One Hope United Foster Grandparent Volunteer Lou Horn volunteers at Dodds School in several classrooms, but one of her favorite rooms is the kindergarten classroom.

Lou works with a very special young boy. The young boy lives in a foster home because of allegations of neglect and abuse at his biological home. His mother is addicted to drugs and his father is currently in jail.

Lou shared that the when the little boy came to school he would not speak at all.  Several professionals worked with the student, but had minimal progress.

The teacher then decided to pair Foster Grandparent Volunteer Lou Horn with the child to work one on his letter recognition.

“The boy would sit for hours without saying a word,” said Lou. “But even though he would not speak, I felt as if we were making a connection.”

After several months passed, the child finally spoke to Lou. Progress! Lou was ecstatic.

As the school year progressed, the little boy would speak more and more.  He eventually got to the point where he would speak to more than just Lou, but also to his teacher and some of his peers.

Foster Grandparents are able to take the extra time to allow a student to feel safe enough to open up. Foster Grandparents do not push, but rather go at a pace that is comfortable for the student and through mentoring and tutoring activities; they are able to help children progress on multiple levels related to academic, social and emotional development.