John would stay locked in his room, lying in his bed for hours at a time throughout the day, never wanting to get out and not knowing why. Not able to go to school, both family and school staff were stuck on how to get sixteen year old John to attend. He felt alone and saw little hope in the world. It was obvious that the Lena Pope Home specialists’ first goal was to help the young man attend school. Identifying some of John’s strengths was a definite move forward. They took some trips to the arcade, carried on long conversations under the hoods of old hot rods, and talked about trick bikes. When they talked about the things John enjoyed, everything about him transformed. They were beginning to focus on solutions based on his strengths. With the collective effort from everyone strategies were developed.
The road to regular attendance did not prove easy for anyone as the young man was frustrated at being behind; mom and dad were drained. Day by day, he began to slowly build upon the things that were once important to him. He began to realize that there was a purpose for the things that he needed to do. Over the course of a few months, his relationship with his parents had improved, his attendance was almost perfect, his behavior at school was dramatically better, and he was setting some major goals for himself. He is now about to complete the school year and is completely caught up and looking for a part time job. He has even begun looking at local college classes in the area of automotives, something that he has recognized as a passion.