If the kid doesn’t act up in class and is fine in terms of intelligence but just a little impaired socially and might have some trouble focusing, putting them in special ed can seem downright cruel. I was one of those cases - classwork was fine but I couldn’t make friends for the life of me, and getting shoved in a classroom with flailing drooling pants shitters who still watched shows meant for preschoolers and could barely write their own names was my worst nightmare growing up. I knew I wasn’t like them, but since “disability” often gets lumped together under one umbrella, once a self conscious teenager who just wants to fit in gets the label slapped on ‘em... they tend to panic because they don’t want to be regarded as abnormal in any way.
My high school was awful in other ways, but at least the kids who were smart enough not to go to the special ed class were placed in regular classes with a bit of extra support - teacher’s aides to help with note taking and explaining whatever concepts the student found tricky, plus a weekly welfare check with the teacher in charge of making sure they get through it all. This is the type of support I got and it’s similar to what university students get if they have issues. Pretty sure it’s done that way in most of Australia too.
