ACHIEVEMENT PROCESS PROFILE CLIENT: Samuel - DOB: July 11, 2000 Date of Assessment: November, 2007 FIVE: Background and Observations Samuel presents himself as highly inquisitive, highly energetic, cheerful, extremely intelligent, insightful, and articulate. He speaks in a clear, expressive manner with broad inflection. His oral Braille reading is some of the smoothest I've seen for his age, with good cadence and expressive inflection. He loves playing card and board games, especially when he wins. He loves to run, climb, roughhouse, and jump on his trampoline. Samuel demonstrates very advanced orientation and mapping skills. He knows his way around his school almost to the inch. Also, he picked up perceptual mobility concepts and skills eagerly and very rapidly. Despite the fact that his cane training had only begun a few weeks before I began working with him at 7 years old, his cane skills were very functional for his age. In the 3 days I worked with him, he became quite effective at using a Braille compass to help him find his way around stores and malls. He developed good FlashSonar skills, learning to navigate among clutters of obstacles, and distinguish and describe the difference among all manner of objects, such as trees, cars, bushes, and various display cases. He used these quickly developing skills to discover his way through new places, and to work out how to negotiate challenges. For example, when he was looking for a particular swing at the playground in his neighborhood park, he encountered surprising difficulty finding someone who could understand his question (which he had clearly stated), and would take the trouble to show him or clearly explain where it was. After asking several adults who seemed quite "thick", he eventually found two young children who pointed him in the right direction. When finding his way out of the playground, Samuel at one point took a wrong turn, and ended up quite off course. However, with a little discussion, he retraced his steps, and in so doing recognized the correct way. Samuel handled both of these experiences patiently and with fortitude. While he showed occasional frustration during our work together, he was always willing to redirect his attention so his occasional frustrations never got the best of him. This attitude of fortitude shined when it came to working in very complex environments, such as in the mall, or orientation in open space in the rain. But for the occasional fuss, Samuel almost always remained good natured and willing at moments that would have caused adult students considerable consternation. I have seen adult students fall apart in situations where Samuel held it together brilliantly. I would like to call particular attention to Samuel's gleefully cheerful nature which seems almost undauntable. Samuel's voice had an uncanny way of expressing his beaming countenance in a manner I have never experienced. I could feel his shining smile beaming through every word and expression as if it were alive in the air around us. Years ago during one of my presentations to school children, a child a little older than Samuel asked me, "If you could suddenly see 3 things, what would you want them to be?" The question stumped me entirely, and I had to come back to it at the end of the presentation. Having let the question jell in my head, the 3 things that came to mind were: a rainbow, a lightning flash, and a child's beaming face. Visual terms of luminescence are often used to describe facial expressions, especially the contagiously radiant expressions of a child in sheer delight. Though children don't literally light up, their joyous expression is so striking that luminous terms are used to describe it. My question was, why? Though I understand the emotion, I have long been curious about how it is expressed on a child's face or in the eyes in such a manner as to earn a kind of reverence from those who care about such things. Samuel has answered my long curiosity. Having worked with him, I can honestly say that his sparklingly light and clear manner of speech breathes life into the meaning of the term "beam." The visual concept of beaming becomes an auditory concept around Samuel Oldridge, and around him, I don't feel I miss anything from his beaming, radiant, shining expression. The light in his eyes touches my heart as saliently as his words, his laugh, or the touch of his hand. I will go so far as to say that experiencing his expression, the chime-like way he talks and laughs, has given me a fresh insight into the beaming expressions of all the children I work with. I owe Samuel a special thanks for such an endearingly precious gift. Addendum: Samuel remained undauntedly cheerful until the vary end of his short but unforgettable life. Even when he could no longer speak, one constantly heard him chuckle and giggle to himself with an unwavering glee that seemed permanently rooted in the core of his being. I wasn't there at the very end, but I wouldn't be surprised if, among the tears of those who watched his precious spirit soar beyond our reach, that a beaming smile remained in the air to shine an indelible hope in the darkness of loss and grief. Samuel, your ineffable smile remains etched in our hearts for all time.