Were You Mainstreamed?

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Did your school put you in regular classes during grade school and high school? Or did they send you to a special private school?

I went back and forth between regular schools and private schools. In fact, to fully mainstream me, I did time at both my private HS and my regular HS for 12th grade. I did well in both settings but MUCH preferred the private schools (smaller classes, more attention, better vibe in general).

Where did you go, and how did you do?

Asperger's wasn't even added to the DSM-IV until 2 years after I graduated high school, so I was mainstream, all the way. Spent 13 years, from K-12, all in the same school district. I was usually in advanced classes because my reading level was always 2 grades above normal, but I was did only an average job in those accelerated classes because, although I could pass a rote memory test, I wasn't good at interpreting the information. Can't blame the district, they didn't know how hard it was on me to have my senses bombarded all the time, or to waste so much of my time while they teach other kids stuff I already have down. At least my I met my future husband there, and we've been married 10 years so far! However, I can fix the schooling problem now -- I homeschool my two NT boys. I won't subject anyone to the wasteland I had to sit through for 13 years. Glad I'm an adult with a supportive husband, now my boys and I can persue education as we choose, and we thoroughly enjoy doing it.

Last edited by Laynie on 20 Feb 2005, 1:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

I've always been through normal schooling. I'm a high school sophomore now and I'm doing okay, getting like B's and stuff. It's all good.

I was mainstreamed all the way.

If the school district had their way, I would have been in special education from third grade on upward.

mainstream. but they bumped me up a year in primary school, so i was a year in front of my age for the rest of my schooling. was always streamed in the "high ability" groups.

I went to a normal school, and I was usually placed in honors, advanced placement, or gifted/talented courses. Seems like that's about par for the course around here.

I went mainstream all the way from K to 12th grade. I did well and mostly got A's and B's, and had a aid that work with me some of the time.

Mainstreamed all my life and wouldn't want it any other way.


It was bad enough having a bit of trouble concerntrating and making friends, I would be appalled and offended if I was singled out even more.

I am intelligent, and very creative. I did well in school even though I had problems concerntrating, and helped me learn about NT people and the way they act.

I was mainstreamed Kindergarten (called "GS" here) to the 10th grade.
From GS to 8th grade, I was in a private Catholic school. I did very well from GS to 5th grade (A's, A+'s), then I got A-'s and B's.
In the nineth grade, I was in public school but in the class called the European Class. I got A's.
Then 10th grade in normal public school. Bad grades.
And then I was homeschooled in the eleventh and twelfth grade and I got A's and B's, with a few C's, but overall did rather well.
I like the European Class (because it was more interesting and the teachers took every student's special needs into account) and the homeschooling years best.

I was mainstreamed the whole way through school and was in advanced and gifted classes whenever they were available. I think since I never had problems academically and was never a discipline problem, my teachers ignored the fact that I was struggling socially. Plus, I graduated from high school 3 years ago, and I think even then none of my teachers would have had heard of Asperger's.

I was mainstreamed all the way, basically because nobody either knew or cared about any of the problems I had...... I never even got skipped a year, despite being on a different level academically to all the other kids my age..... Me? Bitter? Pah!

i got put in special ed when i was in the eigth grade but it wasn't any better then normal classes.
A

I was in public schools all my life. I didn't even realize I was different until about high school anyway. I was in honors courses but didn't do too well cuz I didn't care and the classes were taught at a freakin snail's pace. Most of my school years are a blur cuz I'd sit in class and daydream and zone out for 6 hours a day.

I was mainstreamed all the way, K thru 12. I've dealt with my fair share of bullying. But I also think that's what helped learn necessary NT skills.

The worst kind of bulling took place in high school, where it was nearly unbearable. But I did make a few friends, who I hang out with to this day. I also acquired some of the NT skills, mostly from memorization. Still, I'm glad I never have to go back. Occasionally, I even fantacize about buying the school from the district and tearing it down.

So that brings me to college. No bullying took place there. That gave me time to get over my life's torments, and purge my mind of distrust toward people in general. Some of the old insticts are still there, though: whenever I go to a new place, I'm far more relaxed than in my everyday environment. I think I've made quite a bit of progess, although I'm still working on it.

I wish I was in consensus with the rest of the group but that is not the case.

K - 2 - Placed in LD Self-contained classes.

3(1st Time) - Mainstreamed in open classroom setting with Resource Room help. This was a very horrible experience.

3(2nd Time) - 6 - Placed in EBD style self contained classes. This was really no better than the above. Learned that the schools do not really care for me or how well I do.

7 - 8 - Mainstreamed in regular class with lessening resource room help. If it were not for John, I would have snapped from the low self-esteem and bullying.

9 - 12 - Placed in an honors school but did not do too well. Got used to teaching myself things and was tired from fighting the system.

All in the Buffalo Public Schools in New York.

What he said.

The only classes I ever really enjoyed were math. There was only one honours math class in my school, so about 20 of us ended up staying together for all three years of high school. The class was free-running, which meant that we just burned our way through the books as fast as the teacher thought we could absorb it. By the end of grade 10 we had done most of the grade 10 and 11 curriculum. In grade 11 we finished the high school math program and the school brought in books from the local universities. Grade 12 was mostly advanced calculus. What really made a difference for me was that in grade 10 our class got the first personal computer in the public school system (in 1980). I became so obsessively attached to the computer that the teacher gave me a note telling the janitors, security, etc. that it was OK for them to let me into the class at 6AM and let me stay until late at night. I taught myself to program in less than a week, and then she started giving me programming assignments just for the extra challenge (no marks on my report card). That was probably the main thing that kept me coming to school.