True Self Syndrome (TSS) By Teek © June 2023

“Hi, Mrs. Gibson. Toni has had a great morning and should be ready to go soon. His time on the computer is up in,” Miss Staple looked over at the clock. “About four minutes. Can you wait that long?”

Looking over at her son on the computer, “Yeah. He might have a fit if I try to speed up the process. That is the last thing I need at the moment.”

“I still can’t believe Toni won the lottery,” Miss Staple looked around at all the students in her classroom. “He is the first person in 75 years to win the Cauldron Academy lottery from this side of our state. The winner from this state is usually from one of the cities. Did you see the news story last night on him winning?”

“No, I don’t usually watch the news. Did they mention Toni’s name?”

“With him being a minor, they wouldn’t do that. They said the winner was from our town and how rare it is for someone in the rural parts of our state to win. Then they talked about why it is such a great honor. They even interviewed a graduate from Cauldron Academy. Did you know it has been ten years since our state has had a lottery for a position in the school? With only two people from our state enrolled, it can take a long time for a new spot to open. Toni is taking the position of a young lady who turned twenty-one after being in the school for fifteen years,” Miss Staple kept her eyes on Toni. “I will hate to see him go, but I can’t deny they have a much better program than anything I could ever provide. Cauldron Academy has redefined Special Education. I use many of their techniques here, but there is no way I can replicate all of their approaches. Toni will make amazing progress over there.”

“I am still unsure about this, but I can’t deny their positive reputation. There are just so many things that make me hesitant about all of this.”

“He’ll do fine there, and you will adjust to the change.”

“I know, but handing my baby over to . . . to . . .”

“I never pictured you as the discriminatory type,” Miss Staple turned to Mrs. Gibson. “I know your concerns, but Cauldron Academy has a long successful reputation for educating children with disabilities. They have the full support of the government, medical community, and every disability support group. He couldn’t be in safer hands.”

Mrs. Gibson grimaced, “Would you send your daughter to the Academy?”

With a huge smile, there was no hesitation in Miss Staple’s voice, “If my daughter were disabled and lucky enough to win the lottery, I wouldn’t hesitate to send her. Even without being disabled, I would love to have them educate her. However, that’s not allowed. The law is very clear. Their type can’t teach nomags.”

“Yet, we let them teach our children with disabilities?”

“I don’t know why that is permitted when they can’t educate non-disabled children. For some reason, the global governments consider it safe for nomag children with disabilities. Over the last hundred and fifty years, both societies still strongly support the school and all they do. Toni’s lucky to be going there. 85% of their graduates sustain gainful employment, which they enjoy. Those are impressive statistics since only 35% of disabled adults who did not attend Cauldron Academy are employed. Those are pretty dismal numbers compared to the 75% employment rate of the non-disabled adult population.”

“I saw those statistics. They’re almost unbelievable,” Mrs. Gibson said as she heard Toni’s timer go off.

The two adults watched Toni shut down the computer game he was playing and then go over to his desk. Looking at his picture schedule, he turned around and smiled at his mom. He got his backpack and went up to Mom.

While Toni was asked and answered questions about how his morning had been going, two people entered the room. They stopped just inside the doorway, waiting silently until the discussion was done.

“Mrs. Gibson,” Principal Eriks said. “This is Dr. Parker. She is the admission director at Cauldron Academy.”

The adults all greeted each other, and then Dr. Parker got down on one knee in front of Toni, making her a smaller height than him.

“Hi, Toni. I’m Dr. Parker. Nice to meet you.”

Toni looked at the outstretched hand and then at Dr. Parker. He didn’t focus on her eyes. Instead, he looked at a point on her right cheek.

After a few moments of silence, Mrs. Gibson prompted, “Toni, shake Dr. Parker’s hand.”

“That’s okay if he doesn’t want to,” commented Dr. Parker.

Following the direction, Toni shook Dr. Parker’s hand and then hid behind his mother.

Smiling, Dr. Parker stood up, “Well, Toni, today I am going to take you on a magical adventure.”

With wide eyes, Toni peeked his head out from behind his mother, “Magic?”

“Yes, real magic.”

“Rainbows and unicorn magic,” Toni asked?

Mrs. Gibson and Miss Staple chuckled.

Dr. Parker just smiled and nodded, “You like rainbows?”

“Uh, huh.”

