Thread 30 Covid Cohort, Mad March Hareing Towards Exams

[OrangeCinnamonCroissant]

This is a thread for supporting all young people post GCSEs 2020, regardless of their educational setting. It is respectfully requested that all are supportive and helpful to each other. If you want to start a debate, e.g state vs private, please don't within this thread. Please also be sensitive when responding to threads about grades.

Some of us have been here since first thread back in yr10, some will be new. Everyone has been friendly and helpful in the past. Everyone is welcome. It is hoped this will continue.

Our DS/DD may go down various paths (such as employment, apprenticeships, higher ed) We have decided for anyone interested they will most likely find us within the Further Ed board.

previous thread 29

I've made this one a little bit earlier as things are so busy, at home and on thread, so please feel free to use up previous thread first

Thanks @Heifer I am not too happy as it seems to be for a nightclub not actually Birmingham uni but DH said it will encourage her to do well in her exams.

This week DS is finally off to Nottingham for a visit with his dad so I'll report back.

@ChristopherTracy we're visiting Nottingham this week too!

@heifer I haven't thought yet about dd and potential support at uni. Her mental health seems to have taken a bit of a dive over the weekend so that's something else to worry about too. It's hard isn't it! That's interesting that the tests were too easy; I wonder how they decide on adjustments at uni? Maybe something I need to ask at the offer holder day on Wednesday.

Thanks for the new thread @OrangeCinnamonCroissant and the list @singingstones!

Thank you - just checking in!

To answer your question from old thread AoC - it is a county wide ting. I disapprove of it because the builder himself basically decided what A Levels are the 'right' ones to do and the students have to be doing two of them. It's an odd list based on some (but not all) of the old facilitating subjects plus anything he thinks is worthy (no to classics, but yes to PE ; no to Graphics or DT even though he is a builder! ; no to politics and sociology, yes to economics and business ; no to music , art , media subjects, and drama : sigh). It's not means tested so plenty of ex FSM students are excluded if they have the gall to do non favoured subjects.

Thank you for the new thread & the update @orange & @singing.
Sorry for all the trials & tribulations @Crazycrofter, @Wheresthebeach & @Heifer. It is a battle we're fighting at times. I've just had a discussion with the Chief Senco at DS's school to see about greater extra time than 25% and he's said it's too late now.

DS has just got his Psychology mock back. In spite of missing out 3 questions because of a lack of time he got a B. He was running at a D before starting his ADHD meds so it's a major result for him. Now he just needs to sort out his exam technique but I'm thrilled with him.
It marks the first ever exam he was able to sit & revise for any length of time.

@cantonet great news on the mock and that the meds are working!

I’m having such a nightmare with ds and meds. His psychiatrist left in early 2021 and I can’t get him a face to face appointment with another one, to review his meds, as theyr all too busy. I spoke to one in Feb and she said he’d get an appointment in March when the new doctor started - but just rang up and no chance of that apparently. On the phone in Feb I was told he can’t use the meds prescribed in 2020 as they’re too old and he needs to be seen - but they won’t see him!

Ah yes Piggywaspushed I remember you lamenting the subjects that qualify or rather don't qualify on one of the earlier threads. Totally bizarre what constitutes a relevant subject in their eyes especially as they are a building firm so weird DT and other creative subjects don't count. I'm so pleased for your son though

Fab news on the mock @Cantonet. Glad the meds are working as they should.

@crazycrofter - that's terrible. You must be tearing your hair out!

That's great news @Cantonet. I bet he is chuffed too.
Crikey @crazycrofter you've got a lot on your plate on haven't you! Hope we can help with the humour and info on here to keep you sane :-) Or wine, there is always wine...

Changing the subject totally, I 've bought myself a late bday present. I am definitely officially an old gimmer now (54) as I've bought myself an old gimmer present and it's bloody sensible to boot..
an electric throw

Thanks for the new thread and the list, orange and singing.

Crazy, that sounds ridiculous! I’d be tempted to use the 2020 meds, I think, assuming he’s taken them previously and they’ve suited him.

DD moved to long-lasting meds last year, and although she says she prefers them, I honestly don’t think they’re working at all. She says she just can’t focus; I did some geography revision with her over the weekend and it was pretty tortuous.

@alwaysplayspiccolo is your DD on the right dose? Did she start on a low dose & titrate up? Apparently the right dose for most is between 50-70 mg Elvanse. I'm not sure what it is for Concerta. The max. is 70mg & ds1 is on that. Ds2 is on 40mg & dd2 is on 50 mg. So the optimum doses all vary according to the individual.

