Saving Danny (26 page)

‘I think it’s the sound of it ringing that he doesn’t like,’ I said. ‘He seems to have very sensitive hearing and will cover up his ears at loud noises. But I’m happy to try him with a phone call home if Reva would like me to.’

Everyone looked at Reva, who didn’t immediately agree. Most parents would have jumped at the opportunity of more contact.

‘Perhaps you’d like time to think about this?’ Ray suggested to her. ‘Then, if you would like to try telephone contact, tell Terri and she’ll arrange it with Cathy.’

Reva nodded.

‘Anything else you would like to add?’ Ray asked, looking at me.

‘It’s not specifically about Danny, but I was wondering if I might buy a rabbit run for the garden so George can spend time out of his hutch when Danny isn’t here.’

‘If Danny says so,’ Reva said. ‘Ask him.’

‘Thank you,’ Ray said as he wrote. ‘Cathy, one question I must ask you as a matter of course is: can Danny stay with you for as long as necessary?’

‘Yes,’ I said. The independent reviewing officer usually asks this at the child’s first review.

Ray finished writing and then looked up. ‘Reva, would you like to speak now? Are you happy with the level of care Danny is receiving at Cathy’s?’ This question is standard too, although I still feel uncomfortable as I wait for the parent(s) to reply.

‘Yes,’ Reva said.

‘Do you have any concerns about the care Danny is receiving? Anything you would like to raise or discuss?’

‘No,’ Reva said.

‘Is there anything you’re especially pleased with?’

Reva shrugged. ‘Not really.’

‘Perhaps you’d like to tell us a bit about Danny now,’ Ray said.

Reva shrugged again. ‘I don’t know what to say. I’ve said it all to Terri, and I gave Cathy notes on Danny when he first came here.’

‘You mentioned earlier that you didn’t think Danny’s play was always age-appropriate. Perhaps you’d like to expand on that.’

‘Not really,’ Reva said. ‘Cathy said it all.’

‘And what about contact?’ Ray asked. ‘Are you happy with the level of contact at present and the way it is going?’

‘I guess so,’ Reva said.

‘So the contact arrangements are working well?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you have any concerns about Danny’s health?’ Ray now asked, working down a checklist of issues to be covered at the review.

‘No,’ Reva said.

‘Are Danny’s eyesight and hearing tests up to date?’

‘I took Danny to the clinic about six months ago, but they couldn’t do anything as he wouldn’t let them touch him,’ Reva said.

‘So Danny hasn’t had a recent health check-up? Hearing or sight test?’

‘No,’ Reva confirmed.

‘And what about the dentist? Has Danny had a check-up recently?’ When a child comes into care under a court order the foster carer usually arranges for these health checks, but if the child is accommodated under a Section 20 the responsibility often stays with the parents.

Reva shook her head. ‘Danny wouldn’t open his mouth for the dentist and then he screamed and lashed out.’

‘Perhaps Cathy could take him,’ Ray suggested to Terri. ‘He should have a check-up.’

‘Yes,’ Terri said. ‘That’s fine with me.’

‘Are you happy for Cathy to take Danny?’ Ray now asked Reva. ‘He could go to the clinic where you registered him.’ Which most parents prefer.

‘Yes,’ Reva said. ‘It’s Yew Lodge clinic, in the same road as his school.’

I made a note.

‘Is there anything else you can think of that Danny needs?’ Ray now asked Reva.

‘Not really,’ Reva said. Usually parents have plenty to say at a review – it is, after all, their child, and even though they aren’t actually parenting the child at the time they have worries and views about their care. But despite Ray’s encouragement, Reva didn’t want to say any more. I thought she seemed on her guard, as she had been recently with me, although the purpose of the review was to give all parties a chance to work together for the good of the child.

‘And Danny’s father, Richard,’ Ray now said. ‘Is he happy with the level of care Danny is receiving?’

‘Yes,’ Reva said tightly.

‘And you both understand and agree with the care plan?’ Ray asked. Reva didn’t immediately answer, so Ray clarified: ‘That Danny will stay here with Cathy until he is rehabilitated home to live with you and Richard in approximately three months’ time.’

There was a long pause before Reva said, ‘I don’t know. I’ll have to ask Richard.’

‘Ask him what?’ Ray said.

