Do/did you get special treatment in school?

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I didn't.



When I was a toddler some woman, a shrink or social worker, told my mother that maybe she should send me to a special school because I might be autisitc, but my mother didn't; she was mad at her for suggesting it and years later said she knew that I could get on just fine in a regular school.



In kindergarten my mother and my teacher talked about putting me in the Giant Steps program, but that never happened.



In grade 9 they invited me to the resource room a lot, but I never got any special schooling or tutoring or anything even though on my assessment it said that I should get extra help in math.


On my IEP at that same school-- well, nobody ever gave me any help, though someone filled in my IEP thing in the objectives section with "to encourage the development of social skills, to encourage asking for help if needed", or something like that. But my mother and I both agreed that I didn't "need" that special treatment, though we both signed the IEP paper so that we wouldn't keep getting it, I guess, or something.



Then at the school where I went to in grade 11... somebody FAXED THE INFORMATION ON ME FROM THE OTHER SCHOOL... just on a whim, about a month after school started, probably consciously doing it. Someone came to the door of my English class, pulled me out, gave me a paper and started explaining that I was the only code 50 in the school... meaning I was the only smart person in the school diagnosed with a pervasive developmental disorder... and that there was this special program to help people like that find work after graduating... I was a bit insulted that they assumed I was unfit to persue higher education, but maybe I should have taken it. Nah; it doesn't matter now... I have an excellent job coming my way. Then they had this IEP thing for me there too, where it said I should be able to request a time out and that, but my parents threw it away... and I agreed with them that they didn't understand me at all; I wasn't so severe I needed anything like that.


So now it's your turn!

I was in the French Immersion program with all the smart kids.

But that was my choice.

My parents kept my speech delay quiet, I remember in grade three we had to tell everyone our first words and my parents lied to me and told me it was Dada. Even though I began speaking full sentences right away.

It wasn't until I was around 13-15 that they told me about it.

What; they were ashamed?

I really doubt it. I just don't think they thought much of it except that it was really weird, and if the teachers had found out who knows what they would have done. I guess my parents wanted a normal childhood for me.

I was mainstreamed most of the way, though when I came to the US, I was homeschooled for a while. I had some extra help with transitioning into middle school from homeschooling, but other than that, I was mainstreamed. I didn't get extra help with socializing, academics, etc.

In college, I mainstreamed most of the way as well. During my first year or so, I did some counseling, but that doesn't happen anymore. I'm starting to feel that I should start doing counseling again.

I was given more time to finish my school work, my work was modified in middle and high school, algebra was dropped for me when I was 14 and up. I was given extra help with tests and school work too. I had a shadow with me in all my classes till I was 17 and things were more a big deal when I did stuff and when other students did them, it wasn't a big deal.

I was in regular classes until 5th grade, then they started making a big deal, calling me gifted and saying I was a genius... from the 6th grade on i was in special ed... i dropped out when I was 17 and joined the army, and got a GED in basic training...

um..I was passed on to the next grade most years even though my grades were failing, I guess due to my high test scores.
In Jr. high I got into the gifted program.

Also, there were alot of years where I was able to be a library aid or an office runner instead of P.E.

When I was growing up, Asperger's wasn't known so I never really had a diagnosis because I wasn't low functioning enough to have an autism diagnosis. I did have speech therapy, but other than that, I was pretty much mainstreamed after the first grade. Eventually, in high school, the speech therapist thought that I didn't need anything, so that stopped. In college, I didn't think I qualified for the disabled students services program, as I'd been mainstreamed for most of my school career, and I functioned just fine academically and socially without it.

No but I was entitled to extra time for exams, however it meant not going in the hall with all the NT people and I didn't wanna be different.

I was actually forced to repeat my Kindergarden year because of my age!! I was (not boasting but...) twice as clever as those idiots and I had to repeat the year, just because I started early! My Mum went INSANE when she heard this. I soon moved to a gifted school, which was fantastic, and there I was given a lot of extra work in mathematics; one teacher even taught me how to program in BASIC before I even entered secondary school! Now I'm 17, and I have an IEP which makes teachers understand why I hate working in pairs (except with a person who I know well and hence actually trust) and also means that I have to have "talks" with the teachers before I go on a school trip of some sort. It also means that I can get into lunch early if I want, before the lunch room gets noisy!! I get to miss the queue every lunchtime!

I was in spec ed until 4th grade, then 5th grade it was half and half, 6th grade i was mainstreamed and was like that for the rest of my school career. I repeated second grade due to behavior. I went to collage and got a 2 year degree, i made deans list every semester.

Yep. I had a SEN statement, and the ability to get away with almost anything almost unscathed. So I would say I got special treatment.

I did get special treatment at school and it took a bit of time finding the best for me but i think it was worth it in the end.

No, I didn't-and I am beginning to think that this was a good thing. My parents and teachers always expected more from me, not less. In a way, I was fortunate. Many of my early difficulties were attributed to the fact that English was my second language. As I always did well in school in academic areas, no obvious disabilties were suspected. I am glad today that I didn't go to school in an era of IEPs, special classes (except for English immersion in the first grade) and low expectations.

Ana,

Your example points to many of the drawbacks associated with special accommodations. My main problem, I believe, was overemphasizing the academic aspect of my life and neglecting aspects of my life that may have enhanced my development.

I skipped a grade in primary (elementary in American terms) school and another two in high school. I was in university at 15. It was either that or expell me for continually hitting and abusing people.

As far as my behavioural problems went, they kept sending me to shrinks, none of whom had a clue what was wrong with me (let's just say that, apart from my brain, puberty was not kind fo me), and who only taught me to lie convincingly. An example: one shrink had the bright idea that they could learn more about my brain by making me draw pictures of what had happened instead of explaining it. But I hate drawing, and I particularly hate drawing faces. So it was pain and humiliation. Eventually I learnt to pretend to be normal for an hour at a time in the shrink's office just so they'd get me out of there.