Tale #62: Not That Special

Tale #62: Not That Special (Content Tags: Messy diaper, diaper check, bureaucratic horror, percieved as mushbrain, special ed setting) Ryan may have had his issues, but he was no drooling moron. He'd technically been in 'special ed' for the full duration of his schooling, since first grade at least. It'd been different at his other school though; he'd been primarily integrated in with the general classes with an IEP, and he'd only had a few times during the week where he was separated out into something more remedial. He had a few learning disabilities, though none of them were really of the intellectual sort. Dyslexia, dyscalcula, ADHD, maybe a drizzle of autism... Disadvantages, but nothing that couldn't be helped through the proper support system! So while his file clearly had a SPED label on it, none of his peers ever looked down at him like he was a dimwit or anything like that. At his worst, he'd had some toileting issues in his earlier years, but those had mostly resolved themselves by this point in his life. Then his family had to move. From a big bustling city with a large tax base for the local schools, to a podunk little town where there was a lot less financial support going to the education system. It'd already been difficult to say goodbye to all his friends, but he'd soon learn he was saying goodbye to his dignity too. His new school, on the first day that he would attend, took him from the 'normal' class and sent him across the school to somewhere that would be considered more conducive to his proper learning environment. They sent him to the special ed class. Ryan had been at his desk, and he'd already gotten chatty with some of his new classmates; during roll call, she'd asked if she'd missed anyone, and Ryan had raised his hand. A further analysis of her sheet and then a look at the computer had yielded nothing helpful about this mysterious new student of hers. So she'd called the administration office and that'd given her the answer she sought. Ryan wasn't on her roll sheet, because he wasn't signed up for her sixth grade class. This wasn't a matter of moving to another one in that grade either; it was a small school, and there were only enough sixth graders to make up the one class. "Sorry, Ryan. You're in the wrong class. Your classroom is on the other side of the school." The sour woman put plainly. "I'm not sure how you ended up in here, but I suppose it's easy to get lost when you're new." The other kids in the room began to whisper among themselves. It was obvious that they knew something that he did not. It was unlikely that Ryan was put in the wrong grade, so that really only left one option. "Gather your things, someone should be coming to get you and take you where you belong." It didn't take very long either. In less than five minutes, the door to the class was opening, and a peppy, much younger woman was coming in. She had a broad smile and dressed more whimsically, like a Kindergarten teacher might. "Good morning, Miss Scott. Your lost little one is right over here." The older woman greeted, walking over to gesture toward Ryan. "Hello Ryan! Looks like you didn't end up in the right place this morning, huh? Well, no worries! We'll fix that right quick and get you settled in over in my class." Ms. Scott beamed, putting a hand on his shoulder. Ryan was still very confused and honestly unsure of what was happening, but he felt too shy to inquire about it. If they thought he was in the wrong class, then who was he to really argue about it? He got up from his chair and looked nervous at the giggling that was coming from his peers. What was so funny? Sure, Ms. Scott seemed a little...Energetic, but that had to be better than a frowning prune like in this class! He left the room with the young woman, and without asking, she grabbed a hold of his hand to lead him down the hall. "There must have been a mistake when they were sorting you kids out this morning. The sixth grade kids are the oldest, so they aren't as careful about directing them to the right classroom...But you're new, so they should have double-checked!" "Uhh...I guess. I just thought that there was only one sixth grade class..." Ryan meekly replied. "Oh, there is. You're not supposed to be in there, though! You're supposed to be *my* new student." That did nothing to cure his confusion. Where the heck was she taking him, if not to another sixth grade classroom? "...I don't think I understand." "That's okay, Ryan. Understanding things can be tricky, especially when you're in a new place and don't have someone to help you out." They turned a corner and continued down another hall. These were the younger grades: second, fist, kindergarten, and then something on the furthest end. He was looking a little more nervous now; did they think he was a little kid? His little brother might be down this hall, but he shouldn't be! "Umm...I'm eleven." He blurted out. "Yup! That's