‘If Danny can come home to live with us permanently.’

There was silence. I saw Jill and Terri exchange a glance. Sue was looking at Reva, also shocked by her comment.

‘So you have doubts about Danny returning home?’ Ray asked Reva.

‘Yes,’ Reva said.

‘Can you tell us what your concerns are?’

Reva shrugged and looked close to tears.

Ray turned to Terri. ‘I assume you weren’t aware of this?’

‘No,’ Terri said. Then addressing Reva she said, ‘This is the first I’ve heard of this. I need to meet with both of you as a matter of urgency.’

Reva’s face crumpled. ‘Why does everyone always blame me?’ she said. ‘It’s not my fault Richard won’t see you.’ Grabbing her handbag from beside her chair she ran out of the room and down the hall. Terri followed her, but from the hall we heard Reva shout, ‘Leave me alone, won’t you!’

The front door opened and then slammed shut. Terri returned to the living room. She looked worried but was calm. I guessed as a social worker she’d had far worse situations to deal with.

‘I’ll phone her later,’ she said stoically, returning to her seat. ‘Sorry. I wasn’t aware of this new development.’

Ray nodded. ‘Can you telephone me when you’ve spoken to the parents.’

‘Yes,’ Terri said.

The rest of us were quiet, shaken by Reva’s disclosure and sudden departure.

Ray took a breath and moved the meeting on by asking Sue for the school’s report. Sue was as positive as she could be and said that academically and socially Danny was making steady but slow progress, and she hoped a referral to the educational psychologist could be made soon. She read out some recent test results, which highlighted just how far behind his peers Danny was. Ray asked her if she felt Danny would benefit from going to a special school. She said she thought he might, although of course it would need the educational psychologist to make that recommendation, and then the funding would have to be found, all of which would take at least a year. Sue explained how she adapted the class’s work to suit Danny and showed us a piece of his written work. She mentioned the home school book and said that everything was being done to help Danny academically as well as socially. She concluded by saying that Danny was always in school on time and had a good relationship with his teaching assistants.

Ray thanked her and then asked Terri for her input. Given that the care plan was now in tatters, there wasn’t an awful lot Terri could say. She confirmed that Danny had come into care at the request of his parents largely because Reva wasn’t coping, and said she still hadn’t met with Richard despite repeated requests to do so. She said that even before Reva’s comments about whether Danny could go home, she and her manager had concerns over whether this could be achieved, at least in the proposed time scale. She said she felt there was a lack of attachment and that Richard appeared to have rejected Danny from an early age.

‘When I return to the office I’ll arrange a meeting with my manager,’ Terri said. ‘I’m not prepared to leave Danny in limbo while his parents decide if they want him back or not.’ I could see Terri was annoyed, and understandably so.

Ray finished writing and looked at Terri. ‘And you’ll give me an update on what you decide after you’ve spoken to your manager, please,’ he said.

‘Yes, of course,’ Terri said.

Ray then asked Jill to speak.

‘I’ll keep it short,’ she said. ‘As Cathy’s supervising social worker I’m in regular contact with Cathy and I also observe her with Danny. She is a very experienced and well-qualified foster carer and is providing a high level of care for Danny. I have no concerns.’

Ray nodded and thanked her. This was all Jill had to say, as the other issues relating to Danny had already been covered in the review. Ray then began summing up the decisions of the review: that the care plan would be reviewed; Danny would start swimming lessons at school; Reva would consider telephone contact with Danny, and Terri would look into arranging for me to meet with the educational psychologist or CAMHS, as well as referring Danny to the educational psychologist for an assessment. Before Ray closed the meeting he set a date for the next review in three months’ time.

‘Hopefully it won’t be necessary,’ he said. ‘And Danny will have returned home to his parents.’ But I think we all knew that was wishful thinking.

Chapter Twenty-Two

No Cavity Club

I didn’t
ask
Danny if I could buy a run for George as Reva had said I should, because as a responsible adult, and knowing Danny, I felt it was a decision I could reasonably make. I explained to Danny how it would be kinder to George and I involved him in the planning and took him with me to buy the run. Paula came too, and I had difficulty persuading her to leave the pet shop without one of the cuddly rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils or other cute small animals they had for sale. Once home, Adrian helped to assemble the run on the lawn, and from then on, when the weather allowed, George spent most of the day outside. Danny still took him for walks in the garden or brought him indoors if it was raining, but George was out in his run more than he was cooped up in his hutch; nibbling grass, running around or just sitting contentedly with his nose twitching in the air as he took in the different sights and sounds – a very happy bunny. He was pleased, and so was I.

