An autistic mother-of-two has reportedly resigned from a successful career as an educational psychologist so that she can give her full attention to the stream of e-mails and text messages from the school attended by her two children.
Niamh Callaghan, 38, whose sons Lucas and Finley are in Year 3 and Year 5 respectively, was concerned that she seemed to have accidentally become pen pals with an entire school of 500 children and 40 staff.
Callaghan made the decision to focus on school correspondence full-time after her misinterpretation of an e-mail about a dressing-up day had resulted in an embarrassing ordeal for Lucas.
“We were supposed to be dressing up as the Middle Ages,” Lucas explained. “Mummy shaved the front of my hair so it looked like I was balding, and sent me in with a big box of ibuprofen. My teacher said it wasn’t historically accurate.”
Callaghan said, “There are so many updates and newsletters to read. Updates on school trips and on non-uniform days and nits. Headteacher’s newsletter, governors’ newsletter, newsletter written by the Year 6 children, newsletter written by the nits…”
“I’m not sure which I’m supposed to reply to, so I reply to all of them to be safe. Writing to all the nits individually was a hell of a task.”
The school was approached for comment but staff were too busy, perching stacks of handwritten letters on children’s heads.
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