Where you in special needs as a kid?

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I am an incoming high school sophomore. I attended a special day class for preschool and pre-K since at the time, I was considered moderate to low-functioning. Once I got to elementary school, I was put in general ed, but with lots of autism-based support. I had an aide with me at all times at school and had to attend speech therapy to develop my social skills. Starting from 3rd grade and ending in 6th grade, I stayed after school for therapy as well. I actually passed the GATE test and was therefore qualified for it, but I was placed in fundamental (non-GATE) classes because of the more strenuous workload associated with GATE. I still had an aide for my middle school years, but I was also placed in honors classes. (This was probably because the fundamental classes were just a little too easy for me.) I had an aide high school freshman year, but ever since I have been trying to become independent of an aide. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I attended speech therapy while in middle school and during my freshman year. I do have an IEP, and lately, I've been trying to become more involved with my IEP meetings by typing my thoughts and feelings on a piece of paper and allowing the people at the meeting to use it as a reference.

Sounds like you're doing really well, Warrior.

Find out about how you can get college credits with AP courses. I believe, sometimes, if you get a 4 or 5 in an AP course, you could get college credit.

Private tutorials during elementary. That's it. It didn't last a year due to financial problem.

My problem lies on social stuff.
Nothing to do academics. I already found my learning style then. Not much about sensory needs, and mostly behavioral.


By behavioural, I mean 'easily provoked by bullies and go violent'.
Not some antisocial stuff like causing trouble or intrusion.
Not some compulsive stuff that gets in the way with finishing tasks. Unless you count 'self-talking' and 'inappropriate laughing' to the list.
Nothing to do with ADHD/ADD related stuff, like crappy sitting/attending/listening skills.
Especially nothing to do with kinetics in general. Even the OT who assessed me had said I didn't need any therapy.


Back then, people had no idea what to do with me. They just know I'm different.
But they didn't see any problems then other than social-emotional stuff.
Apparently, I've been their first known aspie. And still the only known aspie around...
At least I get to meet the SPED teacher that I'm still bugging for years. That counts as something.



The rest is mainstream -- mainly in regular classes and no aides. No IEP because we couldn't afford it as well.

Though my parents attempted to hire an aide and put me in some program during my worst years at high school, at least they got the message that I don't want to go to school or even study.

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Like HistoryGal, I failed the test for the gifted program. I had speech until the end of third grade. I was in honors classes in middle school. I was in honors classes, dual enrollment classes, and AP classes in high school. I was in a social skills class for four semesters in high school. I though the class was stupid and I didn't learn anything useful in it.

Special needs special education private school. I tried regular school in the 8th grade and fell so far behind, I was back in the special ed school for the 2nd semester.

If ON LY!! !! !

In grades 1-3 I recall being pulled from class to the portable for something. There were others there as well. I do not recall any of the activities, but looked forward to it. In grade 4 I was placed in a SDC, but mainstreamed by the end of the year. Grade 5 was a disaster both times. In grade 6 I was again placed in a SDC with push out to mainstream classes. There was an aide who would sometimes accompany me to the mainstream classes. This continued through high school.

Yes. During middle school I took a bus to another school for sessions with a Special Ed teacher. In my first few years of high school I took regular classes with an IEP and study sessions in a Special Ed room, where Aspies like myself were lumped together with other kids who had anything from ADHD to violent, antisocial tendencies. I made a few friends there (my last friends, really) but it was very scary sometimes.

Yes I have been in special needs classes since I was in kindergarten. Im going back for an extra year. That will be special needs classes too.

I didnt talk til I was 5. That made preschool difficult. I was taken out of it. I spent Kindergarten and Grade 1 in a special education setting. That was nice because I wasnt pottytrained til 7. Then I had grade 2 and 3 in a regular classroom. That was a bit of a disaster. I would hit myself and get angry. I would cry everyday. I would run out of class. Most days I would just have to sit on my aids lap for a little bit. I it felt good to be held.

Then in 4th grade I seemed to start doing better. I didnt have many friends though and I still needed a lot of assistance . I was put in a social skills/life skills class til grade 8. I was really behind in math. I have extreme difficulties with it still. It overwhelms me .In grade 5 I had a very hard time with my homework and organization. I had to go to a different room to do my work. I got very overwhelmed. I had an aide who would check in on me.

Then in grade 6 I had an aide who would pull me aside for math and PE classes. I liked PE but regular PE made me feel very overwhelmed and stressed. I was in special ed PE til grade 8. In grade 7 I was in special ed math and PE. In grade 8 I was in special ed math and pe.

Highschool was a very hard transition. They tried to put me in all regular classes..that stressed me out so bad. They figured out my best placement would be 2 regular classes and 2 special ed classes or 3 special ed classes and 1 regular class. That really works for me. Highschool was such a hard transition. Im staying an extra year though.

I was in a special class for one year because English was my second language. I learned quickly and English became my strong subject. I did well in any class in which I had to do a lot of reading, but only average in math. I eventually got to Algebra 2 in math but, by that time, I had already almost finished my Bachelor's degree in English.

In Primary school I was monitored and occasionally had special needs but when I got to secondary school I was put into a Communication Provision which was a special needs unit for students with HFA Autism. I was taken out of a few subjects Science, History, RE, Geography and French to do lessons like Life Skills, Communication and Social Skills. When I got to Year 10 they put me on a program that was more work related than academic.

Yes I was and then I mainstreamed it.

Special needs was not an option when I went to school.

There were no "gifted" programs, there was "advanced classes" which I did not remotely qualify for.