Simon: A Scholarship Success Story
By: Anne Howard, Ph.D.
As a clinician and scholarship manager at RNBC, I have the honor of seeing firsthand how our program impacts the lives of the children we serve. Earlier this month, I was a proud attendant of a middle school graduation for one of our scholarship recipients, Simon. I couldn’t help but think about the incredible progress he’s made as he walked through the procession wearing a cap and gown and a big smile. Simon’s pride and personal satisfaction was outmatched only by his mother who seemed overwhelmed with joy. It’s hard to believe that nearly two years ago, Simon sat across from me at the work table during a neuropsychological evaluation. He looked mentally fatigued and sad. The worn look of despair in his face suggested he often felt this way – helpless and discouraged. He laid his head on the table and simply said, “My brain hurts.”
At 12-years-old, one would expect a child to be able to tolerate the kinds of tasks involved in a neuropsychological evaluation. But Simon was no typical 12-year-old. It became clear both in my observations of Simon and in his intellectual profile that I was dealing with a very unique child. His skills ranged from impaired to gifted and it seemed he saw the world from a very different perspective. If ever there was a child who benefited from a comprehensive evaluation and a team of dedicated professionals, it was Simon. With highly advanced visual reasoning skills, Simon was truly exceptional in his creativity and artistry. His brain seemed to move at warp speed, but what came out verbally was often jumbled and confusing. He also experienced profound difficulties with written expression and executive functioning. He saw the world in pictures, but was trying to function in an environment with heavy language-based demands. Simon’s extreme academic difficulties only made his anxiety worse. He also suffered from depression and social isolation. At his lowest point, Simon expressed suicidal thoughts. He tried a number of medications that didn’t work and he felt hopeless that he would ever find friends that would accept him.
The results of the evaluation were revealing – to his parents, his teachers, and Simon himself. We had a better understanding of his strengths and weaknesses and a clearer path to getting the help he needed. For Simon, the experience seemed validating and reassuring. Feelings of failure and inferiority were soon replaced with courage and empowerment. We worked with the school staff to help them understand Simon’s needs and unique set of skills to maximize academic and interpersonal success. We worked to get Simon the social-emotional support he needed through individual and family therapy. Perhaps the most impactful intervention was having Simon participate in our Friendship Group at RNBC where he met with other boys who shared similar strengths and areas of difficulty. He built lasting friendships and found a source of peer support and encouragement that he’d previously never had. His mother shared, “Week by week I saw changes in his self-concept. He went from thinking he was so different from everyone that he couldn’t be friends with anyone, to thinking he was an ok guy and other kids wanted to be friends with him. It gave him a lot of self-confidence that translated to other social settings.” After two years of hard work with a team of supportive family, friends and professionals, Simon’s depression and anxiety are remitting. Now, as he looks forward to high school, his success is noticeable to all who encounter him. His vibrant personality and sense of humor are the first qualities you notice. His boisterous laugh is infectious. Today, Simon has several friends and typical pre-teen interests. The scholarship program at RNBC is proud to have played a role in building on Simon’s strengths and helping him achieve his potential. I look forward to attending his high school graduation in four years.