A.i.b.u to set struggling dd 16 , hours of revision over Easter?

[Thinkyoung]

I say struggling because i think she has inattentive a.d.h.d (due to be assessed just after g.c.s.e but there is no attempt to struggle). She is capable of passing, just but does badly in exams. She has low self esteem . Left to her own devices she does nothing apart from phone, or movies. So do i leave her to fail or crack the whip with hours to perhaps pass some? A.i.b.u to insist on productivity?

Is it actually revision that’s the issue, or is that she just finds exam conditions difficult? Some kids absolutely do know the facts they need to know, but just find it incredibly hard to maintain focus or get their thoughts down in an organised way during a two hour exam.

These are brilliant answers (smile)

I personally wouldn’t crack the whip, but maybe reward them for doing every half hour or less if that’s more realistic. Maybe like towards something fun she’d enjoy like a theme park etc. But also make it clear that there is no pressure, it’s more that she’ll get an extra great day out or something similar? Or maybe more smaller realistic treats that she enjoys?

A mix of both. Some downtime, some revision.

Oh and as someone with ASD and inattentive adhd the things that worked for me was past papers, mini tests and having very colourful revision cards that I put together with a keychain. Additionally breaks of non social time, like for me something like the programme ‘friends’ was something I could rewatch over and over and also not need to concentrate so hard IYSWIM?

OP

I have innatentive ADHD which of course being female wasn't diagnosed till middle age.
I would love to have someone currently "nag" me, set some sort of controls so that i do what i need - and want - to do.
Do this for her OP.

If you / she want(s) to dm me, do.

@EmpressCixi

It's not fair or helpful in any way to say that the op should have had her daughter assessed years ago because inattentive ADHD presents very differently in girls and can be extremely difficult to work out what's going on. This is why it's more commonly recognized and diagnosed during the teen years.

Not sorry, parents need to be more involved regarding SEN and not coasting until GCSEs and having a oh shit Sherlock moment.

We’ve known for decades that ADHD presents differently in girls. My DD has it. Suspected age 6, assessed and diagnosed aged 7. And that was gosh, she’s 20 now, so 13yrs ago?

Well aren't you a delight! It presents differently and causes different problems at different ages. Nobody noticed I had it. I figured it out for myself as an adult. My first inkling was not being able to revise effectively for A-levels. But I had no idea what the problem was. So can I respectfully ask that you wind your neck in until you have something helpful to contribute.

GCSEs come in useful if you want to get a job.
Most children that do ok revise a bit.
Those that do very well revise a lot.
Not doing any revision rarely ends well.

Have you asked her what support she needs in order to be ready for exams after Easter? Let her know you believe in her but you know she struggles with focus. Offer to help her to make a revision plan and stick with it, offer to be her revision buddy, or for her to meet up with a revision partner?

You should be like a personal trainer who kicks her lazy arse because that's what she has given you permission to do.

She needs help, my dd responds well to Quizlet, quick bursts and lots of incentives. You either need to support her or find someone that will, your dd will need to work twice as hard as everyone else. She should have extra time, support and help in place already at school? Can you ask them for help.

I find lots of activity and fresh air in between revision really helps, music quietly in the background and no nagging. Start nagging and you are done for.

Moderation.
With her, together, compose a timetable (by subject) with perhaps 2 hours study perday altogether. (possibly, two one hour slots) . Make it a chart she can tick off as she completes a study period. Try to vary the type of study; stuff needing concentration (practice tests) when she is fresh in the morning. More relaxed stuff (reading,.

If its possible in your house, let her revise in a calm quiet comfortable place. Bring her snacks and drinks , a chance to chack she's focussed, encourage her, talk about her work and praise her for achieving that study time.

The rest of the time, make sure she gets [plenty of excercise, sees her friends, does fun relaxing things with you and the family like going for a walk , swim, playing games, cooking a meal.

Paying worked well for us too, and we would use the money she had earn't (not much) to immediately order tat from Amazon at the end. I did not expect her to 'save' it, as it would have lost its appeal as the immediacy is what works for her. Quite frankly it is money well spent if she is motivated to actually do it! No screaming meltdowns. I appreciate not everyone can do this, but you can use favourite biscuits, home made spa treats like massage or nail painting or a sleepover promise with a friend.

I also find moving her around the house works, not being stuck in one place. We move for each session.

I also find moving her around the house works, not being stuck in one place. We move for each session.

DD also likes to move around the house for work/revision.

My yr 11 son is a revision avoider. He would sooner do anything than revise, and he frequently tells me so, but his 6th form place depends on certain grades.
Ive said 4 hrs a day 4 days a week and 1 weekend day, and to my surprise he worked out if he gets up and fed by 9am he can get his 4 hrs in by 3pm (takes a snack and lunch break) so has the rest of the day and evening to himself.
I keep saying to him this is the last push.......

