Were you placed with severely disabled children as a child?

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I was in a class, in first grade, with kids with MANY different sorts of disabilities. One kid was definitely deaf and didn't speak. Another might have had Down Syndrome---though I don't know for sure. One kid had the Mumps; I sort of though THAT was a disability.

In 2nd through 5th grade, I was in a school for kids with various types of "emotional problems," or something like that. They were ungraded classes; though academics was emphasized. Strict discipline with no corporal punishment.

6th through 8th grade: Regular junior high. Was almost expelled. Only failed one class, though.

9th grade through high school graduation: A high school for "gifted underachievers." 5 kids in my graduating class

College (started at age 36): Regular college. No accommodations. Did very well.

In conclusion, I guess one can say that I was never in a class with [i]severely[i] disabled children after first grade. Though, many times, the kids in my class had many sorts of "problems."

No

I was in a special needs class though but that was for Autistic students who are considered high functioning.

I wasn't, I was placed with NT peers and held completely to NT standards, then accused of being lazy and/or not caring when I couldn't meet them. I think that's a large part of why I now feel like no matter what I do, it isn't good enough - because I spent so much of my life essentially being flat-out told that.

You graduated college, Miss Dragon.

I do believe that fact should provide you with confirmation that you did, indeed, work hard enough.....

I'm more than twice your age---and I only have a Bachelor's.....

When I was your age, I didn't have a drivers license, and I was only a high school graduate---and satisfied with that. I was just bumbling through life, basically. If we had computers in those days, I probably would have been one of those people who hang out on the Internet all day, and never go out.

I had a mattress on the floor at 24-25 years old. And no TV. I just read diaries and novels all day. And I had sporadic times with a few girls.

I have a degree in Speech Pathology. I don't have a job related to my field. I have used my knowledge of it here a little bit.

I did my life backwards, it seems. I had four college degrees before I got my driver's license. As I said, I'm probably one of the oldest here. Is there anyone who was older than 48 when they finally got their first license? I often wonder what I might have done with my life if I had been a normal person.

Spent 4 years in a special needs school. I think I was around 10 when I started there. In the last year I did a split shift--part of the day there, and part of the day in a regular school, and I also had a lady at the regular school to tutor me in subjects I was having trouble with, and to help me with my behavior issues. Way back in the 1960s, and early 1970s almost no one knew about Aspergers, or other autism spectrum disorders. They just figured we had behavior problems, and tried to fix that. Unfortunately, the methods for fixing behavior problems don't really work for people on the spectrum, as it's actually caused by a group of neurological problems, not simply someone "acting out."

No, but the diagnosis was different when I was young. A product of the era. My dad acquiring a final DX for me, came from some guy we went to Germany to see back in late 60s. He (*edit: as in my Dad) was a scion of industry, literally in who's who. I had private therapies for years before mainstreamed in regular schools.
The therapist for speech was okay, some others were ROUGH. I was FORCED eye contact (chin grabbed) and FORCED to "learn" to accept the violation of personal space and accept touching; learned to be a "perfect lil lady" on the outside when inside I barely identified my self as a "people".
Heh, in public school I had hell of a time when forced to learn to write with right hand. It caused some regression.
Of course, Dad flipped and put me back in private school again. In total, I only attended public school in 4 grades.

I was labeled smart/eccentric. My medical records were private until I enlisted in service.

Since I was started in horsemanship, chess, piano, swimming, and soft pitch before I was in primary school, I never had issues about motor control, in fact, I am kinda a jock (with exception of bike riding, stick shifts and motorcycles (age 8-24-35) but once I learned, it was solid as breathing). My 3 kids are all varied spectrum. My sons are like me, hyper-strong and agile. My daughter.. walked early but until almost 9, her hands she could claim "just washed them and can't do anything with them!" She couldn't swim or ride a bike or tie her shoes until she was 9 as well.
...I still can't tie my shoes <_< . Nor tell time quickly using a standard clock, or say certain words. My daughter and I: DX dyslexic, my sons:not.

I will likely need re entry to therapy and renewed DX. My ability to mimic norms has greatly dropped in last 5 years.
Secondary Education had 4.0 avg and 152 credit hours with one withdrawal (Canoeing-no time) but my two majors are still 4/7 credits short of AS/BA respectively. I ran out of money then when I had the money, no motivation.

Not many people can get the gumption to get their drivers license at 48....after not having it for so long.

I didn't get mine until 37----but I really needed to get it at that point for various reasons.

They tried me on Ritalin for about two weeks in 1974, when I was 13.

It was actually too late for Ritalin; it was actually only for younger kids.

Ritalin, paradoxically, made me even MORE hyper and made me have WORSE behavioral problems. It's a stimulant.

No.

I was on Ritalin for a short time when I was a kid. It turned me into a zombie.

No, oddly enough I was placed in a program for gifted children.

I had poor motor skills, sucked at physical education and was average to below average at math, but everywhere else I excelled. English and creative writing were my favorites.

I recall being in college-level AP English, history, biology and physiology in high school... but also in remedial "business math," which was essentially designed to teach how to do simple stuff like budget, balance a bank statement, etc. I found it much more useful and practical than the algebra that I simply could not grasp.

I also recall that divergence being a huge problem with my dad, who was a mathematical genius and quite literally solved equations in his spare time as a relaxation tool. I did so well everywhere else, but when it came to higher math there was no way he could explain it that would help me to understand. He was very impatient, which made me nervous and exacerbated the problem. He got in my face and screamed that I was being deliberately stupid. It was awful.

Kinda...though, not really. I went through the same stuff as everyone else, though I don't know if a speech class in the library in grade school would count. Same for visiting a special services person again in grade and high school.