When Rick came to Children’s House, he was three years old. He had a working vocabulary of just five words. Most children his age know an average of 300 to 500 words. Rick also faced other serious challenges. He had no developed social skills and reacted in either anger or fear around adults, even his foster parents. The team of therapists and staff at Children’s House immediately began working with Rick to build up his vocabulary and self-esteem and adjust to an environment based on structure, positive reinforcement and compassion.

The process was slow at first, but the comprehensive long-term approach used at Children’s House won over Rick’s trust by showing him that the teachers and therapists working with him every day truly cared about him. He continued to make outstanding progress with his developmental goals, but even more importantly, he overcame his fear of adults and formed strong bonds and friendships with his teachers.

The caring, nurturing environment of Children’s House melted and washed away the layers of anger and fear Rick built around himself and helped him to build up his self-esteem and self-confidence. Rick stayed with Children’s House until he entered kindergarten. When he entered public school, he had no trouble integrating into his new class, possessed the vocabulary of a 5 year old and was already starting to read. But most important of all, he knew he was an special, little boy and that his foster parents and the staff of Children’s House truly cared about his happiness.