“Well then, let’s follow a rainbow to the magic door,” Dr. Parker wiggled her fingers toward the classroom door. A rainbow appeared on the floor, leading out of the room and down the hall. “To let the magic begin, follow the rainbow, but stop when you reach the cloud.”

Wide-eyed, Toni headed out of the room with Mom, Dr. Parker, and Principal Eriks following. The rainbow led them down the hallway, into the office, and entered the conference room. That is where Toni found an image of a cloud on the floor. Stopping on the cloud, Toni turned to look at the adults.

“Good job Toni,” Dr. Parker praised. “Now, what is your favorite color?”

Toni stood silently for a moment before saying, “Yellow.”

Dr. Parker wiggled her fingers again, and the whiteboard in the room disappeared. A bright yellow door appeared in its place. The door slowly opened on its own, revealing a spinning yellow disk with streaks of pink and blue.

“Cool,” Toni looked at the spinning disk and then Dr. Parker.

“We are now going through that doorway to a new school. A place called Cauldron Academy. That’s where I work. We’ll go to my office and then to a room where you can play with magically chosen toys. After playing for a bit, Teacher Susan will do some things with you before lunch. You’ll have lunch with one of the classes and then work with Teacher Susan some more. After the school work, you will get to play some more before you go home.”

Toni stared blankly at Dr. Parker.

“Hmmm, maybe this will help,” Dr. Parker wiggled her fingers on her right hand at the palm of her left. A paper appeared. “Here’s a picture schedule to see the rest of your school day.”

Toni looked over the schedule and then smiled up at Dr. Parker.

“Are you ready to follow the rainbow to my magical school?”

Looking at his mom, Toni saw her nodding her head. Toni turned back to Dr. Parker with his eyes dashing back and forth between her and the magical door.

“Tell you what, Toni,” Dr. Parker said. “I will go through first and wait for you on the other side. Principal Eriks will wait here in this room until the doorway disappears.”

Dr. Parker stepped into the doorway and disappeared behind the spinning colors.

Holding Mom’s hand, they stepped up to the spinning disk.

“Are you ready?” Mom asked Toni.

“Magic is real?”

“Yes, Munchkin. Magic is real. All the teachers at Cauldron Academy are magic users. They have invited you to attend their magical school, and today we get to visit the school for the first time. It’s far away. The portal is the only way to get there. All we do is step through that disk, and we will be at the new school.”

“Will it hurt?”

“I have only been through a portal twice,” Mom explained. “Back when I was in High School, a school for kids with magic hosted an event I attended. From what I remember, it doesn’t hurt to go through the portal.”

Mrs. Gibson looked down at Toni, “Ready.”

“I guess,” Toni took a deep breath and then stepped into the spinning disk of colors.

Reaching the other side, they found themselves in a large entryway. One wall was all glass with two doors that went outside. Toni looked out at the field and trees. He then turned and looked back at the portal he just came through. Letting go of his mom’s hand, Toni went back through the portal.

“Toni,” Mom called before following him.

Immediately after reaching the other side, Mrs. Gibson asked Toni why he had left. Unfortunately, Toni wasn’t responding to her.

“Look, it’s raining out,” Toni pointed at the window before going through the door again.

Mrs. Gibson quizzically looked at Principal Eriks.

“I was warned he might go back and forth a few times. That is why I was to stay here until the portal disappeared.”

“Okay,” Mrs. Gibson said before following Toni through the doorway.

“Look, Mom,” Toni stated as Mrs. Gibson arrived at Cauldron Academy. “It’s sunny outside. Not a cloud in the sky. The door really is magic. There’s magic Mom, real magic.”

“Yes, Munchkin. There are real magic users in the world. Dr. Parker is one, and the teachers here are all real magic users.”

Toni looked over at Dr. Parker, “Can I see more?”

“If you come to my school, you will see magic daily.”

“Can I go, Mom? Can I?”

“That is what we are here to figure out, Munchkin. Let’s get through this visit before we make any decisions.”

Toni slumped his shoulders, “Okay.”

“Let’s go to my office, and we can talk some,” Dr. Parker gestured for the two of them to follow her down a hallway.

Toni took his mother’s hand as she started to follow Dr. Parker. Before they left the entryway, Toni turned around and saw the magic door disappear.

After settling down on some chairs and a couch in the office, Dr. Parker started, “Before we start, I want you to understand that Toni has a place in this school. The entrance exam will not change that. It’s only designed to help us place him appropriately in the school. His attendance at this school is completely up to you Mrs. Gibson.”

“Thank You. I do have a few concerns.”

