An autistic woman referred to a “gifted and talented” scheme during high school is just average and weird now, according to reports.

Emma Bernard, 28, from Ormskirk, was regarded as a high achiever during her years in secondary education – mostly due to using words like “ubiquitous” in essays to sound impressive. After graduating, however, things took a disappointing turn for Bernard.

Bernard said: “Everybody else got better.”

“To be honest, the boy who got voted ‘most likely to go to prison’ is having a better time than me now,” Bernard admitted. “And he succeeded. He’s doing 20 to life.”

“We thought she was headed for a career in medicine,” Her mother Liz Bernard, 61, explained. “She does spend a lot of time in hospitals now, but that’s mostly for the depression.”

Bernard was last spotted in the bakery aisle at her hometown supermarket, hiding from her former English teacher.


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