Elever på ett anpassat individuellt gymnasieprogram : skolvardag och vändpunkter

Sammanfattning: The purpose of the study is to describe and research students roate into the programme, and what it means to students to follow a special secondary school course. The students attended a small specail needs teaching group based on the neuropsychiatric diagnosis of Asperger´s syndrome, which had been made during their years at school. In this connetction, the study will also clarify and analyse the interface between the organisation of a secondary school and the special needs students, from the players´persepctive where the student´attendance at school forms the basis of their education.The students already had a negative image of themselves as pupils before starting their secondary scool education and the learning environment in which they participated in secondary school. Attandance becomes another turning point in the students´statements about their time at school. The experience of being at school has changed.From their perspective- "an inner perspective"- both the courses they had taking, and the school environment, is emphasised as something positive. The fact that affiliation to the programme is positive is an ongoing feature in students´statements. Identification with friends of similar age, who have comparable experinces, above all in relation to school, is emphasised by most students as something positive. Studnets´feeling of communityis based on the knowledge that the reason why they are on programme is because they have had different problems in relation to school. For students, the environment is a type of identity- creating forum, where students with the same problems can undertake their education. The diagnosis plays a central part in how students perceive themselves in relation to school and the obstacles they face.