Daughter, GCSE year - L5-6's predicted but not interested in anything

[larkstar]

except maybe textiles - tapestries and weaving.

She attends an excellent school, is supported for maths with a private tutor and is regarded as a polite girl who works to please her teachers and is predicted 5-6's for most subjects although she is not obviously that interested in any particular subject apart from maybe textiles.

We don't think she will be up to studying anything at A-level (and she hasn't expressed any interest in doing so).

She struggles to maintain concentration (something we have been concerned about since primary school but there is no obvious learning difficulty) - we are trying to think of what she might do after her GCSE's but it is difficult to engage her in any constructive conversation about the future.

She has a nice circle of friends and seems happy although some teachers have said she seems disinterested in the work, in spite of seeming content and being polite and getting on with the work she is expected to do, she seems to find "thinking" hard - her tutor has said that that, when asked about what she is thinking when apparently stuck on a problem, she maintains that she is thinking absolutely nothing! It has always been difficult to understand what goes on in her head.

We are struggling to think of how to proceed - does this picture resonate with anyone else?

We have wondered for some time if she has a learning difficulty but it is difficult to get the school interested into looking into this when there is no obvious problem - her tutor has tried to research this as they have seen "some" similarities to other students they have seen with the attention deficit part of ADHD, her demeanour and the way learning is affected in children with dyspraxia was also mentioned (but again this doesn't fit as she is well co-ordinated in her movements as she plays netball) - these are both spectrum disorders so there is a wide range of ways in which people can be affected - the descriptions of "executive functioning" issues seems to fit in some ways but not exactly - whatever it is about her learning style it is not an obvious or easy to define problem.

I'm hoping someone will read this and it will resonate.

[TheFirstOHN]

There's a Level 3 Diploma in Textile Design and Manufacture, but not many places offer it, so she might have to live away from home while she studies.

Alternatively, many further education colleges offer a more general Level 3 Diploma in Art & Design.

[TeenTimesTwo]

I was going to say have you looked into 'executive functioning' - but I see you have. If you could pay for a private Ed Psych assessment that might help you understand things better. You are, I think, too late for any exam concessions, but it might help you understand better going forward and would help with college.

The Level 3 Diploma's mentioned by TheFirst sound interesting / suitable.

I would be tempted at this point for you to do background research, but don't engage in 'future' conversations unless you have something concrete to show her, it might just stress her out?

What is she like with revision? DD1 has dyspraxia with executive functioning difficulties. To get effective revision done, I had to do it 1-1 with her.

[Lara53]

My boys both play county level sports and have mild dyspraxia - it affects their ability to order and write down their thoughts logically. It sounds to me more likely attention deficit or executive functioning issues as have been suggested.

In your shoes I’d be paying for a private assessment ASAP. It’s too late to apply for extra time in exams now I think. I believe this has to be submitted by end of Feb.