Let's call him Samuel

Samuel's mother was pregnant with him when she lost her 4 year old daughter to an accidental drowning in the village. Understandably, she was distraught, depressed and inconsolable. Sadly, it was as if Samuel paid the price.

At five years old, Samuel was an unruly, out of control infant. Screaming, fighting with anyone and everyone, refusing to cooperate and running away, was a daily occurrence. He didn't want to do anything other than what he wanted to do and suck his finger. It didn't take long for him to be branded- "retarded",  "special child" and "crazy". He was ostracised by his classmates and even other teachers in the school.

Ms. F, his teacher and I were both inexperienced teaching infants. Yet, it was agreed that Samuel could not continue this way. He seemed unhappy. I especially felt out of my league, but we researched various disabilities and discussed a plan of action on how to try to help Samuel.  

Then, Ms. F brought "the action figure" and I volunteered to teach the infants Creative Movement. With that blend of dance, the action figure and consistent work, Samuel's demeanour was no longer as mean as it was. The fighting diminished somewhat. He even negotiated how many assignments he would do, so that he could be rewarded with "the action figure" play time. 

Days turned into weeks, when administration and other staff made mention of Samuel's progress. Indeed, it was positive.