ADHD and extra time in exams

[VivienScott]

Hi All,

I’m hoping for help/advice. My son was diagnosed with ADHD last year. I had the full educational psychologist and psychiatrist report done which lays out the diagnosis, how it’s likely to affect him and what support he should have at school. I sent this to his school and although they put together a “passport” for him and his teachers there have been a number of issues with teachers not reading it, telling him off for fidgeting despite it being a symptom etc. I’ve had to speak to the school a number of times about it and it’s clear it’s not been communicated very well.
His ADHD report clearly states he should be given extra time in exams. However, the school are now saying that the decision to grant extra time is down to them to recommend to the exam board and a psychiatrist report has no influence here, nothing I can do etc.
Any plans experience or thoughts? I know ADHD is a recognised disability so it feels like an unusual approach.
AIBU for thinking the school are being very odd here?

because there's proof, of course they still do grant extra time but they're very rigid about who they apply for compared to colleges who like to give students their best chance plus in college they give you the tools to pass rather than the useless information to get higher grades, it's all about getting the students where they need to be rather than getting results that look good on paper, plus in college you get one 3 hour lesson per core subject rather than 4 or 5 1 hour lessons, it's just better structured

I understand what you’ve said about general in-class support, but how would that relate to exam support?

When the exam board respond back, is their response subject specific though? So say a student was sitting an English reading exam and a maths exam for the same board, would they be able to have a reader in maths but not in English?

Surely you could see that a 3 hour lesson for a 15 year old with ADHD would be an absolute nightmare though!
I’ve not found any actual proof, just anecdotal reports, that schools don’t use access arrangements. In fact, my secondary school SENCo colleagues tell me the opposite - that they spend an incredibly long time on this very matter.

Research actually shows that extra time in exams doesn’t generally help people with ADHD. Other special considerations might be to have him in a quiet room alone as it helps with distractions, or to have someone there to read the questions/write out the answers he narrates.
However, if he thinks the extra time will help too, then he should have it as everyone is affected by ADHD as individuals.
This is a hill I would die on as a parent. He had a medical condition, he is entitled to special circumstances and reasonable adjustments. The school are being lazy af. You can try writing to the exam board yourself?

I understand what you’ve said about general in-class support, but how would that relate to exam support?

As I said, she got extra time - which she needs, as she has to read each sentence (of the question) about three times to work out it’s meaning; movement breaks (she tells me for instance when she gets up in the morning she feels like jumping up and down for about half an hour, as the energy is bursting out of her); and a room on her own, as the noise from other people distracted her. Pre-medication, she used to make silly mistakes, so extra time to re-read her answers, gave her a chance to correct some mistakes.

Research actually shows that extra time in exams doesn’t generally help people with ADHD.

I find that odd, as DH (ADHD) can decode brilliantly; but doesn’t get the meaning unless he reads, to my mind incredibly slowly! We often have to read information together - I’ve read a page of A4, while he is still on the first paragraph. He only read one textbook per module for his degree, because it was all he could cope with. Extra time in exams would have enabled him to comprehend all the questions properly, and re-read his work. Difference is, when we were at school/university, SEN was an unknown concept to us!

^This

You child's school should be giving him extra time in mock exams and tests in class, then this is documented as his normal way of working. My son had this and used to moan he had to give up break times to finish test/mock. He did get 25 percent extra time in exams for ADHD. He found it very hard to concentrate and got put in a room with just 3 other candidates who also had additional needs and extra time instead of having to sit in large hall with 200 candidates.

This is very true! Although they don't have to take their extra time if they don't want to (not at our school at least).

I would request a small room, rest breaks and a prompt rather than extra time for a child with ADHD. Extra time is great for those with dyslexia though. I would keep speaking to the SENCO and push for it though, it's always better if you can see them face to face IMO.

I find though that they don't even really think about these things until just before the yr 10 exams. Is he in yr 10?

Unless the child has an ehcp it’s at the schools discretion. They can apply without any diagnosis of apply with a diagnosis. To apply for extra time it is supposed to be the child’s usual way of working,

I am reading this thread and really need advice - my daughter has an ADHD/Anxiety diagnosis and has been recommended the school apply for extra time which she desperately needs. She can never complete written work in subjects like English, History etc.. but she is very academic and gets top grades all year until she can't complete within the time limits on mocks. They have forced her to use rest breaks all year to prove they don't work before applying - she hated them and it made her anxiety much worse and now on the last day of school have said she doesn't need extra time and they refuse to reply. She is devastated and feels all her hard work will be in vain because she can't get the information down in time. What can I do? The school SENCo holds all the power and the JCQ won't even speak with parents. Anyone have advice please?

