Max’s Story
Max was referred to A Child’s Haven (ACH) to address his Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Parent-Child Relational issues. During the intake appointment, Max’s mother explained that “he gets into his own zone” meaning that when an adult would speak to him, he responded by acting like a baby, grunting and pointing. His mother also explained that Max has behavioral issues, for example, he would wake up in the night and fix himself a drink but his mother would wake in the morning to find a sticky mess everywhere. Max’s mother went on to explain that “He falls asleep a lot of the time in school.” Max also showed anxiety issues with picking his fingers until they bled and banging his head against the wall when he was angry.
Once Max started attending ACH, our staff worked very closely with him and his mother to help him reach his goals. The Clinical Treatment Provider at ACH created a plan for Max to learn and improve his emotional and behavioral self-regulation skills, emotion-recognition skills, and social communication skills, along with decreasing his aggressive and self-harm behaviors and tantrums. Max’s mother also completed Parent Education courses and learned positive parenting skills to help Max become successful.
During his treatment at ACH, Max showed great progress in meeting his goals and objectives. He followed instructions and was more compliant at home. He increased his social interaction with the people around him. Max developed a healthier coping mechanism for his anxiety and quit biting his fingers.
Despite all of this success with his other behaviors, Max’s sleeping habits continued to present a challenge. Our Clinical Treatment Providers recognized that he was sleeping too much in ACH’s Group Therapy rooms and not enough at home. Our Child and Family Therapist worked with Max’s mother to create a sleep routine that assured Max was sleeping enough at home. This meant setting boundaries and making sure Max did not watch television or engage in other activities after bedtime.
After nine months of attending A Child’s Haven, Max achieved his treatment goals. He was equipped with many skills that would help in school and in his home life. Max demonstrated strong problem-solving skills and is now familiar with healthy coping strategies to use when he feels anxious. The ACH treatment team supported Max’s mother every step of the way when he was ready to transfer to Kindergarten. Today, Max is eight years old and doing well in school. His mother shared that Max still struggles with anxiety, but because he developed healthy coping skills, even the “bad” days really aren’t that bad. You can invest in our program and help children like Max!
*For the privacy of our families, names and some details have been changed.
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