Asperger Diaries: Jamie's New School (12 page)

We had to go to
a different classroom today for the English lesson. Someone said
the radiator was leaking in our normal classroom. I always sit on
the front row for English, but I had to sit near the back today. It
was the only seat free, and was right next to the window. There was
a man outside strimming the grass. I couldn’t hear what the teacher
was saying because of all the noise from the strimmer. I told the
teacher, but he said he couldn’t hear it. I think he must be
deaf.

When I was in
the cafeteria, I saw the boy who I had lent the money to. I thought
he was going to give me my money back. He asked me for more money.
I didn’t have any today. He said I had to bring him a pound
tomorrow. I’m not going to give him any more money.

*****

Angela's
Diary

Jamie said he
had a stomach ache and a headache again this morning. He looked
washed out. I asked him if he had slept all right. He said he
hadn’t. I thought about allowing him to stay home, but I am worried
I will be sending him the wrong message. I asked Andrew if he
thought I should make an appointment for Jamie to see the G.P.
Andrew said he thought Jamie would be okay in a couple of days.
Hopefully the half term break will recharge his batteries.

I managed to
talk to Jamie for a few minutes after dinner. He said he can find
his way around school now. This morning they swapped classrooms. He
was quite indignant about it because no one had warned him. He also
mentioned a boy named Adam who he said was nasty. I wasn’t sure
what he meant by that, but I couldn’t get any more out of him.

12th October
(Wednesday)

Jamie's
Diary

I didn’t want
to go to school today because I had a bug. My stomach and head
still hurt. Mum wouldn’t listen, and said I had to go anyway.
That’s not fair. Lesley gets to stay at home when she is ill. When
we got to school, I saw the boy who I had lent fifty pence to. I
didn’t want to get out of the car in case he asked me for more
money. Then I saw Mr Peters. I went into his office, and we had a
chat about trams.

I told the
teacher I couldn’t do P.E. today because I was poorly. He said I
had to do it unless I had a note from home. Mum hadn’t given me
one. I sat in the corner of the gym. The teacher didn’t say
anything to me, but one of the boys threw a bean bag at me.

I didn’t go to
the cafeteria because I didn’t want to see the boy who had said I
have to give him money. I had to throw my sandwiches away because I
am not allowed to eat them anywhere else.

*****

Angela's
Diary

What a
nightmare. When we got to school Jamie wouldn’t get out of the car.
I tried everything I could think of to persuade him. He wouldn’t
budge. I thought if I went around to his side of the car, and
opened the door, he would get out. He held onto the car seat, and
wouldn’t let go. All the other kids and parents were staring at us
as they walked past. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t
physically drag him from the car. Even if I had done, how would I
have got him up the school drive, and into his classroom?

I was just
about to give up, and drive him back home, when a man came over to
the car. I thought at first he must have been one of the teachers.
He spoke to Jamie, and said something about going to his office to
have a chat about trams. I realised he must be the caretaker who
had talked to Jamie last week. Jamie was still worked up, and he
didn’t speak to the man, but he did get out of the car, and
followed the man up the school drive. The man nodded to me, and
said I shouldn’t worry. He said he would make sure Jamie was okay.
I stood by the car until they had disappeared into the school.

I can’t go on
like this. What would I have done if the caretaker hadn’t come
along when he did? I shouldn’t have to drag Jamie into school. We
never had this problem at Westlake. It has to be this school which
is causing the problems. Something is making him unhappy, and I
need to get it sorted quickly. When I arrived home I rang the
headmaster, and made an appointment to see him tomorrow. I won’t be
fobbed off this time.

Jamie was quiet
after school, but he didn’t mention the morning’s incident.

13th October
(Thursday)

Jamie's
Diary

The ICT teacher
gave us a test. He must think he is teaching infants. The questions
were so simple that it was stupid. There were still some boys who
didn’t get full marks. I defragmented the disk on my computer
because I was bored. The headmaster came into the ICT lesson and
called me into the corridor. I thought he was going to tell me off
for defragmenting the computer, but he just asked me if everything
was okay. I said yes. I should have told him about the unofficial
homework.

