James Smith was 11 years old when he arrived at the Ranch in June of 1988, a withdrawn, distrustful, scared little boy. If words can tell it, his remarkable story is about a miracle, a transformation devoutly to be wished for every broken child.

James came to us from severe abuse and neglect. He was found by officials abandoned in Houston. He had been alone for some time and had no food. He had spent so much time sucking on his thumb and pulling on his ear that his ear was elongated a full inch.

Officials took James to his grandmother, who tried to care for him. But already the results of abandonment had worked destruction in the little boy’s heart and mind. He would have frequent temper-tantrums, would not follow instructions, was lethargic, and wouldn‘t work at school. These patterns of behavior were James’ defense against a cruel world

The grandmother realized she could not handle him, and James was placed in foster care. This didn’t work either. He was taken out of foster care because he would wander carelessly into the street, even sit down in the middle of it when cars were coming. He was a lost boy who didn‘t care if he lived.

The court decided he had to be placed in a structured setting. Perhaps he was too far gone into his withdrawal, and would never emerge as an independent person, capable of living a normal life.

Many of our current staff have memories of the little boy who arrived at HCYR eleven years ago, sucking his thumb, pulling on his right ear, and sometimes sobbing uncontrollably for long periods of time. Other behaviors made him a handful, and we often wondered if we could reach him at all.

On admission to the Ranch, the treatment team, including the Protective Services caseworker, determined that the goal for his stay would be "for the child to develop sufficient impulse control to be able to function in a normal setting in the community."

A psychological evaluation done at the age of ten revealed that he was aware his mother didn’t want him. A neurological exam noted "he has marked deficits in his language skills" but that he was "sufficiently coordinated to indicate potential for development."

In fact, James had very low reading, writing and spelling skills which at first he masked by refusing to do school work. He wasn’t ready to show us his needs. He carried seeds of bitterness and anger which manifested themselves in untrusting and uncooperative behavior towards authority figures.

Joyce Dommert, executive secretary, recalls his first day of school. "I got a call from the school. They were concerned; they seemed to have lost James. They couldn’t find him. He was eventually discovered hiding behind the wheel of a school bus, thumb in mouth, tugging on his ear."

In an interview for this newsletter, James remembered that day, "Not one of my more outstanding moments."

Time passed, and James grew up at the Ranch, struggling to stay in school and slowly healing. It was to be a long ordeal over many years for him and for us. His self-esteem was very poor.

School was always a problem. He couldn’t or wouldn’t learn to read, and he wouldn‘t let us close enough to see just how large the deficit was. He raised his shield by throwing long crying tantrums and wearing us down with an obstinate refusal to work.

Yet no one wanted to give up. We could see that there was something in James underneath all the damage that wanted to surface. One indicator was a subtle and insightful sense of humor. He began to make, and found acceptance from Ranch authorities to remain quiet and semi-withdrawn. But without the basic educational skills, we knew James’ future would be a tough road.

According to HCYR Director Gary Priour, "We came to love James, and as we made contact with him, we knew we had to help him confront his inability to read. He needed so much love and nurturing, and that made it hard to decide when to approach this touchy subject. But love dictated that we face it with him, and the time came."

James liked to play with computers, and HCYR purchased the "Hooked on Phonics" software to try that approach. It was perfect for James, and he began to work on his reading. He was so far behind that there was no way he could catch his peers, even by graduation day. But, he was making progress.

In May of 1995, just before high school graduation, James’ therapist, Merle Funk, wrote the following letter in an attempt to get James further educational assistance: "I am writing about James Smith. When he came to Hill Country Youth Ranch on 6/17/88, James had the following identified problems: reading disability, thumb-sucking, ear-pulling, screaming when upset, temper tantrums, low self-esteem, passive-aggressive patterns, non-compliance, and poor social skill. Now on 5/2/95 he has a reading disability. The other behavior problems have been resolved. He works part-time in the physical therapy department of our local hospital, drives his own car, and is preparing himself for graduation from high school at the end of this month."

James had come a long, long way. However, he still couldn’t read well, and we wondered what he would do when he left HCYR.

Over three years passed, with intermittent communication from James. Then in March, HCYR Director Gary Priour received a phone call.

"I’ll never forget that call as long as I live," says Priour. "The voice was confident and James asked about me and the Ranch and showed real concern for our well-being. Then he started telling me about himself, and I became speechless."

"I have an associates degree now," he said. "I am working full-time for IDOT computers. I give technical support on-line to customers who need help operating their equipment."

I had to ask. "James, that means you have to know the technical manuals. How do you read them?"

"Oh, that’s easy," he replied. "I started really working on my reading after I left the Ranch. Ya’ll kept telling me I could do it, so I did it. Then I went to college, and now I read great!! I’m going to graduate from the University of Texas in two years. I’m still torn between recreational therapy and computers for my career."

"I don’t know why I was so stubborn back then," he said in a recent interview. "I needed time, and that’s mostly what the Ranch was about — having a home. I can see it better now. When I left, I was more ready for challenge than I knew. The reading thing was a hurdle I had to jump. Once I did it, it was really easy." Reading has now become one of James’ favorite pastimes.

James attends UT on weekends. He says he has lots of friends, but no steady girl friend. "Not yet, I’m too busy getting my education. But someday . . ."

When asked about advice for the children living at HCYR now, James replied, "Do what you think is right. And remember that things come back on you. Like people warned me about my not reading, that it would go bad for me. When it did, I realized they were right. It took me a while to fix it, but I did. You can make changes."

We are proud of you, James.