A SMALL SAMPLING OF INPIRING STUDENT STORIES
(All of the names have been changed for confidentiality)
Randy: "Hands-on Hope"
Randy’s progress from a frustrated, shutdown, angry young man caught in a vicious cycle of bipolar episodes to a much more emotionally self-regulated, motivated young man is typical of many students at Monarch with mood disorders. He was truly in despair when he came to Monarch in middle school. It was quickly evident that Randy excelled at “hands-on” repair or team projects. He became the leader of the “physical plant” committee which is responsible for upkeep and minor repairs to the Challenger campus. Highlighting his strengths while bolstering the learning issues that caused him to shutdown academically were pivotal interventions in Randy’s recovery. Slow but steady progress enabled Randy to graduate from Monarch in 2006 as a leader on campus who learned to manage his emotions, set goals, and make a difference in the life of our community. Randy is currently enrolled at a local Community College, and the Monarch faculty has no doubt that Randy will continue to make a difference in the larger world as an adult, too.
Elizabeth: "Dramatic Growth"
Elizabeth was one of our first students when Monarch opened in 1998. Even as a third grader, she was a talented dancer and actress. But she also had with severe ADHD and organizational challenges. She was at risk for making poor decisions that would impact her life forever. Her single mother had suffered several brutal financial setbacks, including divorce, a home destroyed in the flood, and the reality that all three of her children had neurological problems. Originally, her mother’s plan was for Elizabeth to graduate from Monarch. However, she made significant gains both academically and with her organizational and emotional challenges, and has attended a local public high school for the past three years.
After her freshman year, her principal nominated and personally endorsed Elizabeth for "Who's Who Among American High School Students”. Her mother shared that “her teachers have been amazed at her perseverance, her dedication, and her desire, because they also see the mountains she climbs on a daily basis for each small achievement. She never gives up.” Her plans for the future include being an actress as well as a dance teacher.
Jack: "Forays into Friendship"
Jack is an exceptionally bright and talented student with Asperger’s Syndrome, a high functioning form of autism. His parents moved their entire family from Vancouver so Jack could attend The Monarch School . Jack longed for a friend, but his behaviors alienated him from peers. He lorded his intelligence over others, further distancing himself from children his age. He was disorganized and refused to do homework. While at Monarch, Jack established close friendships with many of his peers, challenged himself academically, and blossomed as a positive role model for the Monarch community.
This fall Jack transitioned into a regular public school setting at small local high school. His family truly believes that Jack’s life has been transformed, and they know this could not have happened without Monarch. Jack’s Mom recently contacted us with this report:
“We had Jack’s special education meeting today. Two separate members of the assessment team had to ask who he was when observing him in class as he 'blended' so well. It was a particularly fun thing to hear that Jack is highly organized and has his homework turned in!!! (Wow, now all of that Executive Function classwork at Monarch DOES make a difference!). I think of you all often and so appreciate the indelible mark you have left on our boy & our family.”
Tommy: "Early Intervention"
Tommy is just four, but he has already been asked to leave three preschool settings. His mother is a single mother who has been underemployed because she constantly had to leave work to respond to the school’s request to come and get her disruptive child. Di agnosed with autism last year, Tommy is very gifted but his talents are masked by his rigid behavior and delayed social skills. His inflexible thinking and inability to shift can lead him to be to be aggressive at times. He’s very sensitive to sounds and to touch. Tommy needed a highly structured, greatly individualized program. At Monarch, every student’s program is individually designed. For children with autism, interventions that increase joy in relationships are at the heart of the program. Without Monarch, Tommy’s future is bleak. With it, he has a chance. It will be hard work. It will take a lot of time. And it will be expensive. We think he’s too precious to give up on at age four! Tommy started at Monarch in April 2006, and in just four months, positive changes are already happening.
Scott: "From Malady to Melody"
Scott was admitted to Monarch at age 13 upon discharge from a psychiatric inpatient treatment program after a severe depression. His high school years at Monarch were punctuated with several depressions, each of which led to a more profound self-understanding of his illness and openness to help. For his graduation gift to the school, Scott, who had recently discovered he could play piano by ear, composed and played a five movement piano sonata, “A Tribute to Monarch” depicting his journey at the school. He began each movement with a brief description of the time it represented. The movements were titled Part I “The Defiant”, Part II “The Hospital Bed”, Part III. “Manias”, Part IV. “Overcoming the Challenges” and Part V. “Every-Penultimate Utopia”.