The geography
teacher made us take loads of notes again today. I don’t know why
he doesn’t print handouts, and give them to us.

I saw Mr Peters
today. I asked him if I could eat my sandwiches in his office at
lunchtime. He said I could. I didn’t tell him about the boy who had
asked me for money.

*****

Angela's
Diary

Thankfully
there was no repeat performance when we arrived at school this
morning.

I had another
meeting with the headmaster today for all the good that it did. I
told him about the problems Jamie is having, and about the incident
yesterday morning. The man is so patronising. He sat and listened
to everything I said, but I don’t think he actually heard a word.
Or if he did, he dismissed it out of hand. I had the distinct
impression that he thought it was my fault. He said Jamie was fine
when he was in school. The teachers had regularly asked Jamie if he
was okay. He had always said he was. The headmaster said that he
had spoken to Jamie himself this morning. He said Jamie was
relaxed, and had told him that he was okay. The headmaster then had
the audacity to ask me if everything was all right at home. He more
or less insinuated Jamie’s problems must stem from home because he
was obviously okay at school. I wanted to pull him across the desk,
and beat him to a pulp, but I didn’t think that would help my
case.

I asked the
headmaster what I was meant to do if Jamie refused to go into
school again. He gave me a lecture on the seriousness of truancy,
and the penalties which can be imposed if parents allow a child to
stay away from school. I couldn’t believe my ears. How did we go
from talking about Jamie’s problems with the school, which are
apparently all in my head, to talking about truancy? I want Jamie
to be at school. Why did he think I had made an appointment to see
him today? I don’t want to keep Jamie at home. When he started
talking about parenting orders, fines and the Education Welfare
Service, I knew I was wasting my time.

Jamie was quiet
again tonight. He spent most of the time in his bedroom doing
homework.

14th October
(Friday)

Jamie's
Diary

Adam Devlin is
a bully. He is always pushing me, and trying to trip me up. His
friends sometimes join in, and do the same. I try to stay out of
his way. Today, he and his friends pushed me into a corner of the
form room, and said I had to say ‘trams are boring’. I wouldn’t say
it, so Adam kept pushing me. I wanted to get away, so I pushed him
back. Mr Avery sent us both to see the headmaster. Mum came to take
me home early.

*****

Angela's
Diary

I had a call
from the school today. I assumed it was to tell me that Jamie was
ill because he'd had a stomach ache again this morning. It was the
headmaster’s secretary. She asked me to go to school straight away
because Jamie had been in some kind of fight. I had to ask her to
repeat what she had said because I thought I had misheard. I
assumed someone had hit Jamie, but she said Jamie had hit someone
too. I don’t remember the drive over to school. I was ushered into
the headmaster’s office. He said Jamie had been caught fighting
with another boy in his class. I told him Jamie had never been in a
fight in his life, and there must have been a mistake. The
headmaster was adamant. He said Mr Avery had seen the incident, and
had stepped in to stop the fight. The headmaster said that Jamie
wasn’t hurt, but he was upset. He was with the nurse. I said I
wanted to see him. The headmaster said that Jamie and the other boy
were being sent home for the rest of the day.

The
headmaster’s secretary took me over to see the nurse. The nurse was
very kind, and reassured me Jamie wasn’t hurt. He didn’t look hurt.
No cuts or bruises. He looked small, even smaller than usual. He
was sitting on a chair, rocking backwards and forwards. I asked the
nurse if she knew what had happened. She said Mr Avery had walked
in on the two boys exchanging blows in the form room. I asked her
if she knew who the other boy was. She didn’t.

Jamie didn’t
speak on the journey home. He went straight to his bedroom, and I
gave him an hour to calm down. When I eventually managed to get him
to talk, he said a boy called Adam had been picking on him. It was
the same boy who had wet him in the shower last week. Jamie said
the boy had pushed him into a corner of the classroom. Once Jamie
was trapped in the corner,the other boy kept poking Jamie in the
stomach. Jamie said he had pushed the boy away, so he could escape.
That was when the form teacher walked in. I asked him if he had
told the teacher what had happened. He said he hadn’t.

