Should I tell the school not to give my daughter extra time in tests?

[TractorTart]

My dd is 13. When she was 8 she was diagnosed with ASD. She is very bright and has no difficulties at school. She is very different to the little girl she was at 8, she has a nice group of friends, she no longer has a lot of the issues she had then such as severe tics and unusual behaviours.
We have needed no interventions at school as she is doing really well but the school have the info re diagnoses.
She is currently having end of year tests and told me that in one of the tests the teacher told her she has an extra 15 minutes to finish the test, she asked why and the teacher told her it just says it on the register. Should I tell them she doesn't need this?

I'm another one with a child who gets extra time. We are in Scotland, and he's just finished sitting his National 5s. (he's 16).

He's never been formally diagnosed with anything - two assessments for dyspraxia but not enough boxes ticked for a diagnosis. No "statement" of educational needs. Doing exceptionally well in all subjects and predicted As and Bs across the board. But because his handwriting is SO bad, he does all his exams on computers. Typing takes longer than writing for most people so he gets an extra 30 minutes on a 2 hour exam.

Why wouldn't you take extra time when it's offered? And yes, being in a separate room, on his own, helps him focus.

My son was offered help by the school for exams. The school he went to was excellent . They rang and told me to chat to him about it. Initially he felt it would make him different, but there was a few others who got help to various degrees .
He accepted and to be honest it was right for him .
So I would say don't rush to refuse . You may well be glad later.
Take the help when it is offered, as so many battle to get anything.

I'd not say anything about the extra time. To her explain she can use it to check her answers or use some to plan her answers better.
If she doesn't need it then it will be taken away, as she won't do "badly enough" in the tests. If she does then the school will have proof that it is her "usual way of working". It can also be paired often with smaller venues for the exams, which can be a big help.

And your DD might not seem to have issues now - but hormones and stress might well cause issues in the future. Its good to have the school on board already.

I would leave it. We did the same for one of ours - approached the school and told them they didn’t need it or want it. The school had lots of information we were not aware of. Even things such as uni entrance, as here some uni’s added extra marks to your entrance score on a disability basis but there needed to be evidence you had had special arrangements for several years prior not just final years entrance exams etc. They came up with lots of ways it could play into potential future benefits we were not aware of at the time so decided it was best to leave it.

Keep the extra time. I’m at Uni and have ASD. I get extra time. I don’t always need it but I like knowing it’s there.

I would keep it. I was just like your DD as a child, but then suddenly it all got on top of me at GCSE for some subjects with lots of inference and writing (like History and English). By then, the school would not give me extra time because I was "too bright" and it wasn't the usualy way I worked.

If DD does not feel the need to use the extra time in any exam, she can leave with the other children at the normal end time. But as others have said, it's important that having extra time is her normal way of working so that for GCSE and A-level exams she can use the provision if she needs it.

My dd was just diagnosed and extra time because of processing speed and anxiety is the main accommodation recommended.

She actually masked incredibly well so this is a late diagnosis. We only figured it out because she got injured and all that hidden work she had been doing to appear typical dropped off while she was recovering. Once she was better she couldn’t just snap back to the way things had been.

You never know when life will throw her a curveball that makes it harder for her to adapt. I would not ask for it to be removed. It’s a common accommodation and she doesn’t have to use the time if she doesn’t need it.

Teacher here. Keep it. We have to jump through a million hoops these days to get any kind of special arrangements. If it turned out that she needed it in two years time, it would be really difficult to get back.

For example, one of the GCSE English papers is 2 hours 15 minutes long. My kids with extra time need it for pacing themselves and processing. They are not forced to use every minute but it is great if they do.

Thanks so much for all the input. It is very interesting. Part of what I find unusual is that she has not been offered extra time in any of her other tests and wasn't in SATS (She scored the highest mark in SPAG in her year) so it wasn't identified as something she needed.

Her issues are more social and she is still quite immature. I suppose I think it's a bit unfair on the others if she does not need extra time but I also understand what others have said about masking etc. This is why we have hung on to the diagnoses in case she is masking and it all gets more difficult at some point. Sometimes I wonder if she was misdiagnosed but I hear that is rare. Can anyone confirm that children are reassessed in year 9? If so I don't think she would get the diagnoses.

I don't want her to feel different if she doesn't need to I suppose.

