Adjustments
Written by Adam Decker
Overview: Howard gets used to his new life in Elwood City.
Disclaimer: I do not own Arthur or this might be a real episode. This is the sequel to The New Kid so you should read that first if you haven't yet already. I hope that you enjoy.
Howard was the new kid at Lakewood Elementary. He has autism and Tourettes Syndrome. He had to adjust to life in a city now. He used to live in a small town. He thought about his life back there.
It was back in kindergarten when it started. Instead of taking the bus home like he normally did, this time, he was riding back home with a friend of his mother's. That's when they saw a bus in an accident. It had gone off the road. When they got close enough to it, Howard saw that it was the bus he normally took. That's when the burping started.
Now it could have been worse. The teasing could have started there. But what was most annoying was the fact that he couldn't stop. People wanted him to stop. So did he. But he couldn't. I mean, you can't control a burp, can you? Some people thought that he was just faking. They thought that he just wanted attention. He wasn't like that. He wouldn't want attention at the annoyance of everyone else.
The coughing started in third grade. All the other tics followed after. He didn't know at first whether people were making fun of him or if he was just paranoid. But he began to be bullied. He didn't like where he lived anymore. His mom had recently discovered a new school to work at as a Spanish teacher. It was all the way in Elwood City. Howard was happy to move.
Throughout this whole time, he never knew what was wrong with him. That's when they went to a neurologist. The specialist told him that he had nervous tics. Howard didn't understand. The only tics he had ever heard of were insect leaches. He wondered at first why they couldn't just be removed. That's when he learned the new form of tic. This form of tic was an involuntary movement. Once he had the urge to do something, he had to do it. That's the way the disorder was.
Life in Elwood City was better. It could be because he knew what was wrong with him and could tell others so they knew too. Maybe he actually liked city living better than the country. But that did seem a bit ridiculous. He liked the nice quiet country where everything was small and wonderful. He could adjust to this new life. He just had to figure out the different way of living.
Everything was good in the end. He liked this new school and his new life.