When Andrew
came home I told him about the fight, and about Jamie being sent
home. He checked Jamie was okay, and said that type of thing
happened. I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

I had a
telephone call this evening. It was Joe Peters, the caretaker from
Jamie’s school. He knew all about the fight. I couldn’t imagine why
he would call me at home. He asked if we could meet up. He said he
thought he might be able to help with Jamie. I didn’t know what to
say. I would take help off anyone right now. I have arranged to
meet him tomorrow morning at the coffee shop near the school.

*****

Lesley's
Journal

I skipped
school this afternoon. It was only art and R.E, so no one was going
to notice. I was in the mall when Courtney texted me to say that
Jamie had been in a fight. I thought she was having a laugh. Jamie
can't fight to save his life. When we were little kids we used to
fight sometimes, and I always won. Some kid named Adam picked on
him according to Courtney. The headmaster called mum into
school.

Jamie is
okay.

15th October
(Saturday)

Jamie's
Diary

Mum didn’t come
to town with me and dad this morning. I didn’t let dad rush me
around Bargain Parade because they had their new Christmas stock
in. I bought a mini Christmas tree for my bedroom. I went into the
model shop in the mall. They never have any model trams. They
mainly stock aeroplanes and cars. I bought glue, paint and paint
brushes.

I don’t know
what is going to happen about the lessons I missed yesterday. I
suppose I will have to catch them up. I should have had history
homework yesterday, but I wasn’t in school to get it.

I don’t want to
be in the same class as Adam Devlin any more. I don’t see why I
should have to move to a different class. The headmaster should
move Adam.

*****

Angela's
Diary

Andrew wasn’t
very pleased with me this morning. I told him he had to take Jamie
to town by himself. I needed a break. I didn’t tell him about my
meeting with Joe Peters. It’s not as though it some kind of illicit
affair. Andrew seems to share the headmaster’s view that there
isn’t a problem. I thought if I told Andrew I was meeting with the
school caretaker, to discuss Jamie’s problems, he would think I had
totally lost it. He might just be right. All the way over to the
coffee shop, I kept asking myself what the hell I was doing.

Joe Peters is a
charming man. He insisted on buying my coffee. He said he knew
Jamie had been having problems at school. I told him that the
headmaster had said everything was fine, and that I was imagining
things. Joe said my instincts were probably right. Joe has a
daughter who is nineteen, and at college. He said she'd had exactly
the same problems as Jamie when she was his age. She had been
overwhelmed by homework. She hadn’t made any friends. She had been
ill with stress. I wanted to know what he had done to help her.

He told me his
daughter had something called Asperger’s Syndrome. I vaguely recall
having heard the term, but I didn’t have a clue what it was. He
told me it is an Autism Spectrum disorder. I think I must have shut
down at that point. Surely he couldn’t be suggesting that Jamie had
Autism? I told Joe I was grateful for the help he had given Jamie,
but I thought he was way off the mark. I said Jamie was really
smart, and in the top set. He couldn’t possibly have Autism. Joe
said he hadn’t intended to upset me, but he suggested I read up
about Asperger’s Syndrome. He said most kids with Asperger’s have
above average I.Q. I still couldn’t take it all in. I was convinced
he was wrong. If Jamie had something like that surely someone would
have spotted it long before now. We finished our coffee, and I
thanked him again for helping Jamie. He gave me his mobile number,
and said I could call him if I wanted to talk again.

When I arrived
home, I went online, and read as much as I could about Asperger’s
Syndrome until Andrew and Jamie came home. It was difficult to take
it all in. I watched a few videos too. Most of them were made by
kids with Asperger’s Syndrome. The kids all appeared to be highly
intelligent and articulate. I wouldn't have guessed they had any
problems. It is a far cry from what I have always understood Autism
to be. So much of what I saw matches Jamie to a tee.