Ben Twist, an 11-year-old boy with autism who attends Lansbury Bridge School and Sports College received an important message from one of his teacher’s recently. After Ben didn’t pass a standardized test his teacher, Mrs. Clarkson, wrote this letter to him. The note was later sent to his house and later shared on twitter by Ben’s mom that you can read below.
In tears. A letter to my 11 yr old autistic son from his school. “These tests only measure a little bit of you” pic.twitter.com/e9OPECidxX
— Gail Twist (@gailtwist) July 9, 2016
The letter says…
I am writing to 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 test 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 sport
– 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
What a special moment. What are your thoughts on this letter? Make sure to tell us in the comments!
We travel to schools around the country to speak at school assemblies and paraprofessionals about the importance of an education around those with autism and special needs. Want to discuss having Kerry speak at your next event? Contact us anytime here for more details!
