Would you have liked school if everyone had aspergers?

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A few years ago I did a work placement in a school for students with communication differences of various kinds. More than half of them were on the autistic spectrum, the classes were very small and I knew every name and face after a week.

Many of the young people were aware they had aspergers. In the year 11 (10th grade) class there were some very able students, I admired their dry humour- they'd laugh about being different together. They had to do a piece of creative writing and one boy wrote a story about someone growing up with autism. Students in other classes also stood together and understood eachother.

Personally I've always been glad to have attended a mainstream school where I was pushed academically and think that should have been available to these young people too. On the other hand, a similar school to the one I was working at that had good academic standards might have some benefits for some people with aspergers.

Those students seemed to be aware of their identity and that helped them to be proud of themselves as individuals. While most of the disabled rights movement want fully inclusive schools for everyone, many people in the deaf community support deaf schools because they help keep deaf culture alive and vital. Children in deaf schools learn to communicate in their own language. There are even deaf colleges and universties.

Would you want to go to a school for students on the autistic spectrum?

Yes, an autistic school would be ideal for me. I'd have definitely transferred to one if it were available and avoided the psychological torture which was my entire school life.

It probably would have been better.

not necessarily everyone having it, just everyone being FULLY AWARE of it and how it can affect people in different ways etc.

not a "i read about it on WIKIMeds/Pedia/etc", but a full & comprehensive understanding. i can dream

Oh god no, a few aspies here and there is enough for me.

To be honest I think attending a mainstream school was best for me because I learnt many life skills etc and yes it was tough but I think the experience's I had from school are whats made me the strong person I am today.

I sometimes look at it this way, but then I remember how bad it chewed my confidence up. I'm ambivalent as to how good public school is for aspies.

You do have a very good point there as it all but destroyed my confidence and it's taken me years to get back to a reasonable level but aside from that it did help in other area's

Maybe. But I still wouldn't fit in.

The school would need to fit around those students. Since that school would have been made for me; it would have been a lot nicer than a school system with teaching methods for other thinking-styles.

I haven't considered it before, but yes. That would've been awesome, I think.

^ This.

This. Although, in a perfect world, there would be no such thing as ignorance on any given topic.

i agree to this. The bullying i endured for the past 9 years taught me that the only way to turn the tables against them is to be yourself with some social skills which helped me to gain true friends =X

My younger brother did terrible in mainstream school.

Every morning he'd cry his eyes out and beg my mum not to take him to school.

Eventually Mum changed him to a different mainstream and the same eventually occurred.

He was then out of school for 3 years whilst my Mum constantly fought to get him to a special school for Aspergers.

He's boarded and only 10 years old - But i gotta say WOW. The transition in him is amazing. His confidence is grown, he's developing a cheeky sense of humour, he's learning a lot about himself, he's accepting of himself and is much more willing to try new things!!

He still has trouble at school and has to ring my Mother a few days a week (mostly because of one child with behavioural problems) and he struggles a bit with boarding. But she listens and let's him moan and supports him very well.

But hands down, the 5 years in total it took of fighting, tribunals and accusations of bad parenting for my Mum to get him into school was all worth it.

For some it may be upsetting having not gone to an Aspergers school - but as someone said, 'it makes me stronger'. You'll now have a lot of experience with things like bullying and what it's like for someone with AS to go through all that, so you're perhaps more in a position to help someone else in similar circumstances.

I would have definitely tried it for at least a week or so. In terms of bullying, I think it would have been much easier as Aspie kids (the ones I knew from mainstream school at least) never bullied me. NT kids bullied me a LOT.

I can't say my mainstream school years were so traumatic that I wish I would have switched, really I had a fairly normal childhood, but it makes me wonder.....