Christina Castillo admits that she was scared.

As a hands-on mother, Castillo made the decision to move her son from his home school district to find a different opportunity. At first in Spring Branch and then Houston independent school districts, the adults around Jonathan Castillo struggled working with him.

So, Jonathan would elope. A lot.

Elopement is a common behavior among individuals with autism spectrum disorder where they leave a safe space without permission or supervision.

“They would call me all the time to pick him up,” Christina said. “And he knew how to work that so eventually he was led here.”

They were referred to Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) and its Special Schools. Academic and Behavior School (ABS) East and West provide an educational environment for students identified as having severe behavioral difficulties, emotional difficulties and developmental disabilities. Classes are specifically designed to help special education students function successfully, while staff use management strategies to emphasize positive reinforcements.

Jonathan enrolled at ABS West going into ninth grade. The fear of change and the unknown got to Christina.

“I was skeptical and thought, ‘They don’t know how to work with my son,’” Christina said. “As soon as he got here, they started working with him and redirecting him and his behaviors. I wasn’t getting those phone calls anymore. They told me, ‘That’s not how we work here. We redirect him and follow through with more structure, more discipline.’ That’s what he needed – tighter boundaries.”

At ABS West, Jonathan has flourished. It didn’t come without adversity and challenges, but among the many benefits, he found a number of male staff members patient enough to understand him and willing to work with him.

Staff in his corner included former ABS West Principal Dr. Victor Keys, current principal Jatata Hutton, teacher Ray Miller and transition specialist Cordegus Monette.

“I like going to school here,” Jonathan said. “I connected with staff members like Mr. Miller and Dr. Keys, and just connected with a lot of people here.”

Jonathan took to chess, a program in which many students at HCDE’s four special schools participate thanks to a partnership with Perfect TeamPlay, Inc., a nonprofit organization that uses chess to motivate students and teach math through the game. At one point, Jonathan was the top chess player at ABS West.

His mother said through chess, Jonathan’s confidence grew and his attitude changed. He participated in tournaments and even taught his mother how to play.

When it came to Miller, the two connected over sports. Miller met Jonathan every morning coming off the bus and whether it was a word of affirmation or small gift, he found a way to bring positivity to the beginning of the day.

Miller showed up every day for Jonathan, and Jonathan showed up for Miller, but more importantly, himself.

“He would open up and tell me anything, and once he knew that I cared about him, we were going places,” Miller said. “There are so many other students like him. If we just sat down with them, let them talk and ask ourselves, ‘What can we do to better serve you?’ Sometimes they’ve never even heard that before.”

Said Keys: “He’s come a long way and I’m so proud of him. The main thing is he had the support, not only at the school but at home.”

Jonathan’s journey at ABS West culminated with his graduation on May 30. He joined 16 fellow classmates, as the graduates were celebrated and cheered on by family, friends and both ABS West and HCDE staff members.

“It made me feel good that my family and my church family were here,” Jonathan said.

They posed for photos and visited with staff members who were integral in helping Jonathan reach this accomplishment.

“To see him walking across that stage is a truly amazing thing. I couldn’t miss it,” Keys said. “Today is priceless because if it wasn’t for schools like ours, our guys wouldn’t be here and they wouldn’t be successful. They may not be in school. They may be institutionalized or maybe in jail.

“But here, they can be successful.”