 6:24
that's cool. You brought in brother and sister, you kept the family together somewhat. Yes. So how old are they?

Unknown Speaker 6:33
So under the age of six, so So yeah, yeah. So it's almost like we're starting over again. Yeah. But you know, being a parent, for me, is the most rewarding role that I have ever taken on. And, you know, I've been very blessed in terms of my career and what I've been able to accomplish, but my greatest accomplishment by far is me becoming a parent. That's just a role that I celebrate that I love. And it's, as we say, you know, in marriage, for better or for worse, when we become a parent, you know, we take the bad with the high moments. Okay.

Zandra Polard 7:09
Okay. And so and you definitely know what you're doing. Since you do work with children. Yes, from three to five. And so we were talking about temperament. And we were talking about parents being involved to help shape and mold the child. So it is very important for the parent to understand that they do have a responsibility to be a part of the therapy process.

Unknown Speaker 7:36
Yeah, absolutely. So so we don't treat children in isolation. So we have to include the caregivers include the parents, include the siblings, and include sometimes the grandparents, and so that we can get all the primary caregivers on the same page, so that we're delivering the same message to the child and each of their respective environments.

Zandra Polard 8:02
And I'm sure that this helps to prepare the child for school, absolutely three to five. Absolutely. So prepare your child before they go to school.

Unknown Speaker 8:12
So we're teaching school readiness behavior, there you go, to set them up for success, and also also to set the family up for greater success. Where again, I think, as parents, how many times have you felt when your children went off to school, you had that underlining anxiety, just just, I don't believe that. Just just because we were worried. I mean, we want our kids to have a good day, we want them to be accepted. We want them to build friendships, we want them to look forward to going to school. And unfortunately, you know, I've worked with so many young people and with so many families, where I hear that children, depending upon their school environment can be very challenging. And there's lots of different obstacles that impact the child's desire to want to attend school. And school is a part of our natural development as far as being a young person and getting older and going through the different grades.

Zandra Polard 9:11
And so like the social part of it is a huge piece like playing with other children. Yes, right. Yes,

Unknown Speaker 9:17
absolutely. So

Zandra Polard 9:17
do you find or do you think that some of that is because kids are not going to the playground like they used to at that age? Or?

Unknown Speaker 9:27
Yeah, I do. I do. So as parents, you know, we have to take some responsibility to identify positive activities in which we can expose our children to where they will have opportunities to socialize, and then that we're teaching them a new skill. So So proxemics and terms of, you know, what's considered socially appropriate and how close do I get to my friend or my peer? Oh, my coworker. When when we're playing a game, and I'm really excited and I'm competitive. How do we do demonstrate to our young people good sportsmanship. How do we teach people patience? And when we're losing, and we get frustrated, and we're upset and we're becoming angry, then you know what? How can we teach individuals to manage those challenging feelings in a positive way. Because, you know, anger is, is a is a natural emotion that all of us experience disappointment is an emotion, a feeling that we all experience. And they can be very devastating for some people, if, if they don't have the tools, and I'm not equipped to manage those feelings. So

Zandra Polard 10:38
what do you mean tools do you mean, like recognizing and knowing what those emotions are?

Unknown Speaker 10:44
So I love feelings, identification works, especially working with young children, and sometimes even with adults, because I have found that, you know, for for the male gender living in the United States, it's, it's not too uncommon, when you speak with families, that boys men, were not so much socialized, to discuss our feelings, right, and to, to engage with our partners and say, you know, wife, I had a tough day today. And this is the reason why and really be able to communicate in an adult manner that leads to fostering healthy relationships. So, so much of this the building block work that we do, as far as emotional regulation, feelings, identification, we are teaching young people how to foster healthy relationships, right.

Zandra Polard 11:37
Because if you're at home, going off cursing out your man, and your child is looking at it, then they're probably not going to be great communicators.

Unknown Speaker 11:46
Right. And, you know, I always say, Zondra, that people are just people. And so how I approach my role as a therapist is that I just recognize that all of us are working on something, we're all on our own individual journey. And that, you know, I'm just a vessel and my team is is a vessel to help families identify ways that we can hopefully increase the quality of their living, hopefully decrease stress and increase overall happiness in the home.

Zandra Polard 12:16
Okay, and I just wanted to add that, you know, therapy is such a positive thing. I mean, if you can get therapy, which you've told me that you do take Medicaid,

Unknown Speaker 12:26
I do. Um, I've been a proud Medicaid provider since 2000. All right.

