Good-Touch/Bad-Touch is Celebrating 24 Years!

Lincoln Courier Website

Erin Frost / THE COURIER
District 27 guidance counselor Teresa Aeilts reviews the five
points of the "Good Touch, Bad Touch" program with Marla Williams’ fifth-grade class at Northwest Elementary School
Thursday morning. "Good Touch,Bad Touch" is designed to teach
children to identify abuse and respond in a way that will keep
them safe.

Touchy subject
Lincoln elementary students get lessons in recognizing,
preventing sexual abuse

BY ERIN FROST
THE COURIER
Published Saturday, October 27, 2007

Lincoln Dstrict 27 is forging its own path. Well before several Associated Press stories broke this week about the number of teachers in U.S. schools who have sexually abused students, Lincoln District 27's elementary schools had implemented a preventative program. It's called "Good Touch, Bad Touch," and it's proven to work.

"Where do you get your 'uh-oh' feeling?" guidance counselor Teresa Aeilts asked fifth-grade students Thursday at Northwest Elementary School. "Your stomach," one child responded. Aeilts said the student was right, and then the class continued to talk about the other ways students can identify if they're being abused. This is the first year for the program in District 27, and Aeilts said it's been going on throughout the month of October. She visits classes from kindergarten to fifth grade to teach the students how to react in any kind of situation. "I think that the curriculum is really easy for kids to understand," she said. Aeilts used a large flip-book of pictures to demonstrate some scenarios. The flip-book is just one teaching aid available from Childhelp, the company that runs the program. "Good Touch, Bad Touch" is a fairly expensive series, but a donation from the Lincoln Elk's Club put it within reach.
"We wouldn't have been able to implement it without (the Elks') financial support," said Lois Lee, the district's special education director. "When the Elks donated that program, I thought this was reallygood for us."
Lee also said the program has the potential to do some real good throughout the entire Lincoln community. While there have never been suspicions of teachers abusing students, that doesn't mean
all children have escaped such abuse. "It's a lot more about relatives, friends, babysitters," Lee said. "We had a case, several cases over the last couple of years. There's a lot of cases in our town that just don't get made public." Aeilts said she worked with a student one-on-one last year after such an incident. She had already received the "Good Touch, Bad Touch" materials, so they went through a workbook together "just learning, for next time, for him to say no," she said. Parents are doing their part to chip in with the program as well. Guardians have to sign a permission slip to allow their child to participate in the program, and only a
few have opted out. Those who have are mostly cases where the child has already been through some sort of similar counseling, and going through it with other students who haven't been victims of abuse could be stressful.
"We've had a tremendously positive response from the parents," Lee said. Aeilts agreed, adding that parents have also wanted to be very informed about the program. "I have answered a lot of questions from parents because it's new," she said. "They were asking what we were going to be saying, because it is so sensitive. "It's not like sex education. It's about keeping safe."
"What I do when I'm teaching is talk about how it's just another safety lesson. It's just like crossing the road - you look both ways. You have to know what to do, just in case." Aeilts also said parents can help by working with their children at home.
Parents should "ask their kids what the safety tips are so they are telling their parents, kind of teaching their parents," she said. "That way everybody knows what's taught." Aeilts said the students are good at remembering the simple, five-point system.
During Thursday's lesson, they paid rapt attention as she reviewed the flip-book and started a movie. Such a response indicates the program is working well. "We'll probably use it every year," Aeilts said. Those interested in learning more can visit the "Good Touch, Bad Touch" Web site at www.childhelp.org/gtbt. The site includes tips for kids, tips for parents and suggestions on everything from dealing with strangers to computer safety.