Mcyt -autistic- oneshots

America: water park pt.2

Phil's POV:

Anyway, after getting something to eat, Tommy and I went along to the sensory room. The others had decided to stay behind so the only thing we brought with us was Tommy's backpack.

There was a white door with a sign on it saying 'quiet room' in brightly coloured letters. Tommy looked at me nervously as I knocked on it. A bubbly, teenage girl opened it on the other side. "Hey, how can I help you today?" Her eyes went wide as she saw us, I just hoped she didn't recognise who we were.

"Hey, I emailed ahead about the quiet room?"

"Yea sure, if you can just show me the email of confirmation and then come right in." I pulled up the email on my phone and showed it to her. She nodded and moved aside to let us in.

The room was relatively big, but not echoey which was good. There was a corner with beanbags and pillows. A set of drawers which looked to be full of sensory and fidget toys. And then a few tables dotted around with different activities. A few puzzles and board games. Tommy seemed to have stopped masking straight away, which was a good thing because it meant he trusted he could be himself there.

He tentatively walked over to the beanbags. Sitting down in one and getting his headphones and iPad out of his bag. I hung back and talked to the girl. "It's really good you have this here."

"Yea, luckily our manager has an autistic son with ADHD, so he really pushed for this to be put in place. It's amazing how many people it can help."

"It makes such a difference to the whole day. Just being able to take a break."

"Yea."

"We went to Disney world the other day and we didn't manage to sort out any of the disability access arrangements. It was a nightmare."

"Disney is overwhelming for a neurotypical person anyway."

"Exactly! It didn't end too well."

"Have you enjoyed the US besides that?"

"Yea it's been fun. We've been out here seeing friends."

"Oh that sounds nice. How has your son found it?"

"Oh, Umm sorry. He's my friend not my son."

"Don't worry, I understand. You're Phil aren't you?" I tried not to curse out loud.

"Yea, and that's Tommy."

"I know. I watch you guys on twitch sometimes. You're pretty cool."

"Thanks." I said, giving a nervous smile. This was the last thing Tommy needed.

"Oh and I'm not going to tell anyone you're here. Believe me, I know that sometimes things are personal and private."

"Thank you. Honestly, we really appreciate that."

"It's fine."

"So, do you enjoy working here?"

"Yea. I've not been giving much training, but I do a lot of online courses and I've had a lot of experience with it, so I know what I'm doing. And helping people to have a great day is super rewarding."

"Oh that's interesting. What experience do you have?"

"Ah well, I'll tell you cause I might as well. This is my personal and private thing." I felt like stepping in and telling her she didn't have to, but she wanted to, I knew that. "My older sister had Down syndrome, along with a lot of other health needs. I loved her a lot, but when I was 11 she unfortunately died. Ever since then, I've wanted to help people just like her. Help make their lives better and so on. I'm in college for occupational therapy and once I'm done with that I'll be able to help so many more people. This is kind of just the job I do in the mean time, but I'm happy to still get to help in some way."