Matt's really witty

[keannu]

While typing this whole paragraph, I realized the answer to my question, so just to confirm what I realized...
Special reading group seems to be for students with reading disability, and "as she realized what she was saying" seems to mean the neighbor stopped saying like that not to insult the boy and her mother. right?

ex)Because our society equates intelligence with school learning, children who have difficulty developing the academically prized capacities are at high risk for feeling "stupid". Children with reading disabilities, for example, find it difficult to think of themselves as smart. They discount evidence of their intelligence, such as well-developed social skills, clever problem solving in building a soapbox car, or even above-average scores on IQ tests. The mother of one such child told me about an incident that happened when her son Matt was playing at at neighbor's home. The neighbor later commented, in a surprised voice, "Matt's really witty! I mean, I knew he was in the special reading group..." Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying, and Matt's mother, like every parent whose child strugles with academic learning, had to contend with yet another person who felt that such children cannot be intelligent.

st-40.5

[JMurray]

Yes. The neighbour started by giving the boy a compliment and then undermined it immediately with the assumption that having reading difficulties would equate to a general lack of intelligence. She stopped herself when she realised that this could be insulting.

not a teacher