A cockatoo named Max makes monthly visits to an elementary school to help motivate students. The 11⁄2-year-old cockatoo belongs to an intervention specialist at the school. She uses Max's visits as a reward for her students, who must demonstrate calm behavior to interact with the bird. The students have learned self-control techniques from their interactions with Max. The cockatoo's visits have benefited the students by providing motivation and an opportunity to learn gentle interaction and care of animals.

1. LOCAL NEWS
Not old enough to drive ... but they
can derby
NEWS
Vehicle strikes woman outside fair,
killing her
LOCAL NEWS
Suspect arrested in Sheffield Twp.
assault, slashing
NEWS
Squawk
therapy:
Helping
students
with a
cockatoo
Chronicle-
Telegram Staff
Published on Sept.
22, 2008
ELYRIA — Move over
therapy dogs, there’s a
winged one in town.
Max, a 1½-year-old
medium sulfur crested
cockatoo, makes
monthly visits to Ely
Elementary School in
Elyria along with his
owner, Bre Crum, an
!
SHARE
"
TWEET
#
SHARE
$
EMAIL
%
menu
&
Delivering to Lorain County 7 days a weekMonday, August 29, 2016

2. CRITTER CHRONICLES
Critter Chronicles for Aug. 26, 2016
SPORTS
Browns appear to have set too high a
price for Gordon
SPORTS
High school football: Elyria Catholic
rolls over Brookside in opener
intervention specialist
for Elyria Schools.
Crum, 33, works with
19 sixth-grade students
who are learning
disabled, cognitively
delayed, medically
fragile or have ADHD.
She uses Max’s visits
as a reward for her
students, who earn
tickets to see their fine-
feathered friend.
“I thought it would be
neat to expose the kids
to a big bird. Some of
them will never get an
opportunity to interact
with a large bird on a
personal level,” Crum
said. “It works as an
incentive for them.”
Besides the motivating
reward system Crum
has in place, she said
there was an
unexpected, yet
positive, twist to Max’s
visits.
The students learned
self-control techniques,
something they can
take with them and use
throughout their lives.

3. LOCAL NEWS
Pig's selling time approaches
“You can’t have the
wiggles if you want to
see Max, as you cannot
approach a bird if you
are not calm and
collected,” Crum said.
“So I worked with them
on calming strategies.
To get close to him or
even to hold him, they
had to learn how to
relax. Soon the
students were bringing
themselves down,
which was awesome to
witness.”
The pet lover got the
idea from seeing a
golden retriever, also
named Max, reading
with children at the
Avon Lake Public
Library. Crum has six
dogs, but confesses
that none of them
would behave well
enough to come for a
school visit, let alone
become certified.
Crum also has two
other birds, four cats,
two rabbits, a hamster
and pond frogs.
Max’s school visits are
no dog and pony show.

4. Crum carries him
around with her (he’s
clipped, so he can’t fly
away), and lets the
children interact with
him throughout the
day. She uses his visits
to teach mini lessons
on animal care and
Australia, his natural
habitat.
After the lesson, Max
and Crum “conference”
with individual
students, and then Max
relaxes on the back of
a chair while the
students continue their
work. When Max is
done working, he likes
to nap. He puffs up his
feathers, pulls up his
right foot and falls
asleep.
But no matter how
tired he may be, he’s
always wide awake
when students read to
him. One of Crum’s
students particularly
enjoys reading to Max,
as he’s determined to
teach the bird to read.
But it’s the boy who is
benefiting, as he’s
reading more, and Max

5. doesn’t care if he
makes a mistake, Crum
said.
Ely Elementary School
Principal Jack Dibee
has embraced the idea
of Max.
“I have been amazed at
how the students have
responded,” Dibee said
via e-mail. “Mrs. Crum
really likes to use as
many creative ways as
she can to motivate
students and help them
learn. This has been a
great opportunity for
the kids. It’s great to
see Mrs. Crum’s
enthusiasm to try
different ways to help
them learn.”
While Max has no
official certification as a
therapy bird, he hasn’t
ruffled any feathers at
Ely Elementary. He did
scare a teacher once
when he was hanging
out on a copy machine,
and — of course —
there’s the occasional
“accident,” but the kids
think that is “really
cool,” according to

6. Crum.
Max may be the
teacher’s pet at school,
but he does have a
mischievous side at
home. He plays in his
water, hisses at the
dogs, picks at their
toenails and even
teases them by saying,
“C’mon go potty.” Most
cockatoos aren’t
completely vocal until
age 5, when they
should be up to saying
about 500 words.
Crum, an Eaton
Township resident who
herself has ADHD,
became interested in
working with special
needs children while
doing a service project
while a student at
Elyria Catholic High
School. She went on to
receive her bachelor’s
in education from
Bowling Green State
University and licensure
from Cleveland State
University, and she is
currently pursuing a
master’s at Ashland
University.

7. “I know having
something like a Max
would have helped me
when I was in school,”
Crum said. “My hope
was to be able to reach
some of the children
through a different
way.”
At home, Crum notices
that being around all
her pets is very
therapeutic. If her
daughter, who also has
ADHD, is worked up,
Crum gives her some
quiet time with one of
the cats, and the
stroking “brings her
right back down.”
Crum estimates that
Max will live to be
about 80, so she sees a
future in bird therapy
when she retires. Until
then?
“Max will continue to be
an incentive on (the
students’) crusade to
learning,” she said.
Contact Karen Uthe
Semancik at 329-7155
or
chamcomm@aol.com.

8. SUBSCRIBE CONTACT US TERMS OF
USE PRIVACY POLICY
COPYRIGHT © LORAIN COUNTY PRINTING
AND PUBLISHING CO.
∠TO TOP
CLICK TO
COMMENT