Would really recommend Seneca - revision and quizzing as well as Quizlet - flashcards
Also find out if her school subscribe to gcse pod - video clips. I think an hour a day but maybe split intp 2 or 3 shorter sessions would be reasonable. Say 20mins Seneca every morning, 20 mins Qiuzlet and then another activity like mind mapping or practice questions later.

My DS is doing two hours a day every day over this holiday and on top of that is going to school three days next week for Special Easter Revision sessions. So I don't think 16 hours is too much at all.

Most of his friends are doing the same.

I think it's quite normal for the Easter holidays before GCSEs to be revision time and it seems even more important now after the two years of disruption we've had.

I think that GCSEs can be very overwhelming. There are so many of them and so much content!

Would she respond to a list of tasks each day so all she has to do is work through them?

How best does she work? Writing Flashcards, singing, making notes to videos of content, revision books.

Maybe try a couple of days worth of a variety of techniques and then have a discussion with her.

My yr 11 son has ASD and ADHD. Even with meds he struggles to answer the questions giving all the appropriate info despite knowing the answer.

I have organised his revision for him and reward him with money.

I have used the mathsandphysics tutor website which has past papers for all subjects with mark schemes. They also have flash cards.

Use the Advance Information published by exam boards for this year which states the topics which will be assessed. In the science subjects this is very specific and dramatically reduces time spent revising topics that won't be assessed.

The mark scheme is a game changer as it helps him organise his answers so that he can score the maximum marks by stating exactly what the examiners are looking for. Good exam technique increases level 5/6 to 7/8 or even 9 for him.

I have an ADHD/ASC son. Similar to you he was failing. There are things you can do so ignore people saying there isn't anything you can do! However it's unlikely to be without pain for both of you ime.

I couldn't sit and watch him fail. He is v bright but couldn't organise himself and focus or understand the benefit of revision (cause and effect were tricky concepts for him).

So I:

-Went through his syllabuses and made a revision plan - very structured with what he would cover in each section and timed with adequate breaks.
-Agreed he would try to go out during at least one break at day and get fresh air and exercise.

• Printed out TONS of past papers. Marked and went through them with him. He did them multiple times (this helped with his tendency not to explain context).
• he sat at the kitchen table to revise so I could make sure he didn't get distracted and for most of the time I literally sat with him.
• physically removed anything distracting.

There were a lot of tears (from both of us!) especially at the beginning but once he got used to the idea he was OK. It taught him how to revise, the point of revising and helped him focus (we did short sessions with lots of breaks).

He went from failing all his mocks to getting all As and Bs so I can confirm it worked - he got 100% in some of his science papers which was amazing and slightly unbelievable!!! He also needed much less support in his A levels and he went on to do a degree which I barely helped him with at all so the experience was a learning one rather than support he needed on an ongoing basis.

However it took up ALL my time out of work for weeks and weeks. It would have been much harder if I'd have had other children.

I have inattentive ADHD too. I think I hyper focussed on it which was probably an asset in this circumstance. But it also meant I understood what he would be struggling with and what might help him.

Novelty, internet and urgency are the three key words to kick in the ADHD brain. Accountability also helps.

Why don't you sit down with her and agree a sensible timetable, with clear set times for revision and clear set times for relaxing, recharging, doing hobbies etc?

To add to my post - I have Dyspraxia and more than once revision and homework ended in tears for me and I think this would have helped

Let us know what happened OP, and how well you think it worked.

I have been met with brick walls with regards to any assessments until finally end of yr 10. I did manage to get an assessment in year six that showed slow processing. I have always known that she has sensory processing disorder (again dismissed at school) We couldn’t afford to go private and she would have acted up a treat with regards to adhd. The g.p dismissed and told me school needed to deal with and school told me go to g.p. I believe that if she had a bad behaviour issue we may have been listened to a bit more.

In the meantime I tried to focus on good self esteem. Sports and drama which did help in being a great distraction and ways of meeting girls outside school.

She did try somewhat to revise. I know it’s a very process and I have to be patient and consistent and like people say, keep her onboard. She’s extremely resistant to trying different techniques, stating that no methods work for her.

I place emphasis on effort over grades always.
I tell her that doing something is better than nothing . She is quite immature by nature but a good kid and I have to go softly softly anyways due to her very sensitive (but slightly unemotional) nature.

I do think this is a reasonable idea as it doesn't sound like she will do well if left to her own devices. However she might rebel if you're too controlling with her time.

A better idea might be to ask her to set her own hours if she is able to do so and to help her to stay motivated with small rewards (e.g. something like a food treat or some nail polish after studying).

Things like watching foreign movies with subtitles for Modern Foreign Language revision, taking quizes (and working on wrong answers), watching 'Youtube' videos related to the subject that she's studying might help. I have ADHD and it's so difficult to keep sustained attention on one topic for any length of time so think in terms of 20-30 minute stints studying, rather than hours.