Success Stories

So I'll read one page, and then you read the other one, okay? Okay, I'll go first since it's on my side. Well, Ryan is seven years old, just turned seven. He's amazing.

And he's smart. He loves math. He didn't get that from me. And he loves being silly. He did start kindergarten last school year. She's a lava monster! When he's around other children, he gets too excited.

He doesn't want to sit down. He doesn't want to listen. He wants to play. You know, he was just being a kid, but I think those things were becoming an issue on a daily basis. He needed to control his impulses. Like maybe instead of using like his words, if he wanted like a book or a ball, he'd just like push and grab it. He didn't know how to address when he was frustrated or angry.

So those were other red flags I saw. He really had a hard time maintaining a calm body and keeping his hands to himself. And so initially we referred him to our Boys Town School support specialist to help him with those social skills of just a calm body and interacting positively with peers. I work with students and teach them everyday skills such as staying on task, following instructions, and handling disagreements. When a teacher doesn't have to worry about having to focus on that behavior correction, they can focus on all of the other students that they have in their classroom and kind of leave that to us. They're interacting with children their age. I heard about Parent Cafe.

They had like a parenting class to better your parenting skills. And I heard about Boys Town and the resources. And when they told me that they offered in-home, I asked more questions about that and I wanted to sign up right away.

Hi, how are you? I had the privilege of working with Ashley and Ryan as their in-home family consultant. Mom was really great in just kind of asking for help. So she ended up being referred over to us. I was constantly repeating myself. I was constantly having headaches. I was frustrated a lot.

And I found myself screaming at my child instead of talking with my child. So I knew I needed to change because what I was doing wasn't working. They constantly butted heads when it came to that because she would want him to do something. He would refuse. It would become a fight. And it was just this cycle. So together we were able to put together a service plan.

We worked on staying calm strategies for herself just so when she does get into that moment, what to do to breathe. We also talked about that with Ryan and things he can do with breathing, going to take a break, things like that. That's you with your green hair.

Oh, I love it. And then on top of that, providing Ashley with some very step-by-step skills on how to teach him the proper social skills at home. I learned that it wasn't a lost cause to learn how to obtain patience. I just knew how to wake up and conquer the day and have my son do it with me in a way that we weren't fighting. He wasn't screaming, throwing tantrums. I wasn't pulling my hair out, you know. I learned a lot about myself in the process.

As of today, Ashley and Ryan are miles from where we started. You know, there's obedient through fear and there's obedient because I want to be a good boy for you because I like you and I appreciate you and I respect you. And I see that in Ryan. You know, the reports that she's getting from school, I can see her face light up. That was perfect. Now that they've gone through all the in-home family services and worked with school support specialists here at Edwards, Ryan is somebody that we barely ever have to see. We never get called in for.

Seeing Ryan just flourish in his behavior, his mannerisms. Now the way he takes accountability for some of those impulsive behaviors, he's just been even more joyful to have on campus as a result. Ashley has been a huge supporter. She gets to talk to all the other parents and tell them how great everything is and how much they should do the same thing and the impact that it's made on her family. Through Boys Town, they have improved my life and my parenting skills and my son's behavioral overall.

I love Boys Town.