Zandra Polard 12:29
Because, you know, a lot of times people will call me and ask about services. And it's like, I'll reach out to someone and they're like, I'm booked. You know, they have no space. They have to wait months out. So positively kids is available. Yes. I'm sure you guys do an intake process. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 12:49
So for families that are potentially considering initiating therapy, therapeutic services, all they have to do is call our main telephone number, which is? Okay, that's a good question. Zondra. I should have brought my business cards. Yeah. So get you that number. Yeah, so we have immediate openings, where we can accommodate, you know, new referrals. And I approach my role, and it really helping connect families to the appropriate resource to the appropriate provider. So for instance, if I was to receive referral, where I felt like maybe I was not the best fit provider for this family, to really meet the needs of that children and family, I'm going to help them identify a provider that is credentialed under their or through their insurance, and I'm going to link them to a provider in the community, I really come from a place of I don't want to say no to families that have reached out to ask for help. And maybe they've had a work through that stigma that is still associated with accessing mental health services. Yet, they had the courage and they found the courage to call me in to talk to me, and to kind of share and open their heart to me a little bit. You know, I'm going to help them out one way or another, and whether it's me or a member of my team that's providing clinical services or I'm going to make sure that I connect them to the most appropriate resource in our community within our system of care. That

Zandra Polard 14:22
is awesome and beautiful to hear. Now, tell us a little bit more about positivity kits. How long has it been around? And what are all of the services included there? Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 14:32
so positively kids has been around Xander for 23 years.

Unknown Speaker 14:37
Oh my God.

Unknown Speaker 14:38
It is a nonprofit 403 B that was started by Fred Schultz, who's my CEO and he's still the CEO today of the foundation for positively kids. Okay. And, and initially, his goal was to create medical services to have a medical clinic that That could really meet the needs of medically fragile children, and being able to help families triage and assess what the child needs in order to develop a appropriately at age level, to get their medical needs met, and and really linking them and wrapping them to the most appropriate, least restrictive level of care services in the community. So today, one service, I'm really excited about that, in partnership with Sunrise Children's Foundation, another nonprofit foundation here in the Las Vegas community, we will be rolling out next week, our social skills group for children ages three to six. So this group is intended, again to help children learn how to emotionally regulate how to problem solve, how to determine how to how to manage conflict resolution, how to manage their disappointment and and really learn how to be successful when they're getting ready to transition to kindergarten or to first grade or to second grade. So we're really, really trying to teach these young people school readiness behaviors, so that when these children do admit into some of these public school environments, or public daycare environments, that there's not that fear of them being kicked out, which I've seen in so many cases throughout my 23 years of working in behavioral health.

Zandra Polard 16:39
Well, you know, the number one issue in schools that the teachers have to deal with is the behavior of the students. Right, so let's catch it early. Absolutely. So, at positively kids started out a child can go and get a physical so there's pediatricians there.

Unknown Speaker 16:56
Yeah. So we have child, medical doctors, we have child, advanced nurse practitioners, we have occupational therapists, speech therapists, physical therapists that love everything we do. We do. And we're recruiting for those positions as well. And so, you know, we really want to wrap families intensively that is beautiful, just with the correct level of services. And where have you been? Well, positively? Kids have been here for 23 years.

Unknown Speaker 17:28
But But why weren't you talking about it?

Unknown Speaker 17:31
earlier? I'm excited. Wonderful. Yeah, yeah. So we really are a resource for the community. We are family centered, family friendly families, children come first. You know, we really are a provider that we don't say, No, we're gonna figure out how we can provide medical and clinical services to families without turning them away.

Zandra Polard 17:53
Because you know, you have to have the referral from the pediatrician first, before you're getting the mental health services. Is that correct? Unless you're just getting therapy?

Unknown Speaker 18:01
So yes, so if so, a pediatrician, or an advanced nurse practitioner can make a referral if they heard their assessment process and determined that a child potentially could benefit from therapy as well as the family. However, to access behavioral health services that positively kids, all a parent has to do is pick up that phone, call us. And we will schedule them for an assessment. We will, you know, run their their Medicaid, insurance verification, and we'll get them going well, we'll connect them to a provider.

Zandra Polard 18:40
So say they don't have Medicaid yet. They can set it up in your office, right?

Unknown Speaker 18:44
Yeah. So if and so we provide medical and clinical services to uninsured kids and families. Okay. And we will work with them and in regards to hopefully connecting them and getting them Medicaid eligible, so that they will have insurance coverage.

Zandra Polard 19:04
Did you hear that? Las Vegas? How about a website? Do you have a website for us?

Unknown Speaker 19:08
Yeah, so it's www dot positively kids.org. And hopefully, you'll see my face on the website now as their new vice president of behavioral health services. I'm just delighted to be back overseeing clinical services within the Las Vegas system of care as well as also being a provider. I am a birth to five specialists, however, you know, wait a minute, oh, what? A birth to five specialists. What is that? So postdoc Zondra I attended the Harris infant mental health institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Okay. There are only 17 Harris institutes throughout the world. And I walked away with a two year clinical certification and infant and family clinical practice. Wow. So what that means is is that I have a Much higher level training as a birth to five specialists to treat this age

Zandra Polard 20:03
group. To me, it just means you're an expert. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 20:07
thank you. Well, I just say, you know, I'm old. And families have been very kind to me allowing me to be part of so many journeys where I can, I can speak to just the positive outcomes that as a team, I don't take credit for the movement that we make, or the successes that the family is able to, to create is the family doing the work, you got it, you got it, and I'm just a small piece of their journey. And, you know, I'm a passenger on a bus, and they've taken me for a ride for however long they welcomed me to be part of that team. And together, you know, we just talk about things, we identify opportunities for the family, and then we brainstorm ways that maybe, you know, how are we going to create positive change? You

Zandra Polard 20:52
know, a lot of times I think parents, and this is anecdotal, of course, I think that they feel like they don't need services unless the child they're noticing, like autism, because that's a huge issue right now. I'm here to say that there are other reasons to see a therapist. But in terms of the autism piece, which is so very important, I know you have some information about something that's coming up.