I'd call the Equality Advice Support Service and discuss the legal position in of making reasonable adjustments, and then draft a letter to school and exam board, (possiblycopied to the Director of Education in your LA).

Reasonable adjustments are individual to the person. They should not be based on what Schools consider is the right thing for this or that condition.

Thank you so much for your reply....

Hello can i ask one more thing... the SENCo is telling me my daughter doesn't have a cognitive learning difficulty and that is why they won't give her allowances even though her ADHD presents other complex impairments. I never said she had a cognitive learning difficulty but as far as I know intellect has nothing to do with whether you deserve special allowances or not. this doesn't seem correct to me....

From JCQ website:

Reasonable Adjustments
The Equality Act 2010 requires an Awarding Body to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage in undertaking an assessment.
A reasonable adjustment for a particular person may be unique to that individual and may not be included in the list of available Access Arrangements.
How reasonable the adjustment is will depend on a number of factors including the needs of the disabled candidate/learner. An adjustment may not be considered reasonable if it involves unreasonable costs, timeframes or affects the security or integrity of the assessment.

Extract from EHRC gudiance, discussing an individual ADHD case study (obviously reasonable adjustments always relate to an individiual's needs):

'...the disorder, as an impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the young person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, would be a disability for the purposes of the Act...He would be protected in relation to any discrimination that he experiences in relation to the non-excluded effects of his condition, such as inability to concentrate. For example, he would be entitled to any reasonable adjustments that are required as a
consequence of those effects...'

From a parents point of view what would you like the teachers to be doing? If your child struggles to sit and concentrate will extra time actually help? More time sitting and concentrating...

Just wondering if it's worth fighting this battle if the child won't actually use or benefit from it?

Your school sounds very unhelpful, and also very poor at sharing information.

Arrange a meeting with the head of SEN (SEN Coordinator).

In my DS’s school, children with SEN’s all have extra time in exams (and other measures put in place according to the SEN type).

More from the EHRC:

'Examples of children in an educational setting where their
impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the
ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities...

A 14-year-old boy has been diagnosed as having attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He often finds it difficult to
concentrate and skips from task to task forgetting instructions.
Either of these factors has a substantial adverse effect on his ability
to participate in class and join in team games in the playground'

And finally, a clarification which may be the source of School's confusion, explaining there are definitional differences between having SEN, and being covered by the protected characteristic of disability/long term health condition in the Equality Act:

'Part 6 of the [Equality] Act provides protection for disabled pupils and students
by preventing discrimination against them at school or in post-16
education because of, or for a reason related to, their disability. A pupil
or student must satisfy the definition of disability as described in this
guidance in order to be protected by Part 6 of the Act. The duties for
schools in the Act, including the duty for schools to make reasonable
adjustments for disabled children, are designed to dovetail with duties
under the Special Educational Needs (SEN) framework which are
based on a separate definition of special educational needs. Further
information on these duties can be found in the SEN Code of Practice
and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Codes of Practice for
Education'.

If these arrangements are applied to groups of SEN children, who are not covered by the definition of the Equality Act, they are called access arrangements.

Where individual children are likely to meet the protected characteristics of the Equality Act, they require individual reaonable adjustments, if they are likely to be otherwise substantially disadvantaged.

The key issue is - are the school going to help him? If there is a history of them saying, 'He never completes his work' or 'He doesn't listen to instructions' then there's a precedent for him having processing issues that would benefit from extra time.

I don’t know of any exam board would give all of those at the same time. And certainly not 50% extra time! A student may get 25% extra time OR a reader / scribe, but not both if they need it due to slow writing or processing speed. Ii might happen in exceptional circumstances, eg a student with cerebral palsy who may need a scribe plus additional time as the speed in which they speak is affected by their CP, and obviously they need to speak to their scribe.

And if there is a history of DC having substantial difficulties associated with ADHD which the school has failed to make reasonable adjustments for, DC may require reasonable adjustments now (and the school may have indirectly discriminated against DC by a failure to make reasonable adjustments).

Schools sometimes look at this solely through a SEN lens and forget about their legal responsibilities under EA 2010.