Autistic Boy Fails Exams, But The Touching Letter Teacher Sends Home Will Bring You To Tears.

Gail Twist had rougher time than most finding a scholastic niche where her 11-year-old son Ben would thrive. Ben was born with Autism, and though he communicates with friends and teachers remarkably well, he was not able to adapt to traditional standardized testing.

Twist stumbled upon Lansbury Bridge School, an alternative school with a visually based style of learning that resonated with Ben. He started to do extremely really well in his classes.

gailtwist

And then at the end of the last term, his mother recieved a letter in the mail containing his test scores. He had failed them all.

But instead of a harsh reprimand and a reminder to study more often, the letter contained a message that brought Gail to tears. It’s one we all need to hear.

gailtwist

The letter listed Ben’s wonderful attributes: his artistic talents, his ability to work with a team, his kindness… and the list went on. The letter read:

Dear Ben,

I am writing you to congratulate you on your attitude and success in completing your end of key stage SATs.

Gil, Lynn, Angela, Steph and Anne have worked so well with you this year and you have made some fabulous progress.

I have written to you and your parents to tell you the results of the tests.

A very important piece of information I want you to understand is that these tests only measure a little bit of you and your abilities. They are important and you have done so well, but Ben Twist is made up of many other skills and talents that we at Lansbury Bridge see and measure in other ways.

Other talents you have that these tests do not measure include

-Your artistic talents
-Your ability to work in a team
-Your growing independence
-Your kindness
-Your ability to express your opinion
-Your abilities in sports
-Your Your ability to make and keep friends
-Your ability to discuss and evaluate your own progress
-Your design and building talents
-Your musical ability

We are so pleased that all of these different talents and abilities make you the special person you are and these are all of the things we measure to reassure us that you are always making progress and continuing to develop as a lovely, bright young man.

Well done Ben, we are very proud of you.

Best Wishes,
Mrs. Clarkson

Twist was so astounded by Clarkson’s words that she took to twitter with her story, and the letter soon went viral.

gailtwist

What if we all saw each other for our individual strengths instead of comparing to others?

Share and spread some smiles!