On the ride home, Dougie rested quietly against Gwace with his weighted blanket pulled up to his chin. His lip was still sore, but the awful pressure from the infection was finally gone. He held his AAC device in his lap while his giant plush banana toy sat beside him surrounded by bags of comfort items.
Gwace glanced over at him gently. "Do you want to go home and rest now, buddy?"
Dougie pressed a button on his AAC device almost immediately:
"Francis Tuttle Technology Center."
Gwace smiled a little. "You want to go back to the Rockwell campus?"
Dougie nodded quickly and pressed: "Project SEARCH." "Scrubs." "Friends."
Even though he was exhausted, Gwace could tell being back in his familiar routine sounded comforting to him. The campus felt safe and predictable, and he loved wearing his Project SEARCH scrubs and carrying all his favorite things around with him.
"Well," Gwace said warmly, "I think we can do that for a little while."
Dougie relaxed immediately after hearing that. He quietly rocked while watching videos on his iPad during the drive to the campus.
When they arrived at Francis Tuttle Technology Center, several staff members noticed Dougie slowly walking in wrapped in blankets and carrying half his comfort items.
"Oh no, Dougie," one instructor said softly after seeing his swollen lip. "You've had a rough day."
Dougie gave a tired nod and held tightly onto his chew necklace.
Gwace explained quietly that Dr. Clyde had drained the infection and that Dougie mainly wanted the comfort of being at Project SEARCH for a while before going home.
The staff understood immediately. They helped set up a calm corner for him with:
his blankets
sensory toys
AAC device
iPad
plush toys
cooling rags
favorite scrubs
Dougie changed into his brand-new Project SEARCH scrubs and slowly started calming down more. Before long, he was sitting peacefully in a beanbag chair watching videos while holding his plush banana toy and occasionally showing staff his new fidget.
"You feeling a little better now?" Gwace asked.
Dougie pressed: "Yes." "School." "Happy."
Gwace smiled and rubbed his back gently. "I'm glad we came here first."
