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Fresh off a week of infuriating phone calls with ableist teachers who can’t be bothered to try to do anything for Techno, Phil is sitting down for his first meeting with the administration and teachers at the special needs school Techno will be transferring to.
“Welcome,” the principal, a woman with a thick mane of white curls, says, smiling and shaking Phil’s hand. “I’m Puffy. You must be Phil Craft?”
“I am,” he says. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Same to you. We’re looking forward to having your son with us here!” She smiles again, gesturing to the table. “Please, sit down.”
Phil does, keeping the folder of paperwork clutched in both hands. There are two other people sitting there already- another woman, this one with graying hair pulled back in a loose bun, and a man with bright blue hair and a brighter smile.
“This is Clara and Skeppy,” Puffy says, gesturing to each of them.
Clara smiles, also shaking Phil’s hand. “I’m an occupational therapist here,” she says. “I’ll be working with Techno to help him develop skills that will help him function in the school environment, as well as outside of it.”
He nods. Sam had brought up potentially putting Techno into an occupational therapy program, but it was going to be difficult to find someone who specifically worked with neurodivergent kids. This will hopefully make things a lot easier on Techno.
Skeppy doesn’t shake Phil’s hand, but he does give an awkward little wave. “I’m going to be Techno’s teacher,” he says.
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Phil says. “Ah, sorry, I’m just- new to all this. The school he was at before completely ignored his IEP.”
“I can assure you that will not happen here,” Puffy says. “All of our staff is specifically trained and qualified to work with disabled and neurodivergent children.”
Skeppy nods, fingers tapping out a pattern on the table. “I personally prefer to work with autistic kids,” he says. “Techno will be in a small class, with kids like him. I’m not able to provide one-on-one support, but I will be able to give him much more time and assistance than a public school teacher with thirty kids.”
“That’s- genuinely, really good to hear,” Phil says. “I know he’s a smart kid, they just haven’t given him the opportunity to prove it.”
Puffy nods, expression understanding. “So, the purpose of this meeting is both to let you meet us, and for you to give us an idea of what kind of support Techno will need. We prefer to do parental meetings without the child present, because sometimes parents are able to talk more freely without them. But we will conduct an assessment with Techno on his first day here as well.”
Phil nods. He can understand that- he would hate having to sit here and talk about Techno like he’s not in the room, or can’t understand what’s being said.
“I’m fostering him right now, I don’t know if that affects anything-”
“We have that on record,” Puffy says with a nod. “The only thing we might need guardianship consent for is a medical emergency, and in that case you could probably give that consent. If Techno needs to be transferred to a different school at some point-”
“Yeah, I- I don’t know.” Phil shrugs tightly. “He’s here for a while, at least.”
Puffy nods again. “So,” she says, “I understand Techno was recently diagnosed with autism.”
“Yeah.” Phil shifts. “He- he sees a therapist regularly, he’s doin’ a bit better with self-regulation and all that.”
More nods. It’s Clara who speaks this time. “Could you give us an idea of what kind of support he usually needs at home?” she asks.
“Ah, Techno- he doesn’t speak,” Phil says. “That’s the main thing. I got him a whiteboard and some markers, and he does pretty well with writing, mostly. He’s got-” He shuffles through the folder, taking out the copy of Techno’s color chart. “I figured this would be helpful. He hasn’t used this system much with me, but it’s- from what I understand, he’s been usin’ it since he was a kid, to express his emotions.”
Puffy takes it, eyeing the paper for a second before passing it over to Skeppy. “This is good to have, thank you,” Skeppy says, nodding.
“Ah- he has a lot of meltdowns. I don’t know what sets them off, but they’re usually… he paces, and shakes his arms, sometimes he hits himself but his therapist said he’s trying to work with Techno on that. He’s bitten his hands before, but he’s got some chewelry, he’s been really good about using that instead.”
“Fidgeting and stimming?” Skeppy asks.
Phil nods. “Quite a lot, yeah. His therapist said to encourage that, Techno was so- so stiff and self-contained when he was placed with me.”
“We do encourage that!” Skeppy beams. “Techno can bring his own fidgets if he’d like. If he’s got a stuffed animal or some other comfort item, that can come too, as long as it won’t be too disruptive in class.”
Phil nods. An awkward silence settles over the room for a few seconds.
“Sorry,” he blurts out. “Sorry, I don’t really know what else you might need to know.”
“How is he with other kids?” Clara asks, giving him an out.
Phil hesitates. “I, I haven’t really seen him interact with other kids much. I don’t think he has friends at school, though. He does do okay with my son, more or less. I’ve had to go with him to all his appointments and stuff, except with his therapist, he- I’ve noticed he has some trouble communicating with people, but then a lot of the people he’s interacted with aren’t great about reading the whiteboard.”
“Does he follow any kind of routine?”
