A South African student, Stephanie Pringle, who is Autistic, has quietly made history after she became the first in the world to pass her Cambridge exams with a letterboard! This is her beyond-inspiring story:
Johannesburg, South Africa (15 August 2024) — South African student Stephanie Pringle quietly made history earlier this year. As a non-speaking autistic student, Stephanie used a letterboard to write her Cambridge exams for Extended Mathematics and Business Studies—making her the first non-speaking autistic student in the whole world to do so!
“Stephanie’s story is a beautiful reminder of what’s possible when we embrace neurodiversity and give everyone the tools they need to succeed. It’s one of those feel-good stories that makes you want to cheer for her and the progress we’re making in inclusive education,” shares Nicola Killops who put Stephanie’s achievement on Good Things Guy’s radar and is a mother of a young adult with high-functioning autism and dyslexia herself.
Stephanie (19) was diagnosed with a developmental delay just before she turned two years old and with Autism at four.
“Steph was stuck, repeating Grade 1 and 2 work for about eight years with no reliable means of communication,” shares her mom, Zelda.“She was often frustrated and upset because she couldn’t express herself or prove her understanding, leading to frequent tantrums.”
Stephanie also has apraxia, which makes it difficult for her to perform tasks on command, no matter how willing she is to do them. This contributes to her non-verbalism and prevents her from writing reliably.
However, this is where clever tools like the letterboard come in as an essential resource part of the broader spectrum of augmentative and alternative communication tools that help overcome communication barriers. For Stephanie, it wasn’t just a tool to communicate; it was the beginning of unlocking her true potential.
“Once she could express herself using the letterboard, the problematic behaviour, anger and tantrums nearly vanished,” Zelda says, recalling how everything changed for the best.
At its core purpose, the letterboard can help non-speakers to express themselves simply by pointing to letters and synchronising cognitive and motor skills. But as Stephanie has shown, it can help with personal growth and other barrier breakers that many Autistic people face.
With the help of trained facilitators, students are trained to work with the letter board and communicate effectively while regulating their bodies—a big win to combat experiences like overstimulation and meltdowns.
After connecting with her letterboard, Stephanie progressed rapidly—jumping from Grade 2 to Grade 7 maths during lockdown. Now that she was finally able to communicate in a way others could understand, she shared something remarkable—she had already taught herself how to read at 4-years-old.
Free to share her thoughts about the world and tackle her education in a new way, when school opened after lockdown and Stephanie came back with a bang, having long outgrown the curriculum of her previous studies. When asked which grade she was ready to join, she proudly placed a winning bet on matric.
Using a letterboard to pass her examinations was no small feat, but it’s one that’s made her school, family, the Autism community and South Africa immensely proud.
Jacqui McKelvey, EDU360’s principal and co-founder (Stephanie’s specialist school) explains the process to getting her student through the goalposts:
“We consulted with [the British Council’s team] to secure the concessions Steph needed, including a Regulation and Communication Partner, a Scribe and Reader, a separate venue, additional time, and an individual invigilator to oversee the process…together we ensured that everything was in place for Steph to do her best, right up to the moment she arrived to begin her exams.”
The rest, of course, is history.
“It’s crucial to understand that just because someone can’t speak, it doesn’t mean they don’t understand or have something valuable to say,” Stephanie says.
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