Where you in special needs as a kid?

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Far as I recall, I was in a special needs class of sorts from 1st grade through at least 4th grade - possibly even as long as until 8th grade.

When I went to school, either you were

1. In a separate private school for kids with disabilities. That's where I was, most of the time.

2. A regular class within a public, Catholic, or private school. I was in a "regular" class in public school for 6-8th grades. I wasn't "pulled out" for anything. I, on an informal basis, hung out in a "resource room" after I was kicked out of clases.

3. A "special progress"-type class in public, Catholic, or private school for kids who were seen as being "smart"

4. What kids called the "ret*d" class, which was Special Ed within the public school, with no "mainstreaming."


I believe there were some kids who were pulled out of "regular" classes to go to a "resource room." Or for something like speech therapy.

There were no IEP's until I got to junior high. I never got one.

It's sort of complicated. I went to a blended preschool, one for children with and without special needs. My mother didn't know I was Autistic when she enrolled me, but I was diagnosed by a specialist shortly after I started at age 3.

I went on to grade school without any services, until I began to struggle in second grade. I got a 504 plan then and then later an IEP, but the only accommodations I got were extra time and breaks on tests and private location for testing (I have terrible test anxiety. Despite doing well in my classes and learning a lot, I barely passed most of my regents exams). I was in Talented and Gifted and honors classes in some subjects that I enjoyed and did well in. English and History were my best subjects, but I struggled in math a lot. I went to a giant high school with over 2,700 students and I found it very overwhelming and I was harassed all the time. The IEP allowed me to meet with the school psychologists for a weekly check in too, which was nice. I graduated on time with an 89.5 GPA, so I guess things worked out.

I'm in college now and I get basically all of the same services I got in high school. I meet with the disability specialist there every week too for support and to sometimes vent about life

Yes, when I was in elementary school/primary for my British friends, I wound up being placed in Special Needs program;however, it was under the wrong labeling or determination at that time in 1985.I had been placed in the Special Education program under the guise of what was at the time known as, EC-Emotional Conflict, which at the time did not know what that actually referred to, yet later came to know as being the generic term meaning Schizophrenia. Amazing don't you think? In fact, I never received the actually services I really needed being that I should had been placed in Specialized Mathematics & English classes, as I struggled with both of those subjects for several years to come often coming at the cost of attending summer school to make up for those deficiencies.


Yes, I managed to graduate high school;however, I wished that such tools & resources to help people with Aspergers & Autism had been in place during my school tenure, as such would not happen up, until around 1993-1994 time, roughly 2 years after I had graduated. Today, I'm in the last semester of a college course which will help me along occupational wise but, such was not easy for, I went through a bunch of hoops as well, dealing with contradictory Vocational Rehab counselors..Anyways, let me say, there is no shame to have ever been in Special Education/Needs services related classes etc.

When I went to school, the term "Special Needs" or "Special Education" didn't even exist. I went to grade school in the 1950's.

In the third grade the teacher saw a problem with the way I spoke. I thought it was due to my two large buckteeth. But anyways, I was sent to a Special Class. Three days a week, special students along with myself were collected from their respective classroom and led to a secret hidden room off of the main school cafeteria. This happened while I was in the 3rd & 4th grade. The hidden room had a beautiful conference room table and very nice soft leather chairs. It was such a nice hidden room that I really didn’t mind being there. Our strange assignment during the hour we were in special class was to recite tongue twisters very fast and yet very distinctly. I thought it was a strange thing to do, but who am I to dispute a teacher. I remember the two types of tongue twisters that we recited. These were:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
then how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

Sally sells seashells by the seashore.
The shells Sally sells are surely from the sea.

I remember that it took great concentration to recite tongue twisters accurately. Try it! And you really had to work at it in order to say them fast. I do not have any problems speaking today. So maybe this training was a real help.

This recalls another type of special class that I received. When I was growing up, I never enjoyed reading for reading sake. I only associated reading with schoolwork. The only exception to the rule was comic books. But when I entered high school, the requirement to read efficiently became extremely important. My school must have recognized my limitation and placed me in a strange type of special class during my freshman high school year. The training was a type of reading comprehension training. The closest I could describe this was a class in Speed Reading. They would flash a paragraph or two of information for a very brief period of time and then measure my comprehension. They tried to teach me tricks on absorbing written material quickly and effectively.

I have no difficulty reading today, so maybe this was an effective tool also.

I was in non special ed alternative classes when the district first started them as my attendance was poor and this allowed them to put me on an independent study program. I was moved to an alternative school and then put on home schooling in high school. I was above grade level despite my poor attendance because I was able to teach myself the subjects in question better than the school was.

I was above grade level despite my poor attendance because I was able to teach myself the subjects in question better than the school was.

Good for you Chronos..

I was carted off with a couple of other 'difficult, troubled' kids to a separate classroom as a kid to have assisted learning. I soon realised that I didnt enjoy the constant attention so it was a relief when I was allowed back into normal lessons. Though it did start again at high school when I was forced into 1 on 1 mathematics support by my maths teacher.

I have put my post into quotes to signify the two sections, and also I like how it looks.