Also the effect can wear off after a while. So many need a slightly higher dose after a while.

Thank you @crazycrofter, @onthebeach & @Heifer. I'm sure he's pleased. He does like winding me up though, as he initially messaged me to say he had his results, but didn't tell me what they were!

Crofter just remind me - is this a private clinic? If it's not & you need to go privately there may still a long waiting time. So it's better to book him in to somewhere now.

@cantonet, it's NHS, can't afford private at the moment unfortunately. @Alsoplayspiccolo I think he will use the 2020 meds. He was supposed to be having a review at the beginning of year 11 and trying the long lasting meds instead as he hates the short release ones - they make him feel low when they wear off. He's just going to use short release for exams. He really needs a proper review and to try something different before sixth form though as I keep getting complaints from teachers that he's not concentrating and he's getting behind with work. He said to me that he'd not really taken anything in from Physics lessons over the last two years as it's too hard to concentrate, so he's just gone through the whole course on Seneca at home - which is good, but it took all his focus and it meant he's not been doing any other homework in an attempt to catch up on Physics. And he's now doing the same with Chemistry!

Thanks, cantonet.
She’s on Strattera 80mg, up from 60mg that she started on. She has to take it at night, because it makes her really sleepy, but by the time she gets home from school, she’s bouncing off the walls.

She was previously on Equasym XL, which was great for focus and calming her down, but she felt it inhibited her too much; she said she could barely talk to people.
Now she’s 18 and advocating for herself, it’s much harder to have a say in her meds; by that, I mean her team are more interested in what she feels about it than what we feel, and although DD doesn’t think her current meds are working, she absolutely refuses to consider going back to her old meds.

Well done to your DS on his mock result - that’s a fab achievement and really encouraging for June.

Thank you @OrangeCinnamonCroissant and @singingstones

Checking in and loving the thread title.

@crazycrofter that is not the NHS at its best. I hope you get a proper response soon. Is she still 17? I would put an official complaint in for a minor.

We're not going to Nottingham on Wed. DS has 99% decided Sheffield is the insurance.

@crazycrofter Sorry I have mixed your DC up. Clearly your DS is not 18.

No, he’s still 15. Glad your ds has (almost!) made a decision. Not sure what we’ll do if dd doesn’t like Nottingham on Wednesday!

@alwaysplayspiccolo why did her doctors switch her straight from the first to Strattera? Ds2 also tried Concerta first but when it wore off he felt awful and then was moved to Elvanse. Concerta is the first choice for under 18 year old kids. Psychostimulants are generally the first choice for school aged kids. Strattera is used for an older age group generally or in people that the stimulants dont work on ie. Adults or sometimes uni kids. It's not as affective as a psychostimulant.

@crazycrofter you need to speak to the Consultants secretary to follow this up.
Find out the consultant in charge. Or do you have a direct number on your old letters? Failing that get your gp to chase this up.

Thanks @Cantonet. I’ve had so many phone calls with the receptionist it’s unreal! I’m not sure who the new psychiatrist is. My mum suggested getting the GP to chase too, so I might do that.

@Heifer Ohhh cozy.

Has anyone any experience of tutors? Costs etc?

We're in the south (Hampshire) and have had a couple of quotes of A Level tutors and they seem really expensive

@sofakingcool we've just got a tutor for DS. Lessons are online and £40 per hour. I did find one charging £157 😱 We're South (ish) but the tutor is in Manchester.

@sofakingcool - DD had an online tutor for Biology for a while which was only £22.00 (mytutor) she was brilliant but unfortunately couldn't carry on this year as she is doing her a PHD.

Inspired by those of you who have sorted your DC with ADHD etc I have contacted school to ask whether they can do anything to assess DS. It is probably too late for anything, but I do think he has it.

He has been doing things to help his concentration like avoiding carbohydrates in the morning - he has 5 or 6 eggs for breakfast every day, both for protein and because he says that carbs are known to induce brain fog. I have no idea whether he is right, but people could try that for DC who struggle to concentrate on revision - try a carb-free breakfast, 30 min rest, then a couple of hours of work.

He was relieved to get his PE mock back, we all did Maths and Physics |A levels in our household, but PE is an unknown quantity, so an A, even if it was only just over the threshold, was a relief. He has not had feedback for coursework yet, but is not expecting the practical to be A/A.

Glad to hear @Cantonet also had an encouraging result.