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Show It is now November and vacations lie ahead of us in mounds. His home institution does not allow adversives and in Todd's case, the "I don't care" method of time-out is not appropriate. Even more energy pours into head banging and frustrations than if he were left on his own with no behavioral program at all. He has no advocates except perhaps his own amazing ability to learn. And I am not sure that it will be enough to carry him through the mesh of school squabbles and bring him back to us while there is still time left for him. Patty had long since fallen from her chance. Todd teeters on the fine line between a chance and invisibility. The second summer after Patty, I sat on a huge rock at the beach. I had been there for hours and I was chilled. A smile came over my lips. I was remembering certain children I had been particularly fond of, though I tried never to let them know it. And I looked into a mirror of waves below me, seeing myself rocking with my hands tied behind my back in a soft cotton restraint. The waves suddenly opened and a face stared up at me. And for a brief instant we stared at each other and then the waves closed tightly. I suddenly realized that my own eyes were closed. And I was seeing Patty, as I have seen many other children, walk in on the arms of their teachers, ready to begin. A week ago my story of Patty's year had ended. Today a fresh chapter unfolded. For all the sadnesses of Patty's story, new advocates for her seem to crop up from time to time. She has been referred for consideration in our program for the third year in a row. The all new staff members remember nothing of my visit before and the man pushing for her now has a special understanding of Patty's case because of his own handicaps. "We explained the situation over and over again to him, but he just doesn't understand," my superiors say. "She is like a ghost returning to haunt us," a fellow teacher says. And I hear the news with my own very special haunting, older memories that surround me. They want two of us, this time, to visit her institution for a two-day workshop on Patty. They want a specific program set up for her there and a complete evaluation done on her- They want -27- |
