excerpts from my report cards

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Here are some excerpts from my first and second grade report cards that I felt like sharing because I think they were definite signs that something was wrong that were mostly ignored. This was in the first half of the 80s so no one knew about things like aspergers or add.

First grade:

Hanyo tends to be very shy and seldom talks to others, especially during group discussions.

Hanyo is often quiet in class and many times has to be asked to repeat herself or to read louder.

During discussions in social studies and science Hanyo becomes very shy and hesitant to share her ideas.She often refuses to speak during such discussions but will whisper her answers to friends sitting near her.

Hanyo has some difficulty with her large motor coordination. She cannot do jumping jacks, catch a ball, jump on one foot, etc. In game situations she becomes very tense as if she is afraid.

Hanyo receives speech twice and week and loves going with the speech teacher.

Second grade:

She usually listens to discussions and directions but is easily distracted, stares at others, daydreams quits a lot.When called on in class or in a small group she very often will not respond or refuses to answer.She chooses inopportune times to share her thoughts. She interrupts constantly with irrelevant information.

Her handwriting has become very messy and careless lately.

Hanyo does not always seem to be aware of what is going on or what she should be doing.She loses things or misplaces things a lot.She seems preoccupied most of the time.She does not seem to understand what is expected of her.

She has a lot of trouble getting along with other children. She spends a lot of time staring at others and tattling on them.

Hanyo wants to please adults and spends a lot of her time thinking of how to do this. However she does not use her schoolwork in this way.

She does not make good use of her free time. She does not finish her work on time. Her attention span is rather short in relation to her ability and knowledge.

Since the beginning of the year Hanyo has changed drastically in her attitude towards school, her work, other children. She has become progressively more withdrawn, refuses to talk or answer questions, does not finish any work, seems to be in a world of her own, responds only to her mother who still walks her to & from the classroom.

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That's really interesting to read.

Although still in kindergarten, this sounds an awful lot like DS

Now I want to dig up my old report cards too and view them again but then are in Montana at my parents.

I will mention a couple comments from elementary school report cards. In the first grade my teacher listed that I needed to make more friends and socialize more. My second grade teacher noted that I was having more difficulty settling down.

I gave copies of my school reports (well the few that I had) to my diagnosing psychiatrist. He said the school reports were sufficient evidence to confirm I was indeed on the spectrum - I think because he already thought it was obvious from meeting me, I'm not sure they would have been sufficient otherwise. I was pleased with this because I really didn't want my parents involved in the diagnosis. I did ask my mum about my early childhood without asking why and her comments gave further confirmation for the psychiatrist to diagnose me.

Anyway, a few excerpts ...

Primary school
- very popular with her teachers, works hard but is disorganised & work is untidy
- appears to have a few friends but doesn't mix much
- quiet and doesn't contribute in class
- very bright student but not achieving as expected

First couple of years at secondary school:
- rather disorganised, must improve the appearance of her work
- works with interest and enthusiasm despite often bringing the wrong books to class
- quiet and reluctant to contribute
- sensitive, imaginative and unique student who makes a special contribution to the class (! not quite sure what was meant by this!! !)
- results would have been better if she had read each question carefully and followed the instructions

Final year of secondary school:
- quiet & conscientious
- written work always of a good standard and promptly done
- follows the content of lessons well but reluctant to contribute voluntarily, but when asked gives a good response and articulates her ideas well.
- rather quiet but beginning to contribute in class

So, it only took me 14 years of school to begin to contribute in class ...! !! !

And the other thing that is obvious from my reports is that in subjects I was interested in, I always did very well (even with my disorganisation, untidiness and "carelessness" ... none of which I really remember being but it's all there in black & white so I guess it's true!). But in subjects I wasn't interested in, I did considerably worse (but still passed) and the label "lazy" was used a couple of times in the secondary school reports ... from my point of view it wasn't laziness, it was difficulty motivating myself to study those subjects.

EDIT: For info, these are from the mid the 70s to late 80s.

Thank you for sharing this. I recognize myself in quite a few ways, except I always did my work on time and sometimes I just didn't stop working, so I was constantly ahead. I merely loved learning, but I wasn't supposed to do work not yet assigned. :-/

During PE I also froze whenever I tried to do what they asked of me. PE was the only class I couldn't excel in and it drove me mad. I didn't like games like dodgeball, because I found it rude that people were throwing balls at me. Most games like that seemed like an excuse for violence to me. I could run though.

My teachers always told me I was brilliant but far too quiet. I needed more time to think my answer through than was provided. The processing part of a response was just more lengthy for me.

I'll share some reports from my childhood. I have a lot of psychological reports from testing. I'll only share some of the things that stand out. I had problems in elementary school but I don't have any of my old report cards anymore.