“I understand. Many new parents do. Hopefully, by the end of the day, you will feel completely comfortable with this transition. I will try to answer all your questions today,” Dr. Parker then turned to Toni. “And all your questions too.”

Toni smiled as he snuggled into his mom.

“Mrs. Gibson, have you had a chance to look through the paperwork I sent you?”

“Yes, my husband and I have read through everything and have signed most of the paperwork. However, I had questions about TSS and wanted to talk to you before signing that paperwork. I’m also confused about how Toni would get to school or how my husband and I would get here when needed?”

“Let’s start with the simple one. We’ll establish a portal in your house linked to the school. You can activate it with a button anytime during school hours or special after-school events.”

“What about this TSS? Why must we sign a release form for Toni to take the entrance exam? How dangerous is it for my baby to be here?”

Dr. Parker smiled, “TSS. True Self Syndrome is a side effect non-magical individuals, or nomags, can get after magic has been used on them. Not every individual gets TSS, but the spells we use on the children here tend to activate the syndrome more than other types of magic.”

Mrs. Gibson smiled weakly, “From what I read, children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to the syndrome.”

Dr. Parker looked over at Toni, who was digging a tablet out of his backpack, “Yes, they are, but most feel TSS is a small price to pay for the benefits our school provides. Over the last two hundred years, research has repeatedly shown that individuals with disabilities who contract TSS as a child tend to be happier as adults.”

Mrs. Gibson twisted her mouth around at that.

“Let me explain,” Dr. Parker continued. “True Self Syndrome is exactly what the name says. The person with the syndrome will be their true self and not feel any desire to put on a mask to fit in. Most kids with disabilities, especially those with Autism like Toni, feel pressured by society to wear a mask around others. Individuals with TSS don’t put those masks on. They feel it is more important to be themselves, and there is no long-term benefit from trying to be like everyone else.”

“Of course, I want Toni always to be himself and not give into peer pressure,” Mrs. Gibson ruffled Toni’s hair. “But . . .”

Dr. Parker smiled, “Adults with Autism often suffer from periods of Autistic burnout. These episodes can significantly impact their physical and emotional health. Skills regress and autistic traits become more prominent. Serious health problems can develop and last months to years. Individuals with TSS rarely reach a burnout state, and when they do, it has much less impact on their life than those without True Self Syndrome.”

Mrs. Gibson scrunched her eyebrows and tilted her head, “You make it sound like TSS is a positive for the children.”

Dr. Parker looked at Toni, “The children with disabilities often view it as a positive. It is a lot of work to mask who you are.”

“Then why do you make us sign paperwork to ensure we understand what TSS is and that any child attending the school has a high probability of developing the syndrome?”

Dr. Parker grimaced, “Not all parents are happy with how TSS impacts their child. They are concerned about image and feel their child's behaviors with True Self Syndrome make them stand out too much from the ‘norm’. Here at Cauldron Academy, we teach children it is okay to be themselves while also educating them about how others will interpret their behaviors. TSS causes the kids not to care about those differences. It does not, however, change the parents' views.”

“So,” Mrs. Gibson squeezed Toni, who was engrossed in a game on his tablet. “TSS removes a child’s desire to wear a mask and pretend to be ‘normal’.”

“Yeah, that about sums it up.”

“I’ve always wanted Toni to be proud of who he is. I try to teach him not to worry about what others think. It’s not easy, though,” Mrs. Gibson looked over at the packet of paperwork sticking out of her purse. “You can’t start the evaluation until I sign that TSS form, can you?”

“That is correct,” Dr. Parker confirmed. “The evaluation involves doing some magic to Toni, which will help us figure out his true skills and abilities. For us to do that, you have to give consent. The TSS form is a critical piece of that consent.”

“By giving consent for the evaluation, does that commit him to go here?”

“No,” Dr. Parker responded. “We will need your answer before you leave the campus, but not before we do the testing.”

“Will Toni get TSS just from the evaluation?”

“Possibly, but it is extremely rare for a child to have a life-long impact from just one day. You may see TSS symptoms for several months, but probably not longer.”

“My husband felt I should let the evaluation happen and hear you out before deciding. He has signed all the paperwork. If the evaluation has no long-term consequence, I guess Toni can do it,” Mrs. Gibson pulled out the forms and signed all the ones she hadn’t.

“Toni,” Dr. Parker stated.

“Aha,” Toni responded without looking up.

