Thread 30 Covid Cohort, Mad March Hareing Towards Exams

crazy, I’m regretting getting rid of DD’s many boxes of Equasym now!

As for English, try Mr Sallis, if the others I mentioned don’t suit (DD and DS both enjoy(ed) Mr Bruff, and DS has gone up 2 grades in Lang, thanks to him, so still worth a look! )
Videos are so much easier to take in for kids who don’t enjoy reading.

@Decorhate yes that does concern me as our mocks have only been 1 paper per subject each time.
As they didn’t sit their GCSEs you’d think schools would want them to have an experience of sitting full on 3 paper exams

@Alsoplayspiccolo ds also struggled with the comedowns on Equasym, which is why he still has some of the 2020 medication left! Might be his only option though.

Thanks @Piggywaspushed that’s probably why his English teacher wouldn’t recommend any online resources! With ds we just have to try everything and hope that something sticks

Got Ds’ exam timetable through today. Does anyone else worry how they will cope with doing 3 papers per subject when they have never sat that many exams in one go before? I feel like that will be an issue for Ds. He is doing one of his subjects at a different school & their mock exam weeks are at a different time so he had never even had to do his three subjects in one week.

Cantonet, DD has tried Elvanse and Concerta at various times but didn’t get on with either.
Her previous consultant felt a non stimulant might help the come downs she (we!) were struggling with on Equasym.
I didn’t realise they weren’t as effective as stimulants; I’ve told DD that now, and she wants to go back to Equasym to help her focus.
Thanks for your knowledge.

eg

Akala on Wordsworth.

Oh sorry, cannot STAND Mr Bruff . Most female English teachers can't...also Mr B pitches very high (whilst talking absolute crap...)

And don't get me started on Stacey Reay.

But - hey- if it helps the DCs it's fine!

I recommend Akala's videos on BBC about the poems. And Massolit if your school subscribes is brilliant.

Thanks @Alsoplayspiccolo. He’s doing Jekyll and Hyde, Macbeth and something else - can’t remember now! The problem is, I bought him a full set of revision guides for all his subjects but he barely uses them except for Business. He hates reading basically! He much prefers online so I’ll see if Mr Bruff works.

Stacey Raey, not Sadie.

That’s an amazing result, Crazy!!

English - Mr Bruff, Mr Sallis, or Sadie Rae/Ray.

Mr Bruff is my fave - YouTube vids and his books for Lang.

Which texts is your DS doing? I’ve got some of DD’s revision books you’re welcome to have, if they’re what he’s studying.

Dd has had her RS mock back - 97%! Crazy! She didn’t think it had gone very well either

Does anyone have any tips or know of good resources for GCSE English (Lang or Lit). Ds is really struggling. He says he just can’t concentrate in lessons because he’s not interested and the teacher doesn’t understand the adhd either really. He also reads really slowly so can’t complete the language paper even with 25% extra time. He got a 2 in Lit in the mock and a 5 in Lang. He needs a 6 in at least one of them for his A Level choices.

@Zebracat - good luck with the diagnosis appointment.
We went through process with a teen (ds was 14 when he got his dx) and it was noticeable that it allowed to express stuff he'd masked previously (ds suddenly said he hates eye contact, he just knows other ppl like it so he's taught himself to do it - I had no idea; likewise they asked about stuff that we'd totally normalised as a family, because it works for ds - to the extent I hadn't really realised anymore that these behaviours weren't normal...)

But I'd also say the professionals know their stuff! I was very unsure if ds would get a dx as I felt he had managed so well in mainstream school - and there was lots about his early life that I had felt was totally normal. The questioning and approach really is skilful and sensitive, in my experience, so hopefully it will be a process that works for you all.
Ds is 'lucky' that the area he is interested in is typically highly neurodiverse, so the marketplace is, hopefully, fairly well set up for him...

Sorry about the covid ED its such a pain.

Zebra that sounds a tricky situation to manage. No advice, but I suspect the professional will be able to tell the difference.

Fonty End of April???? So open days during exam month? That's mad.

There are officially no rules now! DS has a negative LFT yesterday (day 7) but was positive again this morning. So annoyed as he wanted to go to school and I wanted him to go! He feels fine now. I said to school if he had a negative this afternoon and again tomorrow morning then he'd be in, they replied that he needed 24hrs between the negatives. Frustrating as he was negative yesterday evening. We are now hoping he'll be back in on Thursday.

I have spent the last week keeping away from DS and making him isolate in his rooms, then went to lunch and sat face to face with a friend for 3 hours on Sunday who has now tested positive. Grrr, if I don't get it now it will be a miracle I think! Negative so far though.

The guidance is really unclear now, I went to put my positive test code in the Covid app and it flashed up "isolate for 10 days" which hasn't been the rules for ages. Obviously we are not going to go out unless we have to but if DH catches it too one of us will have to mask up and fetch DS home from school at the end of the week.

