Mariama came to us unsure of how to spell and write her letters. It was her brother that was referred to Operation Xcel Stokesdale by his teacher but Mariama has shown the most growth not only academically but socially as well. She writes her spelling words in her notebook three times every day and is consistently scoring 100% on her spelling tests. Her writing has improved because of this and now she can match letter sounds and names together.  But her biggest growth is to be able to self-soothe and remind people of the rules. When she first attended the program she would cry and want to be with her big brother and not talk to anyone else. Now she is talking to everyone and is quick to remind her friends that we do not jump from center to center and we are quiet and respectful during homework time. She has shown great maturity growth in these few weeks that we have shared with her and we can’t wait to see the continued growth as we go on.