‘J’ began services with C-FSP with aggressive behaviors that had been escalating out of control for some time. In school, he was hitting peers almost daily as well as hitting, kicking and biting staff at least once a week. At home, he would become very upset when limits were set and would escalate quickly to using aggression to express his anger and frustration. J also had a history of auditory hallucinations (ex. hearing his name being called) at least once a week. All of these issues led to his suspension from school on multiple occasions and three psychiatric hospitalizations in a span of 6 months. J’s mother came into C-FSP extremely frustrated and overwhelmed at her son’s escalating behaviors.
J began participating in weekly individual therapy sessions where he built a strong therapeutic relationship with his therapist, who found that utilizing the community park and basketball courts were the most useful in engaging him and encouraging him to share openly. As this became a weekly ritual, J began to trust more easily and work toward goals of reducing aggression and learning new and heathier ways to communicate a range of feelings.
J made significant progress toward overall treatment goals through the use of Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS), and J and his family were able to achieve their home-based behavioral goals and successfully graduate from their TBS program during the course of C-FSP treatment. Once home-based goals were achieved, J, his family and the treatment team turned their attention to helping him improve his overall school functioning.
J’s mother was active in collaborating with C-FSP Staff to help identify an appropriate non-public school that would meet her son’s needs. It was during this phase that J’s progress began to take off. J’s mother, with the support of the team’s parent partner, decided to enroll him at a local non-public school where J was very responsive to behavioral programs and support staff. His symptoms and behaviors in school reduced dramatically, and he graduated from the C-FSP treatment program showing signs of being a model student.
In addition, J’s family made tremendous progress through accessing community resources and services. His mother collaborated with both the C-FSP Case Manager and J’s therapist to help him access appropriate after-school services for his social and recreational needs. For herself, she utilized the parent partner’s support to be linked to her own therapy services and was excited about meeting her own personal goal of obtaining employment after a lengthy period of not working due to the unmet needs of the family and Jake’s many symptoms and behaviors both at home and at school.
Once J found healthier ways to communicate and manage his symptoms and behaviors, it was clear that he is a smart, fun-loving, sociable, and athletic child who enjoys the company of peers. J and his family displayed a commitment to participating in treatment and report feeling incredibly proud of all their hard work and dedication to treatment throughout the past year.
