There have always been people trying to diagnose kids who don’t fit in.
A classmate of mine would have been classic Asperger’s syndrome. It was really because he was uniquely brilliant. He didn’t have a lot of social skills because he was teaching himself college level science when he was in second and third grade.
Our teacher tried to have him sent out to a “special” school but failed.
Now, he’s a college professor doing cutting edge research. I’m sure the meds would have made him more normal in grade school, but what would they have done with the rest of his life?
They tried to put my kid on drugs for ADD or ADHD back in the 80’s and I refused to allow it. My kid was extremely smart and was bored in class but they failed to stimulate his mind and earn his respect. He could spot a fake and a hippocrite in a NY second.
I am so glad I didn’t allow them to destroy his body along with his mind. I took him home and home schooled him and he soared.
They were so adamant that he HAD to have some hyperactivity disorder that they called me a liar when I informed him that he slept like a rock. The kid was flat out bored. He was also an awesome multitasker so he could be playing with his cars under his desk, talking to the kid beside him, and listening to his teacher all at once and not loose a beat. They couldn’t comprehend that. Today, he’s a drummer.
They insisted he was going to end up in prison for murder when he reached puberty...he became a prison guard instead. He was non violent. He just didn’t put up with injustice nor would he allow himself to be downtalked to.
I know there are some very good eduators out there, I met some in my own life, but I’m sorry to say that the majority are idiots who never grew up.
Love this story. They kept trying to send my very high IQ son to vocational school in high school. He took the GED his sophomore year and his lowest score was 96 percentile. It sort of rocked them a bit and he went off to college. He worked on his social and warrior skills in college. He realized he needed to expand his skill sets. I see it over and over again, square peg round hole.
Which is why my grandson is in private school. We all pitch in on tuition. At that they had him take two years in one and are still adding more material.
Public school system has no place for those students who fall outside of a narrow band or who don’t fit in the “learning disabled” category. My son has said that if he were in school today, they would drug him.
I sometimes think that the school system actually kills the drive to learn.