266 The Explosive Childlast school year,” said Casey’s father. “In fact, we were
happy he started off as well as he did. He was really
looking forward to going back to school.”
“I think we need to revisit the idea of conse-
quences,” said the special education coordinator. “Do
you folks say anything to him about this behavior at
home?” she asked the parents.
“Of course we do!” said the mother, a little of-
fended. “We let him know very clearly that it is unac-
ceptable, and he gets very upset because he knows
that already. Believe me, this is being addressed at
home.”
“Is he exploding a lot at home?” asked the principal.
“We haven’t had a major explosion in months,” said
the father. “We’d almost forgotten how bad things
used to be.”
“I still think Casey needs to know that at school,
life doesn’t just go on like nothing happened after he
has a explosion,” said the principal.
“I agree,” said the special education coordinator.
“What did you have in mind?” asked the father.
“I think after he blows up, he needs to sit in my office
and talk it over,” said the principal. “And until he does,
he shouldn’t be permitted to rejoin his classmates.”
“I don’t think he’s ready for that yet,” the father
said.
“Well,” said the special education director, “whether