Extra time/scribe/laptop in GCSEs??

I don't know if it helps but after months of anxiety and laptop refusal in class (Ds has ASD) he did use one for his GCSE mocks. His actual GCSEs were cancelled this year so I don't know if he would have used one for the real thing!

Being in a separate smaller room meant that the bullies did not see him using it.

His laptop use (or refusal) caused so much stress, so I do understand. Ds has poor handwriting and lax finger joints that cause pain. The occupational therapist told us that it was too late at 14 to improve his handwriting.

The DASH test measures speed of handwriting and if you fall below a certain percentage then you are entitled to extra time in exams. Ds's handwriting was not actually considered bad enough for extra time but I've since found out that he is entitled if he needs it, because of his ASD.

My dd was very unsure initially (well one of them, the other one is made of teflon). Now she says that there are more students using laptops as I think the school have finally done some assessments and have identified those who would benefit. We had to really push them for dd. She has though had the benefit of a year practice with the laptop despite the comments from her peers.

I have similar issues with my DS and he rarely uses his laptop now even though he should in every lesson (except maths and french). He can't even read his own writing it is so bad. He has hyper mobility and an ASD. I doubt he will cope with a scribe so I'm hoping the laptop will be an option for him at GCSE. God knows what he will do for maths. I don't have an answer OP but I feel your pain!

Has he had a DASH test? Ds had one in year 10 when an OT assessed his fine motor skills.

I know how difficult it can be trying to persuade a teenager to use a laptop in class/school. Ds was badly bullied and the first time he ever used a laptop in class he was called a 'cripple'. It took months of persuasion from us and school to try and get him to use one again after that.

Transcripts went a few years ago thankfully. If he uses a laptop or a scribe it has to be his normal way of working in all assessments - but he'd do his exams outside the main hall as others have said.
English requires the spelling and grammar checker off, so that gives access to all SPAG marks. If he has a scribe, he can choose to dictate spelling, punctuation, both or none. The one he chooses affects how many of the spag marks are available to him.
Most of our laptop using students bring their own to use in lessons and we allow them guest access to the network. They can't use those for assessments though.

Have you discussed laptop post covid. All sorts of things seem possible now that weren't before.

I'd go back to the school re you not being allowed to provide one, that's ridiculous.
DD1 has dyspraxia, and used a laptop for various things from y9. I took responsibility for printing things out and making sure they were stuck in books etc.
If he uses a laptop (or has extra time) he will be in a concessions room, no one else will particularly notice whether he is in the main room or not.
If his handwriting is that atrocious, he needs to get competent with typing, he'll need it for whatever he does next, he might as well get used to it.

That said, you may need to look at maths because typing that is well nigh impossible. DD ended up typing essay subjects (including MFLs) but handwriting maths & science. However her handwriting was legible just slow (and for essay subjects her brain stopped when writing by hand...)

He could also undertake a series of handwriting exercises. There are quite a few on YouTube.

If he can’t write then surely he just has to get his typing sorted, just for basic functionality for a levels , university and work, so surely best to just get on with it now?

And I think you need to be robust about not wanting to seem different in exams. He is different - he can’t functionally write. So he has a choice - look the same and fail or take the steps he needs to and get the results he is capable of. He isn’t a small child - he needs to be practical.

And I speak as someone with a child with ASD/ADHD etc who has to navigate typing and extra time and being n a different room etc.

Access Arrangements have to be usual way of working. Also, for English Language / Lit GCSE , check the arrangements with the exam board as some boards make the student forgo any SPaG marks if they use a human scribe.

Has the option of dictating into a computer been suggested to you or your DS, OP? We use Read Write Gold at our school which allows oral dictation and the computer transcribes it. Of course, all punctuation would need to be dictated as with a human scribe.

Can he do a crash course in touch typing? Just 20 hours would probably be enough to be fast enough for mocks. Can you provide a laptop for lessons? Mine found it easier on their own laptops than borrowed ones. Would have to use school ones for the exam.

I posted on your other thread, but I wanted to post transcription was available in the past. It was definitely in the 2014-15 Access Arrangements but isn't this year. I don't know when it was removed.

In that case I would definitely recommend he perseveres with a laptop - and in fact starts to use it in all lessons.

If his writing is unreadable except in part by those who read it a lot, he will do very badly in exams. It is a massive issue if examiners cannot read what is written.

If he uses a laptop as a regular thing for the next six months, he will improve a great deal. It certainly sounds like the best option for him to achieve what he is capable of.

Also if he uses a laptop, he will be able to sit with most students in the main hall 9most likely) if that is important to him. If he has a scribe he will have to be 1-1 in a separate room.

OP the school haven't said that your ds qualifies for 25% extra time, just that he qualifies either for a lap-top or a scribe.
You can't pick and choose which access arrangements you would like, for many of these there are lots of criteria that have to be gone through to work out which would be best for your child depending on their needs. I know lots of dcs who would be delighted at the chance to use a lap-top in exams!
Examiners seeing an illegible script will just wonder why the candidate didn't use a lap-top or scribe, they won't be making other sorts of judgment.

He can write some questions himself if he has a scribe, if that would help?

A transcribe isn't an option allowed at GCSE for any reason, as far as I am aware. It definitely won't be allowed for poor handwriting alone.

If this is what your DS is hoping for, then I think you need to explain to him that it isn't allowed, so that he can chose the next best option.

I think it would be worth him trying mocks with a scribe- it's not easy, but then he would know if it worked for him or not. If it doesn't work for him, then he could use a laptop as a backup plan- possibly with extra time if his typing speed is low?

How illegible is illegible? Is it just the case that he will lose marks, or will nearly everything he has written be unreadable?

What is the reason for the illegibility? Is it a strain thing ie that after a short time the pen is difficult to control? If so rest breaks might be an option.

DC1 ( wrist injury) tried a scribe at one point and found it impossible for some subjects (try dictating a graph or a diagram...) and also found the dictation tricky to manage due to interrupted flow etc. Went with unlimited rest breaks in the end

DD (hand injury) found both a scribe and rest breaks a big problem due to interruption of flow and went with a laptop for most mocks and writing with rest breaks for maths science and the non essay parts of music. It is possible to have a mix and match approach.

I think it highly unlikely that redictation would be permitted.

Students are provided with a different lap-top for exams to the one they use everyday in class.

my daughter found laptop not easy for maths and science due to graphs etc so had a scribber which worked well and used laptop for more written subjects like English.