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Out of all the adults in Christopher’s life, Siobhan is the most understanding of Christopher’s particular needs and strengths. As Christopher’s primary teacher, Siobhan explains appropriate social behavior in a way that helps Christopher and respects his intelligence. Throughout the novel, Christopher often references Siobhan’s advice when navigating difficult situations, and heavily relies on her help when writing his mystery book. Siobhan also gives Christopher detailed instructions about his behavior, which Christopher appreciates, and her specificity explains why Christopher seems to trust Siobhan and behave better with her than any other characters. Though Christopher still has outbursts at school, he never reports Siobhan as becoming overwhelmed or frustrated by his emotional and behavioral problems, presumably because she is trained to care for children with special needs, and their interactions offer an insightful contrast to Christopher’s tumultuous relationship with his parents. His parents’ relative lack of success with Christopher suggests a gap in resources and training, and not necessarily profound character flaws.
