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It’s Normal to be Special
The number of children with special educational needs is soaring … perhaps the children aren’t the problem
“Poor! John works sporadically in class and rather untidily …”
“… there is a lack of sustained attention….”
“Through a lack of attention, John has performed quite poorly in this subject…”
“… his attention still tends to wander…”
“Dress and appearance: untidy through forgetfulness…”
“It all seems to be connected to his sense of attention, which can be easily agitated …”
I was starting to regret deciding to look through my old school reports. Every year, every term, every subject said the same thing: “John can’t stay focused… his mind keeps wandering … he can’t pay attention.”
My school didn’t have a Special Educational Needs department. There was no list of children with learning disabilities or special needs or what in the UK is now called Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). There was no member of staff dedicated to these children or special classes to support them.
It’s only now, over 30 years later, looking back at these reports through the lens of my own experience of teaching such children that I realise: if there had been a Special Needs list back then, I would have been on it.
