Sadaab, one of the older boys at the Institute was well known for two main characteristics – every time he walked past a smaller boy, he would hit him. There was no real anger or purpose for this, he just liked hitting. He would get into fights with the other boys regularly where he would chase them across the grounds to hit them. The second and nicer characteristic was he would greet the people he knew by name with a big smile on his face. It made the person at the receiving end smile right back at him.
Unfortunately, his behaviour of hitting other boys showed no signs of reducing even after many conversations and disciplining. Since this was resulting in a lot boys being bruised, the team sat down to discuss a new plan of action. It was decided to include him in vocational therapy and give him some painting activity. This worked like a charm! Sadaab loved painting and was incredibly good at it. He needed very little instruction and direction and would be lost in a world of his own while he painted on paper and ice cream sticks.