Anthony Haffey’s Life after The Key
I went to a mainstream school in Johannesburg for a year. Despite being at least an average student, one of the supervising teachers talked about how they couldn't cope with me after they found out I was autistic. My parents are convinced that it was this that caused them to ask me to leave the school rather than sort out any problems I was having. It was then that I attended The Key School in Johannesburg.
My family then decided to move to England in 1994. As the English start education at a younger age to South Africans, I had to take extra classes in reading and writing before we moved over there. Even when I was in England I had to have extra lessons for a year. After that year, I no longer needed extra classes and was equal with my peers.
I continued to progress academically to this day, and have just gained entry into Essex University.
During the last three years I have studied autism to a moderate degree, and found that it is not impossible for other autistic person to have had my success. Autism is a social disorder rather than an academic hindrance from what I have read. What The Key did for me was to make me sociably able enough to integrate into society (mainly by making me talk) and so gain my education. I know that it's not just for me that The Key have been able to do this. While I was there I had a friend who was able to join mainstream education the same year as I was.
An interesting point on my and Guy's overcoming of autism is that autism is considered incurable in England. I think that The Key's belief that it is curable is the reason for its success. |
