Creative Bridge Coalition
SUCCESSSTORY
Names and photos
have been changed to
protect the identity
and provacy of the
children involved.
Donte’s Story
Count Me In | Lanterman Highschool
Year One: 2011-2012
When Donte began school in
the fall of 2011 he would have
been easy to identify when
observing his classroom. Not
because he shared certain
physical characteristics of a 12yr.-old with Down syndrome,
or was a bit overweight, but
because he was the obviously
quiet one who preferred to sit
at his desk and color. And even
when addressed directly, Donte
kept his head low and his eyes
closed or open just enough to
see you – without you seeing
him.
1
It was unclear to everyone
involved at the start of Count
Me In at Lanterman High School
that fall how Donte would
respond to the program. After
all, these sessions were
designed to promote active
participation with various
percussive instruments, careful
attention to prompts offered by
the instructor and others in the
group, and verbalization during
each of the individual activities.
Donte’s typical social behavior
– shy, head down, eyes closed
– seemed akin to that of a
tortoise. He was a loner
through and through. But his
mother knew that Donte had
always liked music and dancing
at home. Maybe that would
help?
And it did! By mid-year (January
2012), Donte’s mother noted
that it “seems that he is
changing a little”. She wrote
that he’d begun to remember
his classmates’ names and
didn’t mind going to school,
adding: “I have observed that he
is learning a little more” The
program instructor concurred:
“Donte has really opened up.
He’s still incredibly shy, but he’s
made great progress with
SUCCESSSTORY DANTE
progress with opening his eyes” during
the Count Me In sessions.
saw improvements in Donte’s comfort
level with others, writing: “It’s good,
but when it’s not someone he knows,
And his classroom teacher provided a
he gets embarrassed”. As far as
third point of view in support of these Donte’s mom was concerned, the key
positive changes, adding that since the to all of this positive change had to do
beginning of the school year, Donte
with his new attitude toward school,
had “made new friends – [he’s] not as itself. In her words: “I think he is happy
shy and quiet.” Indeed, as far as the
at school because he likes to go”. For
tortoise simile goes, Donte’s
any parent, having a young teenager
classroom teacher acknowledged that who decides that he likes to go to
involvement in the Count Me In
school is certainly a huge blessing.
program “has really helped him come
However, Donte’s mom has learned to
‘out of his shell’.”
take things one step at a time. At the
end of Donte’s first year in the Count
As Count Me In drew to a close in late
May of 2012, the program’s instructor, Me In program, she acknowledged
seeing a “slight improvement” in her
who had been working with Donte
son that she attributed to his
twice-weekly for nine months, was
participation in the program before
pleased with his various improvements
adding: “but we have to work hard so
during the year. He noted that Donte
that things get better every day”.
was more engaged with individual and
group activities and more attentive
Year Two: 2012-2013
and verbal during those sessions. At
the same time, Donte’s classroom
Given what she’d witnessed the
teacher agreed on all counts, writing
previous year, Donte’s mom agreed to
that
enroll him in the Count Me In program
“DONTE IS
SPEAKING MORE
AND NOT AS SHY
IN A GROUP.”
for a second year. In the fall of 2012,
Donte found himself in a new program
group, although several others among
the 10 members were, like Donte,
returning students. Knowing the
program instructor, the basic exercises
in the curriculum, and some of the
others in the new group made things a
bit more comfortable for Donte.
He was also perceived to be “more
outgoing during school lessons. He
participates much more.” Donte’s
teacher also noted that “Donte has a
more positive attitude toward new
experiences.”and attributed much of
this positive classroom change to the
Count Me In sessions: “Music has
really encouraged his participation
skills.”
The program instructor was pleased
overall with Donte’s second-year
presence. Donte seemed comfortable
with the twice-weekly sessions,
although it took him some time to get
accustomed to the newest members
of the group. By mid-year (January
2013), the instructor noted that while
Donte still often kept his head down
and his eyes almost closed, he had
become “more outgoing” and “better
at vocalizing” during the program’s
opening months, while improving his
lateral (left/right hand) movements.
Donte’s mom saw many of these
same changes in her son at the end of
that first year, though her impressions
were understandably more tentative
and muted. She agreed that Donte
was now “trying to talk a little more”
and “advancing little by little”. She also
2
Donte’s classroom teacher offered
similarly positive observations in his
January 2012 comments,
characterizing Donte as
“MORE VOCAL,”
“MORE AT EASE,”
“BETTER ABLE TO
PERFORM
TASKS” AND
“[PAYING] MORE
ATTENTION”
than at the start of the school year.
When asked what he thought
attendance in the Count Me In
program had done for Donte’s routine
classroom performance that fall, the
teacher wrote: “He participates,
focuses, and enjoys!” He went on to
add that Donte appeared “more active
in communications” and better able to
respond “more openly and with more
clarity in his speech.”
