Olivia Finds Her Own Voice

Olivia (right) talks with Ms. Allison (left).

Since the pandemic, Olivia has had significant difficulty talking at school. She does not speak to adults and her verbal communication with her friends at school is limited. When she started at Community Middle School, she would wear her hair over her eyes and her hoodie up to discourage interaction as much as possible.

Olivia was originally referred to the school’s CISTN program manager last year, and Ms. Allison immediately focused on making the student feel safe and cared for regardless of talking. Ms. Allison gave Olivia a whiteboard to write on, but Olivia would only write down short answers like “yes” and “no.”

This year, Ms. Allison decided to try a new approach, and she created check-in sheets that more easily allow Olivia to express herself. The sheet is categorized into multiple areas of her life–self, home, school, peers, and feelings–with a range of options to select from, such as “great” or “just ok”. The sheet also allows Olivia to choose the mood she is in and write in any extra comments she may have about how she is feeling.

Instead of going back to the whiteboard, Ms. Allison also switched to a composition notebook that they could pass back and forth. Olivia has progressed from short answers to writing full paragraphs and opening up about lots of things going on in her life. She also brings in assignments that she has gotten great grades on to show them off to Ms. Allison. She even gives Ms. Allison hugs sometimes!

“She has improved so much, and I could not be more proud of her strength and growth,” Ms. Allison said. “She still has low days here and there, but she has been doing a great job being honest and letting the counselor and I know when she is struggling. While she has not yet spoken to me out loud, she has communicated with me that she wants to soon. I can’t wait for that day!”