Achievement Snapshot—Danbury
Greg's world was very different from ours. With his physical handicap, he had to adjust to his surroundings in ways that most of us could not comprehend. With his attempts to adjust came fears, irrational fears. He was afraid of birds and loud noises. He would not attend school assemblies or even enter another classroom for a special event. Field trips were out of the question. Any activity, even minor activity, different from the routine school day was difficult for Greg.

Greg came to Danbury School during his kindergarten year. His anxieties came with him. As he moved through the first grade, school staff thought that he would gain more confidence and conquer these fears. However, as Greg entered his second grade classroom located in the middle of the Sumner/Danbury campus, Greg exhibited major behavioral tantrums and often had to be removed from his class to an area where he could regain his composure.

So the Danbury team went to work and studied Greg. The teacher, instructional assistants, school psychologist, speech therapist, adaptive P.E. teacher, physical therapist, nurse, and principal along with Greg's parents analyzed the situation. At times it appeared that Greg displayed autistic-like tendencies, but there was one major difference. Unlike most autistic children, Greg was a social person. He continually sought social interaction—from his “high fives” with others around campus to his continual verbal greetings. Therefore, the team took Greg’s desire to interact with others and made it contingent on appropriate classroom and school behaviors. A few stickers and special prizes were also added as positive contingencies.

Greg began participating in classroom lessons because that’s where his teacher focused the social attention. Greg slowly moved into school assemblies and events in other classrooms. Beyond the social rewards, the excellent content of the classroom instruction and the school events also became powerful reinforcers. For the first time in his school career, he participated in field trips so that by the end of the year he was chasing the waves at Danbury’s annual Laguna Beach trip.

At the beginning of the 02-03 school year, without any major incidents, Greg moved to his third grade class and attended the Los Angeles County Fair on Claremont Day. Greg is now actively involved in the rich educational environment at Sumner/Danbury School.