When I say that she wouldn't get the diagnoses I mean because she displays virtually none of the behaviours or traits that she did when she was 8

Ask your DD how she feels about it?
I'm dyspraxic and dyslexic and didn't use the extra time at all at school because i was ashamed of being different and never told anyone until adulthood that i felt like that (apart from looking at my handwriting, i masked it quite well at the time) , perhaps asking how she feels about using it will help her talk about any difficulties she might not feel comfortable openly sharing otherwise. My sister has ASD and it took a few appointments to the diagnosis and i know it's not something they diagnose lightly.

I would leave it. My son is exceptionally intelligent and his autism did not show up very much at all in tests right up to his mock GCSE exams when he got all 9's. However now, during the real thing he is using those extra minutes and support as he needs to take breaks to calm down, get a drink etc. The staff have been surprised how his behavior has changed. Its because these exams matter. To him end of year tests and mocks were not 'real' therefore he sailed through them. Better to leave support in place. If she does not need it she does not have to use it.

She may be grateful for that extra time.

If my dc were offered that I’d snatch their hand off. Give her the best chance possible

Let her have the extra 15mins, even if she doesn’t need it extra time in an exam it may come in handy later on in GCSEs etc.

Leave it my DS dyslexic did not get extra time until GCSE time, he says it was so helpful giving him the extra time. Doing A levels now so especially appreciates it.

No it is not for you to say she doesn't need extra time. She may need extra time in the future when the exams are harder and more complex.

I’d leave it, it’ll be harder to get the time re added if at a later date as the exams get harder she needs that extra time. If she finishes on time just tell her to check through her answers with the extra time.

*@leeloo1 *
There was nothing specific but I think that people understanding her a bit better helped. She did attend a social skills group at junior school. We stopped pressuring her to be polite, she has to say please, thank you, hello, goodbye, but we now know why she doesn't do it with any obvious feeling or enthusiasm.
She also lacks empathy and we don't make her feel she should though we do tell her to pretend sometimes!
I think I stopped feeling frustrated with her uniqueness and that was probably a big help for her.
She said that she still tics sometimes but that it happens in her mouth or bum (?!) or places people don't see so much.

*@leeloo1 *
There was nothing specific but I think that people understanding her a bit better helped. She did attend a social skills group at junior school. We stopped pressuring her to be polite, she has to say please, thank you, hello, goodbye, but we now know why she doesn't do it with any obvious feeling or enthusiasm.
She also lacks empathy and we don't make her feel she should though we do tell her to pretend sometimes!
I think I stopped feeling frustrated with her uniqueness and that was probably a big help for her.
She said that she still tics sometimes but that it happens in her mouth or bum (?!) or places people don't see so much.

*@leeloo1 *
There was nothing specific but I think that people understanding her a bit better helped. She did attend a social skills group at junior school. We stopped pressuring her to be polite, she has to say please, thank you, hello, goodbye, but we now know why she doesn't do it with any obvious feeling or enthusiasm.
She also lacks empathy and we don't make her feel she should though we do tell her to pretend sometimes!
I think I stopped feeling frustrated with her uniqueness and that was probably a big help for her.
She said that she still tics sometimes but that it happens in her mouth or bum (?!) or places people don't see so much.

*@leeloo1 *
There was nothing specific but I think that people understanding her a bit better helped. She did attend a social skills group at junior school. We stopped pressuring her to be polite, she has to say please, thank you, hello, goodbye, but we now know why she doesn't do it with any obvious feeling or enthusiasm.
She also lacks empathy and we don't make her feel she should though we do tell her to pretend sometimes!
I think I stopped feeling frustrated with her uniqueness and that was probably a big help for her.
She said that she still tics sometimes but that it happens in her mouth or bum (?!) or places people don't see so much.

Sorry it lied and told me it hadn't posted!

Extra time doesn't depend on diagnosis but on need as judged by specific tests carried out by a trained professional (usually a teacher). These tests do need to be carried out before GCSE (often year 10).
My older DD was included on the list of students to be tested only because I had flagged to the SENCO that she had issues. She did badly enough on the initial screening to get the full tests and get extra time. If I hadn't got her on that list she could easily have been overlooked.

If your DD was diagnosed with ASD she still has it regardless of whether she is coping/masking much better now. My youngest DD's behaviour at 16 is nothing like it was at 9, but her diagnosis does allow leeway when she needs it. And the stress of GCSEs is a major issue for her.

Do you think then that this teacher might have mistakenly given her extra time? She has no had an assessment as far as I know and other teachers haven't given her this?

Like others, my son desperately needs the special arrangements in place for him now, as he goes through GCSEs, in a way he never has before.