a big number, isn't it? Do you like to count?" Ryan furrowed his brow, "I-I mean that I'm not supposed to be in the little kid grades." She stopped and looked down at him, "I know. I'm not taking you to any of these rooms, silly!" "...Then, umm, where *are* you taking me?" "A class where a special little boy like you can have better support. It's just a little bit further." Ryan had a better idea now what was happening. Once he reached the door and saw the 'SPED' sign, it was confirmed to him: he was going into a special ed room. The thought didn't immediately terrify or humiliate him, since he'd been in special ed since near the beginning of his academic career, but that form of it was extremely idyllic in comparison to what it would mean here. He expected kids in there to have similar learning difficulties to his own, but also that they wouldn't be intellectually impaired. The type of mushbrain that pooped themselves and drooled all day long, that was something that had been in a tier of SPED that he'd never remotely approached. Opening the door though, Ryan was greeted to the sight of some *very* intellectually impaired classmates. The range of age was across the full elementary gamut, mostly male, and while Ryan didn't know it yet, about half the class was padded up. The only truly 'normal' looking kid was one standing off to the side, seemingly setting up activities for later; Ryan deduced that she must be a student helper. As it turned out, the type of learning disabilities that Ryan had, were not the type that would go into this kind of class. At least not in this school district. With how little the resources stretched, the school couldn't afford a complex strata of addressing such needs, so there was only one tier of special education. With the class having some students around the mental level of a toddler, it incentivized local parents to keep their academically-challenged students in gen-ed, rather than stick them in 'the retard class'. Ryan's parents had no way of knowing that though, with how hasty the move had been. The result was that Ryan had SPED on his student record, and on his IEP from his old school, it still mentioned the toileting accidents as a part of his problems. With these particular details in play, his new school had seen it fit to put him where he was labeled to belong. "We have a new student joining us today! Everyone give a big happy welcome to Ryan!" A million thoughts were racing around Ryan's head. There were only six other kids in the whole class, but at least half of them looked like they hardly had two brain cells to rub together. This wasn't the special ed he knew! This wasn't right! Right after the class gave him an uproarious greeting, his new teacher was ushering him over to sit on the floor with the other students, for what he could only assume was some kind of 'get to know you' activity. He found himself placed between what looked to be a third grade boy and a larger boy that was probably around his own age. All eyes were on him, which did nothing to soothe his frazzled nerves. The teacher was about to come and start things off, but then her phone rang, and she had to excuse herself for a moment to the other side of the class. The student helper remained to keep an eye on the other kids, but her attention was split with the activity she was setting up. Ryan remained quiet, but that wouldn't stop his new classmates from trying to interact with him. The third grader to his left was picking his nose and starting to ask him lisping questions, while the larger boy to his right was simply staring him down. "Hi! I'm Bobby. I'm eight, dat's *dis* many." The younger boy chirped, pulling his finger out of his nose long enough to show the appropriate amount of fingers. "M'really good at countin', how 'bout you? How old're you?" "I-I uh, I'm eleven..." Ryan replied quietly. "...But I don't think I'm in the right place..." "Hrrrggggggh.." The uncertainty that Ryan had posed was interrupted by a shameless grunting sound coming from the older boy to his right. It caught the new boy's attention immediately and he gave a quizzical glance at the older boy starting to get red-faced. "What's up with him?" Ryan asked, perturbed by the drooly dimwit's sudden noise. Bobby didn't have a chance to illuminate Ryan before the situation shifted to become more obvious. The grunting boy got much redder and his chin became covered in his own drool, right before a muffled crackling sound started to emanate from his backside. Almost as quickly as it began, it ended with a squishy sounding plop and the older boy lolled his tongue out in a bestial relief. Ryan was so taken aback that he couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed; he thought it surely had to be something else, but then the smell started to drift toward him. The older boy reeked of poop. He felt some secondhand embarrassment from it; even when he'd been having messy accidents