Grade 7 Psychological Report
12-13 years of age
-she has anxiety, fine motor delay, schoolphobia, central auditory processing problems, separation anxiety

PROBLEMS
Acute separation anxiety
(Schoolphobia)

OUTCOMES
Lostgirl returned to school after March Break with some difficulty. She has been linked to Whitby Health Association and is seeing a therapist. She will be involved in an Adolescent Group for girls in September.

Summary: Lostgirl re-experienced schoolphobia. In addition, the fact that she has some developmental delay and social problems complicated her ability to cope with the stress of moving. Lostgirl is a young girl who tends to lack self confidence and will at times become nervous and anxious; however this seems to be improving as reported by school staff at new school. They report Lostgirl went on the overnight school field trip, fully participates in gym, got up on stage with the rest of the class and completed a dance in front of audience. Only difficulty currently is in music class.

-Lostgirl was identified with a communication exceptionality predominantly in math by the school board.
-mom recalled with drawn behaviour as having been evident from lostgirl's socialization with peers since play school
-lostgirl was described as having always been very quiet, shy and preferring solitary activities
-in the fall if 1998, she became very emotionally disturbed, developing prominent anxiety and depressive symptoms for which she was provided with counselling and has been on psychiatric medication
-she has very poor appetite and also sleeps very poorly
-she needs to improve mathematical skills, express herself more forcefully and contribute to class discussions
-she is artistic, a strong reader and speller and co-operative
-her processing of information makes it more time consuming and drain her mental energies more quickly as compared to other children of the same age
-she tends to view her world as rather unpredictable. she accurately perceives herself as "quiet", however, she is unable to understand why she is quiet and wishes she were not so

Grade 10
Math- You have failed to meet the course expectations. A poor final exam has lowered your mark. You should consider taking future math courses at the workplace level.
Works Independently-Satisfactory
Teamwork-Satisfactory
Organization-Satisfactory
Work Habits/Homework-Satisfactory
Initiative-Satisfactory

Grade 11
Anthropology/Psychology/Sociology
Keep up the good effort. Don't be afraid to ask questions when needed. Attempt to become more vocal in class.
Works Independently-Satisfactory
Teamwork-Satisfactory
Organization-Satisfactory
Work Habits/Homework-Satisfactory
Initiative-Satisfactory

Grade 11 IEP
Grade 10 Provincial Writing/Reading Literacy Test-successful
Grade 9 Assessment of Math-Level 1, below provincial standard

Assessed Strengths
-expressive language skills
-receptive language skills
-written language skills
-organizational skills

Assessed Needs
-number and mathematical skills
-non-verbal reasoning
-evaluation accommodations

These are mine, for what I remember:
Kindergarten:
-Quite aggressive towards other children;
-Often argues with other children;
-Prefears playing on her own;
-Seems to not listen when someone is speaking to her:
-Often repeats the same things over and over;
-Can't follow the teacher's intructions properly.
Elementary school:
First year of elementary school:
-Seems to be in a world of her own;
-Cannot socialize properly with other children;
-Does not make eye-contact when someone talks to her;
-Looks emotion-less;
-Doesn't like reproaches;
-Tone of voice is too loud;
-Visible lack of motor coordination;
-Misinterpretates gestures;
-Stares at classmates;
-Very slow when writing;
-Messy handwriting, almost illegible;
-Even when classmates try to involve her in group plays, she soon gets bored and stops playing with them.
Second and third year of elementary school:
-Aggressive towards some classmates;
-Argues with some classmates;
-Has rage attacks, and during this rage attacks she gives fists to the banks;
-Visible lack of motor coordination;
-Messy handwriting, almost illegible;
-Has no empathy towards classmates;
-Can't be seated for a long time and sometimes gets up and walks in the classroom;
-Classmates try to avoid her;
-Stares at classmates;
-Interrupts teachers and classmates while they're talking to say irrelevant things;
-Prefear playing on her own.
Fourth and fifth year of elementary school:
-Her dislike for homework has increased, and now is doing her homework more rarely;
-Forgets to bring notebooks and books;
-Gets easily distracted;
-Handwriting has improved a bit, but it's still almost illegible;
-Is becoming better at socializing: has two friends now;
-Argues frequently with her friends;
-Prefears doing the same things over and over;
-Still interrupts teachers and classmates while they're talking, but less frequently;
-Visible lack of motor coordination, expecially in sports with a ball.
Middle school:
First year of middle school:
-Aggressive towards some classmates;
-Often argues with classmates;
-Messy handwriting, difficult to read;
-Does not make eye-contact;
-Is on avarage in the majority of the subjects, but does the minimum possible in school;
-Stares at classmates;
-Can socialize only with one classmate;
-Avoids the PE class;
-Sometimes forgets to bring notebooks and other things that are needed for schoolwork;
-Classmates tease her, but she looks rather emotion-less, and seems to not care.
Second year of middle school:
-Isn't doing well in school; grades are lowering;
-Misinterpretates gestures;
-Still avoids the PE class;
-Easily distracted, seems to not care of what it's going on around her;
-Has became almost unable to socialize with classmates;
-Finds it easier to socialize with kids with Down Syndrome than with "typical" kids.
Third year of middle school:
-Grades are getting a bit higher; is improving in school;
-Still has problems socializing with peers;
-Handwriting because more understandable, but still messy;
-Often claims to be "the only normal one" in the class;
-Interrupts teachers, but expecially classmates, while they're talking to say irrelevant things or to point out grammar mistakes;
-Avoids the PE class, though classmates try to involve her;
-Seems to totally lack empathy towards classmates;
-Has became a bit hateful towards classmates.
I don't know about high school, since I'm still in high school, but these are the few things I know, since my mother told me what the teachers said:
-Acts in a childish way;
-Does not make eye-contact;
-Seems to not understand gestures;
-Has panick attacks or rage attacks sometimes;
-Messy handwriting, but mostly understandable;
-Is on avarage in school;
-Avoids the PE class, expecially group sports;
-Interrupts teachers and classmates while they're talking to say irrelevant things or to point out grammar mistakes;
-Looks awkward when socializing, and can't do it very well;
-Often looks distracted and in a world of her own;
-Stares at classmates;
-There are days in which she doesn't want to socialize at all;
-Very slow when writing.