Unknown Speaker 21:22
Yes. So I'm very, very excited to share with your audience members, that positively kids is hosting an autism acceptance day, in the month of April and April is, is nationally recognized as autism acceptance month. So on October our scrutiny on April 16 2023, from 12:30pm to 2:30pm, we are hosting a resource fair, in essence, we're going to have so many vendors that provide applicable services to support children that may fall within the spectrum of autism spectrum disorder, we're going to have fun activities there for the kids and the families. And it's really just going to be I hope, an uplifting opportunity to inspire hope, within our community, within our families. And, you know, I really, I'm such a family and parent advocate. And and so I'm so excited that my employer that my that positively kids is able to do this and do it in a in a pretty large way to just support people in the community. And that's really heartwarming. And

Zandra Polard 22:39
you know what I want when I first met you, we did a show with Dr. Michelle Giddings. And I just want to say shout out to Dr. Michelle Kenny. And also you should let her know about this information. Maybe she will, she would like to be involved. Yeah. So positively kids, we're gonna get you that phone number, which is okay, we're gonna pause here and get the phone number. I

Unknown Speaker 23:03
don't know to wait. I'll go with pausing. Okay.

Zandra Polard 23:09
Yeah, that's good. So we're gonna give you the phone number to positively kids. We have it now, which is 702-262-0037.

Unknown Speaker 23:15
And one more time 702-262-0037.

Zandra Polard 23:25
Okay, so you can connect with positively kids for medical services, mental health services. And you can also call them to find out about the Autism Awareness Day. Yes, yes. Okay. So thank you, again, for sharing all of this information. Is there anything else you want our listeners to know? Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 23:47
So we provide sports physicals. So if you have a child that is involved in any type of sport, for only $40, we do the entire physical, clearing your child to participate in their school sport, and if for

Zandra Polard 24:05
what age is only from three to five or up

Unknown Speaker 24:08
to age 80. And just to offer clarification. So I do and my other team members provide clinical services for behavioral health all the way up to age 18. Okay, as well at positively kids, so

Zandra Polard 24:22
don't think it's just from three to five. That's who Dr. G deals with. Yes. Aside from his responsibilities as the Vice President, but they do care for children and adolescents from ages three to 18.

Unknown Speaker 24:38
Yeah, and actually, I can say, from birth to age 18 Oh, okay. Yes, me,

Zandra Polard 24:43
excuse me. So why would but they're starting with the behavioral health at age three, right. So like, how do you deal with behavioral health under three?

Unknown Speaker 24:53
Yes. So so, you know, this is really a very specific area of of care. Clinical specialization, which you're an expert of, and I'm and So way back when in 2008 Zonda, when I first completed my doctorate program right out of the doctoral program, I was very fortunate to be offered my first director level position. And at that time, I saw such a huge influx of young children under the age of five entering care. And so I was overseeing about 45 to 50, high needs case managers, which would facilitate the child and family team model. And so I recognize then, that I needed more training and education on how to appropriately supervised mentor, coach and treat birth to five aged children. And that's how I got connected to the Harris infant mental health institute in Phoenix, Arizona, and I was there on a two year scholarship. And so, you know, we're really assessing developmentally, where this young person is at from an emotional, mental, and physical perspective.

Zandra Polard 26:01
Right. And I forgot you also mentioned the speech pathology, yeah, yeah. So I

Unknown Speaker 26:05
have little ones that I gotta, you know, use my listening ears and really pay attention because some of my little guys have speech impairment have speech impediments. And so it's linking them to a speech therapist, just helping them learning how to enunciate, and how to pronounce words correctly, and maybe to speak a little bit slower, so that their caregivers can understand them and then have higher probability at meeting the child's

Zandra Polard 26:33
needs. And right, because, you know, sometimes it's the way the mouth is shaped that affects the speech, or it could be the hearing. So let those experts let you know what your child needs, not me. So I want to thank you can't Dr. G for being here. Wonderful, wonderful guest he will be back to talk about some other things in the near future. So listen out. And I hope to see you here next Saturday, not you Dr. J. My listeners tune in 730 Saturdays. Also, you can find me on all your podcast platforms, especially the good ones like Apple, Google, Spotify, and Amazon. And I will be here next week, Saturday 730 CNN. Thank you for tuning in. It's where I am. Bye

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