An Alpha School Success Story – Special Education at its Best!

We are so happy to share the success of one of our graduates, Dalton — A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Success Story

Dalton was a student at our school from the age of nine to eighteen. He was not a big fan of Alpha when he started, but over the years he grew to love our school and he became a much-loved member of the Alpha School family. He came here in 2009 with a multitude of behaviors that included meltdowns, defiance, non-compliance, and negativity. His therapist at the Alpha School, Ms. Murae M. Vogler, LCSW worked with him in individual sessions twice each week as well as during times when he needed extra support.

Dalton had difficulties connecting the thoughts in his head to the actions he displayed. His biggest challenge was learning how to become more self-aware, to understand the ways in which his emotions and behaviors affected his everyday life. As a student who could verbally express his feelings in the moment, he benefited from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This particular therapeutic strategy focused on helping him to understand how his thoughts ultimately affected how he acted through the use of therapeutic games, technological activities, video-modeling, and verbal discussions. He worked hard to acknowledge that he may not always be able to control his environment, but he certainly could control his reactions to it.

As he got older, Dalton began to understand the process of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and its benefits. Dalton and Ms. Vogler worked well together because they trusted each other. He trusted the “process.” That “process” also included unwavering support from his parents. It was always a team effort and it was really important that everyone was on the proverbial “same page.”

Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, he learned to advocate for himself and his needs. Dalton was finally learning to manage his emotions in the face of stress or anger. According to Ms. Vogler, “If he was upset, he made sure to reach out to me for help. At one point, he was reaching out to me multiple times every day.”

Dalton finally learned how to help himself. Because of his perseverance and hard work, Dalton had finally “found himself.” And with that knowledge, came a wealth of positive emotions, confidence, empathy, and self-awareness that amazes us all to this day.

Dalton graduated Alpha School in June and he is now a successful young man working for Coca-Cola in the division that fixes and installs the beverage machines. Dalton went for an interview and they were very impressed with him and he got the job! Dalton works four days a week for eight-hour shifts each day. He is responsible for dispatching technicians to job sites, billing, and closing out calls. Dalton loves the people he works with and there is nothing about the job that he does not like. In his spare time, Dalton plays video games and hangs out with his family, especially with his sister.

Dalton misses everyone at Alpha, but he is enjoying his life after Alpha. We are so happy that we were a part of his journey, and we are so proud of his accomplishments!