Take my hand – Jonathan Hanna
When young Jonathan’s soft toys had distinct roles as “friends and confidents”. Different toys fulfilled different roles; loss of specific toys caused deep anguish.. Play was conducted according to his level/needs and but with a strong need for control. Until the age of 10 he was part of the crowd and found simple play rules in the playground easy to observe/ engage with.
Peer Interaction
Purpose of this was a desire to gain interaction and acceptance and recognition from peers. At some times he wanted his peers to leave him alone. He wanted his peer group to “laugh with him, not at him”. Tension experienced when trying to engage normally with peers. He felt very small, inconsequential and sometimes like a freak of nature. Feelings of anger/ self-disgust/ fear if he felt a conversation had gone badly. Feelings of elation and joy if a conversation went well.
What did his peers want from him?
He felt his peers wanted friendship from him that he couldn’t sometimes give. He couldn’t always be witty, outgoing etc “A figure of fun”.
Did he take rejection badly?
He became a school refuser and this became a self- protection mechanism. When he returned to school he spent time in the seclusion room. He later was given half an hour’s notice of going back to regular lessons. He couldn’t cope with this thought and became hysterical and broke down. This was caused by fear and terror. He couldn’t run because of fear of being caught or told off.
Jonathan had been bullied badly in the classroom and deemed in front of his peer group. He became a recluse and very bitter and hateful about people in general. Negative interactions can have a profound effect on a child’s behaviour and how they express themselves.
From the age of 12-19 Jonathan was moved 15 times. At 12 he was admitted to Sent to adolescent psychiatric facilities. He stayed there for a year and then was readmitted when he was 15. He was told he was depressed and schizophrenic and autism was never mentioned. Jonathan felt that this was a safe environment however and he was able to form new friendships, felt wanted and have a role in society. .
Family unit suffered badly. Jonathan was like a Duracell battery and kept going all the time. He became very distressed at the lack of social contact with his peers and became violent and aggressive. There was no support in place and no connection between Jonathan and his brother and sister. Indeed his brother nearly went onto the At Risk register. Following this his mother took the difficult decision to put Jonathan in residential care. His personal hygiene was a problem when he was growing up and he wouldn’t’ brush his teeth or have a bath and wouldn’t have a shower either as he disliked the feeling of water hitting his face. In the home he was forced to clean teeth, shower etc. Jonathan was also forced to socialise. This was a problem, as firstly he wanted to withdraw from people.