Toscha and George continued to advance their friendship outdoors as well as in and sniffed each other, nose to nose, through the wire mesh of the run. Sometimes Toscha would sit pressed against the outside of the run – as close to George as she could get – and I guessed she was becoming as attached to him as we were.

Danny began swimming lessons at school the week after the review. Yvonne went in the water with him, but even so, that first lesson he was very anxious and only stayed in the water ten minutes before he began to show signs of stress. Yvonne and I agreed that this wasn’t surprising, as the swimming pool was a whole new experience for Danny, and was very intense with the sound echoing, light bouncing off the water and the swimming teacher issuing instructions in a loud voice to the whole class. The following week Danny stayed in the water for fifteen minutes and by the end of March he was managing twenty, but Yvonne didn’t extend it beyond twenty minutes as she allowed time for him to change in peace and quiet and at his own speed, before the rest of the class arrived in the changing room with their lively chatter and constant movement.

On the last Sunday in March I invited my parents to dinner again. Adrian, Lucy, Paula and I had been seeing them on Saturdays when Danny was on all-day contact, but I wanted to include Danny in as many family occasions as possible. This wasn’t only to broaden his experience; it was also important that he got to know my parents, as it appeared he would be staying with us for some time – possibly for good, if he didn’t return home and the social services decided it was the right place for him to be.

I began preparing him for their visit on Friday evening, by telling him that they were coming for Sunday lunch and what that involved. As far as I knew Danny had no experience of grandparents or their role apart from my parents’ disastrous first visit. Reva’s parents lived a long way away, and Terri had said that Richard never took Danny to see his parents. I explained in simple language to Danny my parents’ relationship to me, where they lived, why we loved them so much and liked to see them regularly. On Saturday evening, after Danny had returned from contact and had seen to George, I explained to him in more detail what would happen when my parents arrived the following day: how they would ring the doorbell, come in and take off their coats and shoes, sit in the living room chatting with us, have dinner and then maybe play board games or card games with us in the afternoon. I told him much of this while he was getting ready for bed as I’d found before this was a good time to explain things in detail. It seemed that while he was occupied with the routine of washing and changing he was more relaxed and receptive to what I was saying. I concluded in his bedroom by pointing out Sunday on the calendar on his wall.

‘They are coming tomorrow,’ I said. ‘The next day. One more sleep.’

‘That’s good,’ he said, although I didn’t read much into this as it had been his favourite phrase for the last few days.

Although Danny was as well prepared for my parents’ visit as he could have been, he still hid behind the sofa when the doorbell rang. My heart sank. Thankfully he came out after about five minutes and began pushing one of his toy cars around the living room while making a low humming noise, which I knew he found comforting. He didn’t want us to play with him, although we asked, and when my parents tried to initiate conversation with him – by asking him about school or George – he didn’t reply, but just shook his head. They understood he wasn’t being rude.

‘It’ll take him time to get to know us,’ Mum said to Dad so Danny could hear. ‘But I’m pleased Danny is able to play in the same room as us. I think that’s wonderful.’

Dad agreed. I knew that Danny had heard their positive comments, although he didn’t show it or reply.

Danny ate with us at the table, and we stayed at the table chatting quietly while he finished. But in the afternoon I began to see the tell-tale signs that suggested he was becoming overloaded and could be heading for a meltdown – windmilling his arms and looking slightly spaced out, and a small tic that sometimes developed by his eye. I told him we’d go into the front room for a while where it was quiet, and I’d read him a story. I offered him my hand and he came with me without a fuss. I read a couple of short stories and then Paula came in and said she would read to Danny so that I could go back into the living room. Danny didn’t want to re-join us, so Lucy and Adrian also took turns to be with him, ensuring that unlike at my parents’ previous visit I was able to spend time with them in the living room. When my parents were due to go Danny was still in the front room and didn’t want to come out to say goodbye, so they called to him from the hall.