Today Scott is a successful college sophomore at a small private university. He wants to help others both as a psychologist and by sharing his gift of music.
Jason: "Stronger Every Day"
Jason came to Monarch when he was eight after being home schooled. Although he attended preschool and kindergarten, his language/learning disabilities made first grade so frustrating for him that his parents withdrew him from public school. They tried two private schools with the same results: good and well-meaning educators attempted to meet Jason’s needs, but Jason just became more anxious and disruptive. Jason’s mother worked very hard to meet his needs at home, but she and a local developmental pediatrician, who recently highly recommended Monarch for him, both knew that what he needed was a therapeutic day school that could attend not only to his language/learning needs but also to his emotional fragility.
Jason is beginning his second year at Monarch. His parents tell us the change is remarkable. Jason loves school, is learning to manage his anxiety, has made friends and is making good academic progress. He is well on the way to returning to a mainstream school.
Tony: "A Family with a Future"
At Tony’s graduation from Monarch, his parents wrote “It is hard to finish this chapter in our lives as it has been five great years for our family and especially for Tony. What accomplishments he has made and what a role model he has become! We all love you and the Monarch School so much and we can't thank you enough for everything you have done for Tony and all the opportunities he was given to grow and mature. What would we have done if we hadn't found you?”
Kevin: "Breaking the Silence"
Kevin’s anxiety disorder prevented him from speaking to anyone except his parents. The specific disorder used to mistakenly be called “elective mutism”, as if the child was deliberately choosing when to speak and when not to. In recent years, it has been renamed “selective mutism” and recognized as a social anxiety disorder, in which a person who is normally capable of speech is unable to speak in given situations. Frequently mistaken for severe shyness, the disorder is much more serious and requires early intervention.
Kevin spent three years at Monarch, during which time he progressed from speaking to no one, to writing notes to one teacher, then several teachers, then a fellow student, then his class. His writing evolved into a similar methodical sequence of speaking both at school and with his extended family. As a “grand finale” to his work here, Kevin was the Master of Ceremonies at a school-wide talent show last spring. This fall he is enrolled at a mainstream private school in the fourth grade.
Kate: "A Stroke of Genius" (name not changed)
When Kate Matthiesen, one of Monarch’s post graduate students, first began working with art teacher Debbie LeBlanc when she was 18, no one could have envisioned the impact it would have on Kate’s life. Born with a language learning disability that makes communication difficult, Kate longed to share joy with people, but without adequate language, it was hard. Ms. LeBlanc created an inviting art environment that encouraged Kate and several other students who also had language issues to have fun with art and with each other.
RELATIONSHIPS were at the core of the work, as they are with all of Monarch’s work. Ms. LeBlanc gently encouraged the students to explore and enjoy various art mediums. But when she first offered Kate an oversized piece of black paper and oil pastels, even she could not have predicted what would ensue. Kate resonated with the materials, and worked for several weeks on that one piece, adding layer after layer until one day announcing that the piece was finished. She turned down offers of other materials and asked for another oversize piece of black paper and oil pastels. Ms. LeBlanc carefully saved these abstract art treasures, for she had already recognized that Kate had an extraordinary gift for creating meaningful art. Through art, Kate was able to express herself meaningfully for the first time.
Soon Monarch’s staff, students, and parents were raving over Kate’s work and they weren’t alone. She was chosen in a juried art competition and awarded a one-woman show at the Jung Center of Houston in April 2006. Entitled “Fresh Air”, her show set a Jung Center opening night attendance record. Her award had nothing to do with her disability and in fact, the jury did not even know Kate had neurological differences.
Kate also was one of 300 artists selected from over 600 to participate in the Bayou City Art Festival in 2006.
One of the greatest attractions of Kate’s art is the personal expression which radiates through her work. People who are close to her realize that her artwork is a way for the rest of the world to see a part of Kate that they already know so well.
Kate is 23 now. She is a professional artist and entrepreneur. A part-time postgraduate at The Monarch School, she also works independently in her own art studio. She earned over $40,000 from sale of her work at her one-woman show at the Jung Center in spring 2006, and has continued creating and selling art since. She also volunteers at the SPCA.
Kate recently won the Arts Alliance at Clear Lake Art juried competition. Two of her paintings were selected for commendation and she won an award for a body of work as well.
She was one of the first two residents in our new Supportive Living program begun in the fall of 2007. Kate calls her resident on Colleen Street, a few blocks from our new campus, "home". This is amazing to her parents, who thought Kate always would live with them.
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