Success Stories
”Gordon,” a 13-year-old deaf male, was referred to the Deaf Services Program by a therapist from another local mental health facility. Gordon had been in residential treatment and the therapist was seeking outpatient services to provide support for his move home. In addition to continuing to improve his behaviors, the goal was to integrate him into the Deaf community. Gordon had been referred to residential treatment due to his volatile and unpredictable mood swings, explosive outbursts, verbal and physical aggression, property damage, expressive/receptive language delays, and significant academic delays. At that time, he was at risk of being expelled from school due to his behaviors. During his stay in residential treatment, his behavior had shown some improvement and he was considered ready to return home with supportive community services.
After being accepted into the SVFC Deaf Service Outpatient program, his behavior
deteriorated to the point that he had to be returned to residential treatment.
After six months in residential care, his behaviors stabilized to the point
that he could again return home with the support of outpatient services and
a more structured classroom setting in his local community. After 18 months
of treatment, his behaviors improved and Gordon transitioned to a less restrictive
academic setting at his local high school.
Unfortunately, after his move to high school, Gordon chose to engage in criminal activities with menacing threats towards peers and adults. The severity of his behavior resulted in legal involvement with the juvenile court. He was placed on probation and expected to continue his outpatient treatment with SVFC Deaf Services Outpatient program.
After a psychiatric re-evaluation with a SVFC psychiatrist who specializes in treatment of deaf and hard of hearing children, Gordon was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and started on medication. The medication was intended to address the mood swings and aggressive behaviors that had led to his involvement with the legal system. The medication was effective and Gordon began to demonstrate significant improvement in the frequency of his explosive outbursts and utilization of positive behavioral choices. The length of his probation was reduced due to his significant improvements during treatment.
After several months of medication combined with supportive outpatient services, Gordon successfully returned to his local high school. He continues to do well academically, is maintaining his behavior improvements and is active in sports. He continues to receive medication and counseling services to assist him in maintaining improvements in his behavior. His outlook on life is much more hopeful and he now plans to attend a college for deaf/ hard of hearing individuals.