My primary age reports are very sparse, they are handwritten so I guess the teachers having so many to handwrite would stick to the basics (academic) and not enlarge hugely otherwise (so no comments on socialising skills etc.). Here are comments/grades which may be relevant when viewed with my overall history:

Age 9
English:
"She is very fond of reading" (I was reading fluently by the age of four - hyperlexic)
grade A for reading but only grade C for writing
Maths:
"her grasp of mathematics is very hazy and she needs to concentrate on getting this up to standard"
despite grade B+ for effort only D in achievement

Age 10
English
"Her head is always in a book"
grade A's
Maths
"she must work hard at her maths especially tables as this will help her greatly"
grade C's

Age 11
English
"whirlingmind enjoys writing stories and using new words, her work would reach even higher standards if she made more use of dictionaries" (I have always been very good verbally but plainly I didn't understand the words I learned) and "her reading remains at a high standard"
grade A's
Maths
"she has great difficulty in understanding mathematical concepts, but in spite of this has tried hard"
grade C
PE
"does not always give of her best" (I was rubbish at PE, couldn't catch a ball etc.)

Age 12
English
"her exam result was very good indeed so she deserves much credit"
grade A's
Maths
"whirlingmind does have much difficulty trying to understand this subject"
grade C's

Throughout my life there has been a huge discrepancy between my verbal and English skills and my mathematics. When I took the WAISIII I scored lowest on my maths but superior in my verbal skills (although only average in the verbal comprehension).

In high school, my grades slipped a little bit and comments were made about me not handing in homework on time, there goes that executive dysfunction again. I got poor grades for geography and biology in high school, despite that as an adult, without any other training/study no college, I passed diplomas and university level courses in marine biology and environment by distance learning. Clearly face-to-face teaching didn't work so well for me, and doing it alone by reading books I was more than capable in those same subjects.

My grades were like this, summing up all together:
Elementary school:
Italian: sufficent;
Math: very good at algebra/arithmetics; sufficent at geometry;
English: more than sufficent;
Geography/Histrory: sufficent;
Science: sufficent;
PE: unsufficent.
Middle school:
Italian: sufficent;
Math: very good at algebra; sufficent in geometry;
English: very good;
Geography/History: sufficent;
Science: more than sufficent;
PE: unsufficent;
Spanish: more than sufficent.
High school (until now):
Italian: sufficent;
Math: very good at algebra; almost sufficent in geometry;
English: very good;
Geography/History: almost sufficent;
Science: good;
PE: unsufficent;
Latin: more than sufficent;
Ancient Greek: more than sufficent.

I excelled in elementary school and I destroyed my high school reports.

The most common comments were (repeat readily through each year):

I often find ... in her own little world (sounds familiar ); daydreaming and as a result, tends to waste her time

Messy printing/handwriting; has a stiff wrist and does not relax her arm

Mature vocabulary, deep thinker, very sensitive mind

Likes to be helpful

Tries her utmost in PE (paraphrase: but she sucks )

I had a lovely scenario for elementary because it was such a small country school and a stable environment. We had teachers who were more open to experimenting, I think, as it was a post only the adventurous would talk - the Canadian wilds. I was allowed to work ahead and encouraged to my own interests. High school changed all that in a big hurry.