“Pretty strictly, as far as I can tell. I’ve tried to be helpful with that when I can- stuff like making sure we always leave for appointments when I tell him we will.”
“Is the whiteboard his only communication device?” Clara asks. “Have you tried a tablet, or-”
“He can’t stand screens,” Phil says. “He reacts like it- it physically hurts him to look at them. Sometimes he’ll, like, ‘watch’ TV if I put a show on with the descriptive track, but he- no. He doesn’t use screens.”
“And you said he can’t speak?”
“Right. I’ve heard him make some sounds, but he’s never spoken. His therapist says he understands speech pretty much all the time, though.”
“Good to know,” Clara says with a nod. “How does he do at mealtimes?”
“He’s a picky eater for sure,” Phil says with a breathless, nervous chuckle. “But I- I’ve talked to a nutritionist and worked out a plan to make sure Techno gets a balanced diet while not having to eat things he doesn’t like. I’ll be packing lunches, unless that’s an issue-?”
“We have a no-peanuts rule, but I’m sure you saw that on the website,” Puffy says. “But no, it’s pretty common for parents to send lunches from home.”
Phil nods again. “He can’t stand peanut butter anyway. No, yeah, he- he doesn’t really put up a fuss about eating. As long as you put the food in front of him- he doesn’t, like, take things out of the snack bin or check the fridge or even tell me he’s hungry.”
“Does he need help going to the bathroom?” Clara asks. At Phil’s probably confused or slightly horrified look, she adds, “A lot of special needs kids do, including higher support needs autistic kids. There’s no shame in it.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Phil says. “High support needs, that’s- it’s a term I haven’t heard before?”
“So- I’m autistic, myself,” Skeppy says, leaning forward slightly. “I’m a low support needs individual. That means that I’m able to live independently, with only occasional support. For example, I can’t drive due to a combination of factors, so my partner takes me to work and picks me up at the end of the day.”
“Oh.”
Skeppy continues. “From what you’ve said so far, we would describe Techno as a moderate support needs individual, because he needs help with everyday things, but can mostly care for himself. Part of that is that he can’t speak, so he uses an assistive communication device, and needs someone near him at all times in case of an emergency.”
Clara picks up when Skeppy stops talking. “Some of the work I’ll be doing with Techno will be to try to help him become more independent. He may never speak, and we’re not going to push him to do so if he doesn’t want to, but the hope is that I’ll be able to help him learn how to do more day-to-day tasks on his own.”
Phil nods, exhaling shakily. “That- that sounds good. Thank you.”
“This is our job,” Puffy says quietly. “We want to give Techno the support he needs to flourish.”
And Phil’s been through a similar situation before, back when Tommy was placed with him. Tommy had already had his ADHD diagnosis, and ostensibly had a 504 plan, but the teachers had been refusing to accommodate him.
Tommy just needed accommodations in a regular classroom. The freedom to use his fidgets, extra time to finish tests, being allowed to use noise-canceling headphones or go to a quiet room when he’s overwhelmed.
Techno, though. Phil hadn’t wanted it to come to this, but it really does seem like the best thing for him to be put in special education. Phil knows he’s a smart kid. He knows- he’s always known- that there is so much more to Techno than the difficult, rebellious kid his social worker insists he is.
Techno needs more support than Phil can give him. Techno needs more support than he can get in a regular school. If this is where he’ll be able to grow and thrive, then this is the best place for him to be.
Phil’s been used to Techno coming home from school and immediately having a meltdown- or having one in the car or bus, or at school, and finding out from the nurse or from annoyed teachers.
On his first day at the new school, Techno comes home and paces in the living room for a few minutes, but he’s quiet. He’s clearly not having one of the bad meltdowns- one of the normal ones, even. Just- needing a few minutes to work it out, Phil thinks.
When Techno comes into the kitchen and sits down at the table, Phil passes him his usual snack- cheese crackers- and gives him a smile he hopes isn’t tense at all. “Did you have a good day?” he asks gently.
Techno shrugs. “It’s different,” he writes.
Phil nods, humming. “Remember, you won’t have school tomorrow. You’ll just go on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.”
Techno nods, ducking his head and fiddling with the marker.
It’s something Phil hadn’t been sure about at first, but makes a lot of sense. Techno will have three days at school, and four days at home to recover from the stress and from being in a different environment. Puffy and Clara had explained that the three-day schedule has proved to work a lot better for kids who have the kind of support needs to warrant being transferred here.
“Well,” Phil says after a few awkward minutes, “just- just let me know if you need anything, okay?”
Techno ducks his head further, hair falling over his face. Phil nods, tapping his knuckles against the table a couple of times before walking away.
His kid is gonna be okay, he thinks. Techno already had one school day that’s far better than any other since he got placed with Phil.
He’s going to be okay.