Girl with autism devastated by school report receives new one from father

Many people have praised Shane Jackson for demonstrating ‘parenting done right’

Autism is a developmental disability that affects how a person communicates and relates to others (Getty)

A young girl with autism who came home distraught after receiving her school report card was then given a new one from her father - which has now gone viral on Twitter.

When Sophie Jackson returned home after school one day, she couldn’t hide her dismay at receiving D grades in all of her classes.

Upon seeing his daughter crying at her grades, Shane Jackson decided to write a new one for her that evaluated her on her most redeeming qualities, as opposed to her academic abilities.

According to Shane, a consultant pharmacist and national president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Sophie had felt extremely disappointed in her results, saying: “I’ve let everyone down.”

Without further ado, Shane presented his daughter with a report card that gave her a four A grades for being funny, for loving dogs, for fighting with boys, and for drawing and making robots.

He then awarded her with two A+ grades for her imagination and for being the “best daughter ever”.

Shane’s report card has received an extremely positive reception on Twitter, garnering almost 9,000 retweets and more than 50,000 likes.

A number of people have praised the father for his wonderful gesture, with someone tweeting that this is an example of “parenting done right.”

“As someone with ASD (autism spectrum disorder), I can really empathise with this,” one person wrote.

“One of my friends has medium-functioning autism and broke down after seeing his report card. I wish I could have done what you did. No one deserves to feel like that. Ever.”

Another person commented: “Keep reminding her that just because our education system values certain skills and attributes over others and doesn’t recognise different intelligences it is the system that is wrong not her!!!”

Since sharing the report card, Shane has stated that he and Sophie have felt “overwhelmed” by the amazing reaction its had.

In response to requests to see Sophie’s artwork, her father has now set her up with her own Twitter account so that she share her drawings with anyone who’s interested.

Sophie also thought it’d be nice to give her dad his own report card, which she also posted on Twitter.

She awarded her father a C for wrestling her, a B for being funny, two As for being annoying and loving her and two A+s for creating her Twitter account and for being the “best dad ever.”

All individuals who have autism navigate the world in a unique way, as Carol Povey, director of the National Autistic Society’s Centre for Autism, explains.

“Every autistic person is different. Autism can present serious challenges - but with the right support and understanding, autistic people and their families can live full lives,” she says.