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Andre
Submitted by Leigh Bonton, Disability/ Mental Health Manager, Early Childhood Services, Panama City, Florida |
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| I have had the pleasure of knowing Andre King since he was an infant. When his sister Andrea was in the Head Start program his mother would frequently bring Andre with her when she would take his sister to school. As an observer, I knew that something was needed for this little boy. |
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During Spring 2001, Andre’s mother enrolled him in Life Management Center
of Northwest Florida (LMC). While at LMC, he was diagnosed as having
“oppositional defiant disorder.” The staff referred Andre to the local
school system. Andre enrolled at Pana Villa Head Start in August 2001. Upon enrollment, Andre’s mother had concerns with his development, frequent temper tantrums, lack of being potty-trained, and poor language skills. We reassured his mother that Head Start would work to meet all of Andre’s needs. However, we did suggest that she keep her appointment for the evaluation with the Pre-K Team at the School System. Once in our program, Andre’s teachers began to experience many of the concerns noticed by his mother and staff at the LMC. Concerns noted by the teachers were Andre’s frequent temper tantrums and physical aggression towards the other children. Within one month, a third person was placed in the classroom to offer extra support to the teachers. The teachers showed Andre’s classmates how to model appropriate behavior. When Andre approached the other children aggressively, they learned to simply back away and gently remove Andre’s hands. At other times, when he became over-stimulated, the teachers would take him to the quiet area and let him lay down on his back while looking at a brightly colored hurricane bottle. This calming technique worked well with Andre. In November, we received a call from the Pre-K Evaluation team, stating that Andre qualified for placement at the Margaret K. Lewis School. We discussed with his mother the availability of services that could be offered from Head Start and the LEA. We also explained that it was the parent’s right to choose the program she and her family thought would best serve Andre’s needs. Eventually, Andre’s mother decided to make her appointment for eligibility and staffing at Margaret K. Lewis. The staffing was on November 18, 200l. Attendees at this meeting were his mother, the staff from Margaret K. Lewis, Andre’s Head Start teacher center coordinator, and me. When reviewing the evaluation, it was determined that Andre was functioning on the developmental level of 8-9 months in all areas except gross motor, for which he scored 18 months. Andre’s chronological age, however, was 42 months. When the time came to write the IEP, the Pre-K teacher had Andre’s Head Start teacher help write his goals and objectives. I saw Andre’s mother about a week ago. She stated that, “this had been a difficult decision to realize that your child needs extra help;” but she was now thankful that she had made the decision to receive the extra help that Andre needed. She also told me that Andre is now beginning to say two and three-word sentences, is slowly conquering the potty-training issue, and was named Student of the Month in his class for December 2001. Andre’s Head Start teacher continues to stay in contact with the family and with Andre’s new teacher. There has even been talk of possible having Andre’s new class come visit for a day at Pana Villa Head Start. When I think about the course that Andre’s life has taken over such a short time span, I realize that he is an extremely lucky little boy to have had so many people care about him and want what is best for him in order to succeed. This journey has also taught me the true meaning of collaboration. |
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