Case Studies

 

Case Study 1

J attended Heroes for 18 months, 3 days a week. When he first came to Heroes, he lacked confidence, self esteem and was having a lot of problems in school. He had difficulties expressing empathy, was not very good at communicating and did not like to be told what to do.

J was slighly on the autistic spectrum.

After a few months of attending Heroes, J starting to really get involved with the running of the farm, enjoying the involvement, the  responsiblitity, engaging with other students, and taking on a leadership role.

He enjoyed the routine which went with the animals and also the challenges that came with working on a farm, he enjoyed fixing things that got broke, mending fences, wiring the chicken runs and all the other things that were thrown at him.

He became more confident, joined in conversations, and his attendance was at 98%.

He became a valued member of the Heroes community and was looked up to by a lot of the younger students, he continued his schooling whilst he attended Heroes and took his exams and got good marks. He went on successfully to obtain an apprenticeship with a local company.

Case Study 2

J came to Heroes at the Age of 14 year for 3 days a week, after he was excluded from school.  He had Aspergers and struggled to express himself and communicate with others. 

J really enjoyed the routine of the animals and thrived on being able to work at his own pace. He enjoyed working in a small group setting and liked the fact that he was listened to and his ideas were taken onboard.

J got involved in our animal handling sessions for young children where he showed the children and adults how to handle them and because of his excellent memory for information gave them lots of information about the animals that he had gathered over the months, everyone was very impressed with him which made him feel very good, he made a very good animal ranger and really enjoyed the sessions.

J went back into education and was accepted by BCA for an Animal Care Course level 1 and has now gone on to level 2.

J attendance at Heroes was 98%

Case Study 3

T attended Heroes only one day a week, for 12 months. T had special needs and she she struggled in group situations, had low self esteem and struggled with communication. She was not in mainstream education, but was been home-educated by her parents, as school was not viable with her anxiety.

When T first attended she did not speak to anyone and spent a lot of time on her own with the animals.  As time progressed she slowly made friends with another young girl who was attending. They became very good friends and spent a lot of the time together, working with the animals, they found they had a common interest in art and enjoyed working on the farm together.

Having a friend made a huge difference to T and with her new found confidence T went on to work with others in team tasks, eat with others at lunch, and start to enjoy being around other people.

She went on successfully to Reading College and her friend who had attended Heroes for 2 years went on to Art College.

Case Study 4

P attended Heroes for 12 months, he had adhd and really struggled in a class-room setting. He struggled with communication, low confidence, had been bullied, and was quite angry. 

It took him quite a while to settle into the farm, as he struggled with instructions and working with others. However after a few months he started to settle in with the animals, and really started to connect with certan animals, his favourite being Eric the Goat and the chickens, but he also enjoyed the challenge of working with the smaller shetlands.

He loved the outdoors and enjoyed the challenges of the farm, he enjoyed the physical work. 

P struggled with other students at first, but as his confidence grew with the animals we started to see a change in the way he worked with others, he developed a lot of empathy towards the animals and that started to show in the way he treated other people. He learnt to compromise with others rather than just get angry, have more understanding of others less able than himself and enjoyed being as part of a team.

P went back into a school setting where he is doing extremely well. He still attends Heroes on our weekend programme. His ambition is to run his own farm when he is older.