Access Services - Creating Better Ways To Serve People With Special Needs

Moving On By Staying Connected

One child in our Therapeutic Foster Care program recently had a very successful transition to high school. In previous years this foster child had several behavior issues. At school she would often run out of her classroom and run down the hall screaming. She had been placed in an emotional support classroom but her behavior had not changed over time. When our Therapeutic Foster Care team met, it was recommended that this child be enrolled in an autistic support classroom. She immediately bonded with her teacher and her behavior in school improved dramatically. She began to achieve her daily goals and started forming friendships with other children in her class. She had inside jokes with her teacher and even became a great classroom assistant. When the time came for her to attend high school, the support team negotiated a transition period, allowing her to attend her old school half the time and go to the high school half the time. She quickly adapted and now attends high school full time. She gets along very well with her new teachers and has remained pen-pals with her old teacher. She recently participated in a fashion show with her high school class, even helping to write the script for the show. Her former teacher and the entire class from her former school took a bus to the high school to see the fashion show which she had helped to create. With the right team and caring support, she has made an excellent transition to high school and continues to make progress.