At the mid-point of his second year in
Count Me In, Donte’s mother shared
her out-of-school perspective, echoing
the classroom teacher’s observations.
She, too, saw an improvement in
Donte’s schoolwork, writing: “I think
he understands what he is taught
because he pays attention”. She also
recognized changes in Donte’s social
skills “because he tries to talk a little
more and he wants to have more
friends”. She continued to believe that
her son’s life-long interest in music
played an important part in his slow
advancement, especially after
observing Donte during one of his
Count Me In sessions that fall: “One
time I saw him in [that] class. I saw
him very interested and I know that he
really likes music” . And in her typically
subdued manner, Donte’s mom again
cautiously credited Count Me In for its
positive impact on her son. In her
words: “In general, he’s had a few
SUCCESSSTORY DANTE
changes and I hope that it continues
helping him”.
By the time the Count Me In project
shut down in June 2013, Donte was 14
yrs. old and entering young manhood.
When asked about his overall health &
wellness, his mom wrote that she saw
Donte as more “happy and content”
than he was back in January. Most
parents with kids in the Count Me In
program that year agreed with her
perceptions. Donte’s teacher wrote
that by year’s end, Donte “participates
more willingly” in the classroom –
behavior that the program instructor
saw, too, when he wrote that Donte
seemed to be “more outgoing” and had
noticeably “improved [his] ability to
speak up” during the program’s twiceweekly sessions. Considering how
everyone described his behavior at the
start of the program in fall, 2011,
these observations are noteworthy, to
be sure.
Like so many of his Lanterman peers,
Donte has serious problems that
impact his ability to do well in school
– specifically, in his case, abilities to
focus and follow-through regarding
direct requests and instructions.
Unlike many of his peers, perhaps,
Donte’s intense shyness adds to the
particular social interactive challenges
he faces. By the end of his second
year in Count Me In, Donte’s mom was
able to claim that “he pays more
attention to what people tell him”
while his classroom teacher
acknowledged, separately, that Donte
was “trying hard to follow directions.”
This “extra effort” on Donte’s part was
also noted by the program’s
instructor, who noted in June 2013
that Donte was “more focused and
engaged in” the Count Me In sessions.
Clearly, everyone agrees that Donte
had become more attentive!
Participating in Count Me In’s music-
3
based learning sessions may have
helped Donte in many respects, but
the extent to which he’s learned much
regarding particular musical
knowledge, skills and dispositions
doesn’t seem to have registered with
observers other than his mother, who
– like she had almost two years
earlier – wrote that
“MUSIC
INTERESTS HIM
AND HE LIKES IT!”
While his classroom teacher seemed
to stretch the question about
acquisition of music learning in order
to note that Donte “tries all new
ideas,” the music-based program
instructor, himself, noted that by
year’s end, Donte was “about the
same” as he was in January 2013 with
respect to his music-specific
accomplishments. It may be the case
that, like so many others in general,
Donte is just not “musically inclined”
when it comes to acquiring particular
sorts of music-based knowledge and
skills.
Recall that at the start of his
participation in Count Me In
(September 2011), Donte was SHY
(emphasis intended!) – so much so
that personnel at Lanterman
wondered whether his involvement in
the project would actually work for
him. Well, the answer is a resounding
YES! Donte continues to enjoy going
to school each day (a change in his
behavior seen during his first year in
the program) and, according to his
mother, is happy doing so. Apparently,
attending Count Me In sessions has
made a significant difference in
Donte’s impressions of attending
school. Moreover, this more positive
attitude toward going to school (and
participating in his Count Me In
sessions) has, in the program
instructor’s eyes, helped to make
Donte “more outgoing.”
“Outgoing” seems to be key to how
others describe Donte’s development
relative to his involvement in the
Count Me In program during the
2012-2013 school year. His classroom
teacher believes that involvement in
this program has enhanced Donte’s
communication skills “in terms of
listening and following directions,” but
his mother speaks more directly to
Donte’s personality shift. According to
her, his involvement in this program
has resulted in “a little better
communication. He is becoming less
shy”. The Count Me in instructor offers
similar perceptions, albeit differently, in
his June 2013 comments about Donte:
“He is becoming more outgoing and
responsive. This, I believe, will help him
socially.”
Donte’s truly a “young man,” now. His
physical transformation is obvious
watching him perform in Count Me In’s
end-of-year concert at Lanterman in
early June, 2013. He’s no stand out
“attention getter” by any stretch, yet
through the camera’s eye, Donte
appears comfortable, confident, intent
and happy as he looks and listens for
various cues provided by the program
instructor and/or his peers before
responding, accordingly and vigorously,
on his personal drum. Donte is
performing for an audience that he has
cautiously allowed into his personal
world. And he’s enjoying every minute!