A Summer Story
Each summer we see children from all walks of life. This summer we had a little boy, I will call him [Jay], who was born to a single mom with lots of physical problems. The child had no social skills and severe learning problems. We enrolled the little boy without completely knowing about his background. After we discovered his many social skill needs, we decided to give our best effort at giving him some basic social skills.
Around the second week, we just thought we couldn’t help this child. Then one day, after he had thrown one of his tantrums, we decided to make him hall monitor which required him to stop any child he saw out of a room and ask that child his or her name, where he or she was going, and to confirm that the teacher knew where he or she was. Now remember, [Jay] was not know to talk to anyone very much but when he saw someone out of their room he would ask these questions and write information down in his way (using his own made up handwriting).
At the end of the first day he brought the scribbled papers to me and I asked him to report to me who had been out of their rooms and what they had been doing. To my great surprise and shock he began to talk! I was floored by the precise and fluid conversation. So I gave his the same job the next day. I don’t think I have ever seen a bigger smile on any child’s face than the one [Jay] flashed that afternoon. The next day he began his duties as hall monitor, until it was time for a skating field trip which he wanted to go on very much, by resuming the questioning of all children out of their rooms and [writing] a long report.
At the end of summer camp we go out in the woods for a week of camp at Indian Creek Camp and Jay was the first child to register and I told him he could lead the rest of the children onto the bus. He was the happiest camper at the Edna Martin Christian that Sunday when we boarded the bus for camp.
Evelyn Stewart
Family Ministries
Around the second week, we just thought we couldn’t help this child. Then one day, after he had thrown one of his tantrums, we decided to make him hall monitor which required him to stop any child he saw out of a room and ask that child his or her name, where he or she was going, and to confirm that the teacher knew where he or she was. Now remember, [Jay] was not know to talk to anyone very much but when he saw someone out of their room he would ask these questions and write information down in his way (using his own made up handwriting).
At the end of the first day he brought the scribbled papers to me and I asked him to report to me who had been out of their rooms and what they had been doing. To my great surprise and shock he began to talk! I was floored by the precise and fluid conversation. So I gave his the same job the next day. I don’t think I have ever seen a bigger smile on any child’s face than the one [Jay] flashed that afternoon. The next day he began his duties as hall monitor, until it was time for a skating field trip which he wanted to go on very much, by resuming the questioning of all children out of their rooms and [writing] a long report.
At the end of summer camp we go out in the woods for a week of camp at Indian Creek Camp and Jay was the first child to register and I told him he could lead the rest of the children onto the bus. He was the happiest camper at the Edna Martin Christian that Sunday when we boarded the bus for camp.
Evelyn Stewart
Family Ministries
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