Thanks. Dm has no intention of moving closer. She's actually gone further away as her partner had a dream of retiring to the coast, so they moved down south. He's passed on since. Dm is 75 but fairly overweight, so she really struggles with mobility. She has to taxi everywhere. She has had carers to shower and dress her for the past 4 or 5 years. She won't do steps of any sort. It makes things difficult. It makes her fairly isolated as she can't get out much. I'm struggling with her hygiene in the kitchen and bathroom too. I'm actually amazed I survived childhood.

@EventuallyDelighted sorry to hear you have Covid. It seems that you are allowed to go about your normal life with it now though, which is a bit confusing!

@Zebracat it can be very hard being a teenager, and yours has extra stuff to deal with. Sounds like you are doing a great job of providing stability and a listening ear. Have you seen the thread on The Student Room about the Cambridge foundation? I have not read it, just thought of you when I saw it, could be helpful or not - www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7054995&p=96832132&page=12&highlight=cambridge+foundation#post96832132

@crazycrofter Thank you.you have hit the nail on the head.I said to DH that I felt she was now identifying as autistic, she has changed how she dresses, and when she remembers to, asks if we are being funny when we make a joke. I know lots of autistic people, and they are individuals, very different from each other, it seems insulting to them to start adopting behaviours from a checklist. She does have some behaviours which are suggestive, she is very punctual, and finds it hard to adjust to new situations, she needs recovery time after socialising and struggles to see things from the other side., she can also become obsessional, and lacks self awareness. So it may be that this behaviour is a feature of autism! She’s not faking it, she passionately believes that she fits all the boxes she ticked. She’s got all sorts of tics too, hand flapping and pulling her eyebrows, and she’s very keen we should notice. But they are brand new.

@crazycrofter thank you, my PCR came back positive but DH is still negative by LFT so we'll see. I feel fine in myself today but am taking it easy, I am coughing a bit.

@Zebracat good luck with the diagnosis.
I think if it does result in a positive it will enable your DD to have some support at Uni. Or if it's negative at least it will put your dd's mind at rest.

Ds2 is 'neurodiverse' as described by his doctor and he's very difficult to deal with, especially for me. I'm not having him tested unless it's proven necessary as he's already been diagnosed with ADHD/depression/anxiety. So I don't need any more ...

@Icanbe I can understand the relief of 'peace'. However elderly parents can be as equally demanding and hard work, in a completely different sort of way.

@Monkey good luck for more offers.

Sorry to hear about the covid situation @EventuallyDelighted. I hope you don’t have to miss the offer day.

@Zebracat that’s tricky as it sounds like she may be grasping hold of a diagnosis almost as an identity thing? It’s good that she’s got a professional doing the diagnosis, so it’s not up to you to say whether or not you think she’s autistic. It’s more complex when there’s trauma involved because it’s hard to know how that interacts.

Hope you have a bit of a break @icanbewhatiwant. Your mum is quite a trek away from you, is there any talk of her moving closer?

Fingers crossed for an Edinburgh offer before April @Fonty

Thank you everyone! @Monkey2001 I had been reading about the accommodation issues at St A’s which would be very stressful. I really hope your DS finds something soon. And keeping fingers crossed you will get an offer v soon.

Edinburgh has said they hope to have sent most answers out by end April . I think for DS it will be a toss up between Edi (if they offer) & Exeter - which he really likes. But we’ll see.

@icanbewhatiwant Hope you find transport for DM hospital appointments.

@crazycrofter I’d also be tempted to take the old medication but I’m definitely not a dr!

Enjoy the break from them @icanbewhatiwant altho it’s coming to something when the difficulties and frustrations of aged parents’ hospital appointments counts as relaxation!
The school are pushing us to get student finance sorted but
I want to wait until we are done with the Cambridge stuff, mainly because I’m dead busy this week and also in pain with a back problem. And it’s going to be a nightmare because of her non standard situation.
Very interested in the discussion of Adhd/ autism as our girl is to start her assessment, although the 1st appointment has just been cancelled.
I feel quite ambivalent about it really. ObviouslyI want her to get any help she needs, but she has changed so much in the last 4 years that it suggests to me that her issues are not indicative of a lifelong condition. Although obviously children with those conditions can also suffer adverse life events.. I worry that a diagnosis may make it more difficult for her in the Labour market, and that it may come to be a barrier to personal growth. I know we live in a changing world where diversity is ostensibly celebrated, so I hope that my worries are groundless.she asked me to do an online autism assessment yesterday. I couldn’t see the point as she is due to see a hugely experienced clinical psychologist, but she said she wanted to see if her perceptions were the same as mine. So we did it, but it was clear She wanted me to just agree, soI did. Left me really uncomfortable.. she insists that she has a monotonous voice, but it’s not, it’s clear and musical with appropriate inflections. She isn’t screechy and dramatic like some teenagers, but that seems to me to be a good thing. She comes home bubbling with news of her day, but apparently that is her masking her natural monotone, and pretending to be normal. My other 4 used to come in and grunt on their way to the fridge, so she’s got that wrong!