When Mathew first started the after school program with Easter Seals, he didn’t communicate and refused to interact with anyone.  He entered program and only greeted staff if prompted, but never peers.  Mathew saw other participants as if he were above them, and often times he displayed a negative and somewhat aggressive attitude towards others.  Mathew also struggled with taking direction positively. Many times if Mat didn’t agree with what he was being asked to do, he would lash out both verbally and physically.  

Staff worked with Mathew to help him learn, for example, that at Easter Seals everyone helps clean up, and everyone helps one another to get the job done.  As he began to see that everyone worked together, and was responsible for contributing, he was better able to begin working and interacting with others on various activities.  He has now come to the point that he can handle direction and change with little to no verbal or physical aggression. 

After several months, Mathew began to establish friendships with his peers, and soon he was interacting without any encouragement from staff.  Over time he began to greet and assist his peers, and again, his verbal and physical aggression continued to decrease.  By learning how to positively work through his frustrations, Mathew began to learn vital tools necessary to communicate with others rather than acting out physically and verbally towards both peers and staff.