“I need to talk to you, and then you get to play in the magical playroom. Can you put the tablet away?”

Toni kept playing, but he did nod his head in agreement.

“Toni,” Mrs. Gibson prodded after not seeing him put away the tablet.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Gibson. Toni can have a moment to finish what he is doing.”

“Almost done,” Toni commented without looking up.

While the adults waited, Dr. Parker looked through the paperwork packet to ensure the various forms were all signed in the proper places.

After about two minutes, Toni turned his tablet off and stuffed it in his backpack.

“Okay,” Dr. Parker smiled at Toni and Mrs. Gibson. “It is important you both understand what’s about to happen. We are going into a special room, a magic room.”

Toni’s eyes widened.

“Toni is going to stand in a special circle. In there, the magic will swirl around Toni, encasing him in a ball of magic,” Dr. Parker turned and looked straight at Toni. “The room will determine a bunch of toys you would like to play with and put them on the shelves. It will also adjust your body to match your brain.”

Mrs. Gibson scrunched her eyes in confusion while Tony continued his expressionless look.

Dr. Parker elaborated, “Toni is twelve, but he is immature for his biological age. Toni, that means you still like little kid things that children your age typically don’t like anymore. There is nothing wrong with that. The magic ball will make your body match your brain, so you will probably be a few years younger than twelve when the ball goes away.”

“Will he stay young,” Mrs. Gibson asks?

“No. Before you leave the school, Toni’s physical body will be changed back,” Dr. Parker waited for Mrs. Gibson to relax a little before continuing. “Toni, there are things you know, things you’re learning, and things too hard for you. The ball of magic will make you only show what you have mastered or firmly know. You will no longer be able to do things you haven’t yet mastered. Is all of this okay with you?”

Toni nodded, and Mrs. Gibson verbally stated her agreement.

“Toni, you will play with the toys for a bit, and then Teacher Susan will come and do some lessons with you. Your Mom and I will be in the room next door while you play and work with Teacher Susan.”

“Magic toys?”

Dr. Parker smiled at Toni, “Not magic toys, just toys chosen for you with magic.”

“Okay,” Toni said with a smile. “Magic toys.”

“No, Toni,” Mrs. Gibson corrected.

Dr. Parker held up her hand, “I think he understands, or at least at a level he can process. He’s not the first to refer to toys that magically appear as ‘magic toys’. The name doesn’t matter as long as he accepts them when they appear.”

“I guess,” Mrs. Gibson responded. “But he isn’t a little kid. He’s twelve. He can understand this.”

“It’s okay. Let’s go into the exam room and get this all started. The longer we wait, the harder it will be on both of you,” Dr. Parker stood up and gestured toward a door on the other side of her office.

Entering the rectangular room, Toni looked around the all-white room. There was a long mirror along one of the walls, a half-circle table with two chairs like Miss Staple had in her classroom, and empty counter-height shelves across from the mirror. However, Toni focused on a rainbow-colored circle on the floor. He stood just outside the circle, looking into it.

“If I step into that, the magic will begin?”

“Yes, Toni,” Dr. Parker replied. “You step into the center of the circle, face the shelves, and say the magic words. Then the magic will begin. When the magic stops, you can play with the toys. Your mom and I will be right through this white door next to the circle. Later, Teacher Susan will come in that white door on the other side of the room.”

Without hesitation, Toni stepped in and faced the empty white shelves, “What are the magic words?”

Smiling, Dr. Parker said, “Magic begin.”

Toni stood tall with a huge smile, “Magic begin.”

Upon hearing the words, Dr. Parker secretly wiggled her fingers.

The colors of the rainbow shot up from the circle and started to bend until it was a spinning sphere surrounding Toni. The room's walls changed to include murals of unicorns, rainbows, and Disney characters.

When the toys started to arrive, Dr. Parker’s eyes went wide, “Mrs. Gibson, we need to go into the observation room and talk before the magic sphere finishes.”

Mrs. Gibson noticed a change in Dr. Parker’s tone and that her calm personality was now trying to speed things up.

“Is something wrong?”

In the observation room, with the door closed, Dr. Parker directed them to a table and chairs in front of a two-way mirror. Sitting down, they looked into the exam room, “We don’t have much time, and I have a lot to explain.”

Mrs. Gibson looked at the spinning sphere of colors, “Is Toni okay?”

Dr. Parker looked at the toys and the other changes happening to the room, “Yeah, but the magic is about to do something I don’t think any of us were expecting.”