The school bell sounds and the children come in,take off their coats in the cloakroom and are seated, ready with their pencils to begin work. But where is Danny? Eventually he comes in 10 minutes late because he has been struggling with his coat. He is already upset as he was not allowed to join in with a game of 'tag'. He has been publicly rebuked 'You can't run, you just push and spoil the game. Danny is questioned about his lateness: he can't find any reason, his eye contact is poor and he stares at the ceiling wondering what is for lunch. He is accused of not listening and instructed to go to his seat.
While trying to listen intently to the next set of instructions he swings too far backwards on his chair. The class is disrupted again and Danny's 'behaviour' is becoming increasingly concerning for the class teacher. Unfortunately it is PE today. Danny hates PE. Everyone laughs at him. The unintentionally sexist remarks are given which emphasize still further his failure to conform.'When the music starts I want the girls to walk round the hall and the boys to jump on the spot. When the music stops all change: boys walk round and girls jump.' The music starts and Danny enthusiastically begins to move with a quick marching step in a clockwise manner. He slowly realizes that he is the only boy doing so. He slows down, trying to merge with the group in the centre and starts to jump· he hasn't realized that by this time the music has stopped and only girls arejumping. The children are divided into pairs. It has to be done that way as no-one would ever choose Danny as a partner. It is to be a simple catching game, throwing a 1arge soft ball from one child to another. Danny can't judge the ball's position in space or speed. He stands with his legs in a wide, awkward stance and almost falls before the ball is thrown to him. His tongue is protruding and he lips his licks anxiously as he waits. The ball arrives and he flings his arms wildly into space. His arms cross somewhere in the region of his chest and the attempt has sent the ball to the opposite end of the hall. Neither the teacher nor his throwing partner are pleased.
Danny is pleased to change out of his PE strip. he puts on his trainers with Velcro fasteners (there was no way he could manage laces) and thought it easier to tie the sleeves of his jumper round his waist than try to put it on. Back in the classroom he picked up his pencil to continue his unfinished maths. He knew how many 'fish' to add to a line to make 14 but they looked more like tennis balls than sea creatures. His hand ached because he gripped the pencil so tightly - sometimes there was even a slight tremor. His work always looked messy with smudge marks. Sometimes he was so angry with his work that he ripped it up or scribbled over it before anyone could see it. His name was barely legible - a mixture of upper and lower case letter - he just could not master the shapes.
Thank goodness it was lunch. He supposed he would probably be at the back of thequeue. Danny found it impossible to stand still and was always being accused ofdeliberately pushing into other children. Once he had fallen against the fire belland the whole school was evacuated. By the end of his first term no-one wanted to sit near him. He could not manage aknife and fork and his food was usually scattered over the rest of the table. The problem was avoided when he changedto a packed lunch: sandwiches, crisps, fruit and a boxed drink presented fewer problems.
Danny's verbal skills had improved a lot with regular access to speech therapy.He was referred at 3 because his vocabulary consisted of 10 indistinct words. His articulation was now age appropriate but he could easily lose the thread of aconversation if more than 2 or 3 ideas were contained in a sentence. He confused words when speaking quickly like - 'I am taking my school to bike' and sentences were taken literally. For example when asked to stand on his toes he placed one foot on top of another.
His teacher thought he was lazy. Written work was never completed in the allotted time and his concentration span at best was only 5 or 10 minutes and he constantly wandered around the classroom. He did not enjoy the privilege of taking messages because he could never remember them. Although he gave good responses in class his ability was mostly measured by theresponses committed to paper. He could not set his work out appropriately. His writing was illegible to anyone but himself. The best part of the day was the afternoon session - a time for individual reading. Danny's ability was measured two years above his chronological age but, despite this he was unable to excel. When reading his tone was flat and monotonous.His pitch varied from line to line and words pronounced at different speeds.
At home Danny was always on the go and appeared restless even when watching hisfavorite television programme. He was very excitable and when a 'funny' character came on he jumped off his seat and clapped his hands vigorously. Temper tantrums were becoming more frequent and he was irritated by the labels in the back of his clothes. His parents were concerned that he had no friends, spent most of h is time at home but refusing to join in games of 'snap' or play with Lego or Mega Blocks, instead he would stay alone in his bedroom reading or using the computer. He always had had erratic sleeping patterns and a bedtime routine had not been established. He frequently woke during the night complaining of nightmares.
