I heard about 2 special people today. Mrs Clarkson and a young man called Ben. Both attend Landsbury Bridge School and Sports College and Mrs. Clarkson does so in the capacity of Head Teacher while Ben is a pupil.

Ben’s special in that he has autism which as we all know puts a person ahead of others in some ways but makes other things harder.

People who are autistic always have a massive talent in some regard and the most important thing is to find out what that is. For some it’s singing, some have uncanny high functioning ability at mental arithmetic, some can tell you what day it will be on any given date in the future instantly, some can blink at a cities skyline and then faithfully reproduce it only from the memory of that blink.

As Ben sat his exams at school the result that came back would have been disappointing for most pupils but being aware of Ben’s unique talents Mrs. Clarkson sent Ben home with a letter from school for his parents which I think is worth sharing.

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 ability to make and keep friends, your ability to discuss and evaluate your own progress, your design and building talents, and 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”