himself, he'd never been so mindlessly infantile about it! The aide seemed to notice the smell in the air and stopped what she was doing to come check it out. "I smell someone with poopy pants! Who made a boom-boom?" The girl asked, as if she was addressing a group of toddlers. Ryan cringed at the question, since it implied that the kid who just crapped himself wasn't the only one in here known for doing so. He thought to tattle, but decided that it would be best not to entangle himself in such a matter, at least until he saw the girl start to tell kids to stand up, so that she could check their pants. She wouldn't dare include *him* in this humiliating line-up, right? She started on the far side, first with a kindergarten age boy, and then a boy that looked a little younger than Bobby. She would pull out the waistband of their shorts and peer inside, seeming satisfied that their pants were still clean; she'd skipped over the only girl in the class, as well as a boy that looked around his age, which just left the final three of him, Bobby, and the real culprit. She confirmed that Bobby wasn't the pantsfiller, which to Ryan meant that she'd surely skip over him and go straight to the real perpetrator of the stench. Instead, she stood in front of him with an expecting look on her face. "You're the new kid, right? I need you to stand up so I can check your pants." She put plainly, as if it was a completely typical request to make of a boy around her own age. "H-huh? O-oh, I didn't do... *That*. It was that kid." Ryan finally accused, pointing his finger at the drooling moron that sat beside him. With how close their proximity was, the intensity of the smell seemed like it could be originating from either of them. She raised an eyebrow and looked over at the supposed pantspooper. "Is that true, Sam? Did you make an uh-oh in your pants?" "Nuh-uh! No go poo-poo!" Ryan looked annoyed by the mushbrain's denial of what he'd done. "Yes, you did! You did it right here in front of everyone! Isn't that right, Bobby?" "...I'unno, it's jus' really stinky over here." The younger boy shrugged, looking like he didn't want to get involved. It didn't necessarily seem like apathy, though he was digging back in his nostril, it seemed more like not wanting to upset Sam. The girl, growing exasperated, just sighed and shook her head. "Well, I'm getting two different stories here, and this is where the stink is coming from, so I'll just have to check you both. Ryan, please stand up for me." "But I--" The girl furrowed her brow, "No more buts, except yours getting up off the ground. Rules are rules, no exceptions just for being the new kid. Now please stand up, or I'll have to tell the teacher that you're not being very good." This didn't seem like a battle he could win. As shameful as it might feel, it would be better to just get this over and done with, so that she'd see that he was telling the truth. Annoyed, Ryan finally got up off the ground, and the girl wasted no time in grabbing a hold of his waistband to pull back. Peering in, she'd only see a pair of skidded briefs, which didn't seem right to her. Wasn't their new student supposed to be potty-challenged? That's what it had said on his file, right? Well, there was still the matter of the stain on those underoos, and she was supposed to be thorough. She tugged back on the briefs and confirmed that he wasn't lugging any luggage around. She let the shorts snap back into place, deciding that she'd ask the teacher about his lack of proper protection in a moment. "See? Was that so hard?" The girl cooed, giving him a condescending pat on the rump, before turning her attention to the last boy in the room. "I guess that means Sam must be our stinker! And a big fibber too, huh?" She got the large boy up to his feet and the smell from his backside intensified in force. Ryan cringed and tried to scoot away, though as he did, he could get a better look at Sam's backside. It looked kind of lumpy back there, but also just bigger than it seemed like it should be... "Yuck! That's one icky diaper, Sammy! I think that'll be one for Ms. Scott to handle." Diaper? Had she just said 'diaper'? Ryan knew these kids were slower than he was accustomed to, but to be dimwitted enough to be pooping in diapers? He'd never associated 'special ed' with the 'R-word', but this seemed like the perfect scenario to do so. This school really had the nerve to shove him into the same class as *retards* crapping in diapers. He may be a lifelong special ed student thus far, but he wasn't *that* special. At least that's what he genuinely thought, but as far as his vague and outdated record would show, he was required to be in 'SPED' and he had 'soiling accidents'. "Mrs. Scott? Sammy really needs his diaper changed. Also, I needed to talk to you about the new kid, because I think he might need to get changed too..." Ryan may not be 'That Special' yet, but time could prove him wrong.