Special education schools

Post Reply New Topic

Curious, did anyone go to a special education school? What was your experience? Helped or hurt?

I went to a boarding school for Asperger's/NLD for a year in high school. It was... interesting. I hated the school at the time, and I still contend the school (which was only a few years old at the time), while well-intentioned, really had no idea what it was doing. At all. It was kind of a zoo, and not a good way. I could write a book about the completely ridiculous, over-the-top stuff that went on over there. It was incredibly stressful to live through at the time, but the stories from that place are kind of hilarious to think back on now.

But! Looking back, despite all its many flaws, going to a school with like-minded people was helpful. It was the first time in years I fit in (and, indeed, fell into the 'socially with it' crowd, relatively speaking), which did wonders for my self-esteem. Actually being able to interact with other people without being immediately rejected helped me practice social skills I hadn't had the opportunity to learn up to that point. It was also okay to fail, since everyone was in the same boat and gave you some slack. You got the opportunity to learn from your mistakes safely without just totally screwing yourself over with your peers.

Relatedly, some of the behaviors I had were really obnoxious, like rambling on about my favorite interests or being inflexible about certain things. Having other people exhibit that same behavior made me realize just how I was coming off, in a way that parents and teachers hadn't been able to express.

But... that was about it. Being around other quirky people was a helpful learning experience. Special education itself? Not helpful. I jumped around several different schools, and I never really felt like anybody actually knew how to give targeted help, including a school that supposedly supposed to specialize in it. My mother described it as "babysitting," and she was right; actual, structured support was nonexistent, and help was in name only. Honestly, with social skills, you need hands-on individualized coaching, and not things like half-hearted "groups" that meet once a month with people who range from lacking basic life skills to practically neurotypical (making the group topics useful for no one). I always felt like special education was more geared towards people who had a learning disability, and not a primarily social one.

idk. just my two thoughts on the matter.

I didn't go to a special education school, but I did almost get placed in a special education class. Partially thanks to my lacklustre experience at Primary school, I ended up failing most of my SATs. As a result, due to my low scores, in Secondary they offered my parents the option to place me in the special education sector of the school, but my parents were quick to turn down this, so I was placed with the rest of the students and I'm glad they did.

Most (if not all) of the students that were a part of the special education sector were social outcasts from the rest of the students, and spent most of their time huddled together, being the punchline to most of the student's jokes. Understandably, I would've hated that.

Thankfully, I was able to catch up with time (I was a bit behind due to all the lessons I was taken out of in Primary, usually to practice things like handwriting because they were very particular about how students had to write- if you didn't flick your O's properly you would get in trouble. Also, my teachers weren't around much because they would often leave us unattended... yeah, some of the stuff that went on in my school was definitely illegal. ). My parents still regret not reporting them to the authorities. Still, from what I hear it sounds like that place has improved, however despite high OFSTED ratings recently, it should be noted that surveys have shown that my old school ranks one of the lowest for overall student happiness. Yup.

I attended special education from 11-16 at some same-sex boarding school in the UK.

There was 86 students and classes of around 8 or 9 students. I made friends there and the boarding side was really great. Some zany stuff went on there and a lot of people were just odd, for the lack of a better term.
I never liked the learning side of it though. They thought of every grade as a pass (in reality, anything over a C at secondary is a pass) By the time GCSE came, I felt unprepared so I learnt all the specifications for all the subjects in the last 6 months until the exams came. I also felt pretty sheltered from the outside world as we weren't taught much about social norms.

I left after those exams, and I'm at sixth form, so I don't really care.

I've heard about special education sectors in other secondaries. I was meant to be placed in one at primary, but the SENCO abolished it by the time I was in reception.

It's good that you feel those interactions helped you with your social skills, but I question whether interacting with socially "challenged" people is the best way to learn about the subtleties of social interactions.

The way I see it, its akin to learning a new language. If you wanted to gain fluency would you rather speak to native speakers of that language or someone who isn't fluent themselves?

As soon as I was diagnosed with autism, I was pulled out of the mainstream nursery and transferred to a special needs primary school, exclusively for those on the spectrum. Simply put, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. They taught me how to talk and communicate, helped me control my emotions, and express them maturely. If it wasn't for them I probably wouldn't be typing this now.

The schoolwork I did at this school, though, was about 3-4 years behind what I'd have done had I stayed on to attend mainstream primary school. Socially, I did feel a little lonely in my later years. I was the only girl in my class, and one of the only four girls in the entire school at the time.

During my last year in primary school, my parents and teachers unanimously agreed that, even though special education schooling helped me tremendously in early childhood, it was no longer appropriate for me - I probably wouldn't learn much, or blossom socially. However, they still wanted me to go somewhere where there was adequate SN help and support when I needed it.

So after I finished primary school, I was enrolled into a mainstream high school. Not at all local (an hour's drive away from home, in fact), but it was the closest one that suited my needs. When I started, I was initially a bit behind everyone else - I didn't do my SATS exams, but I soon caught up - over the course of 5 years I went from being in the bottom sets to the top sets. I made great friends and I took and passed all my GCSEs and A-Levels, which I wouldn't have done if I'd have gone to a special high school (I looked at my primary school friends' Facebook feeds a while ago - they all left having only taken a couple of foundation GCSE exams).

But I can't thank my special school enough for how much they helped me develop as a person. If I hadn't have gone there, I don't even know how I'd be now. I understand it's not for everyone, and going to special school in my high school years probably would've hindered my progress, but for me it gave me that great big leap needed for me to make even more progress.

I went to a skewl for dyslexia from middle of 6th through 8th grade(it didn't do high-skewl). I've been diagnosed as dyslexic sense kindergarten. The skewl was pretty helpful for me because I was bullied alot before I went there. I also struggled in most of my classes before that skewl & got in trouble for not finishing my homework because it took me sooo much more longer to do than most. The dyslexic skewl was pretty small & averaged about 30 students & had 4 classes going at the same time & the one you were in was based on your skill level in that subject rather than your age or grade you were in. Instruction was alot more individualized than all the other skewls I went to & things were at a slower pace.