Exam access arrangements (25% extra time) at uni - evidence question

[OrangeLemonL]

Hoping for some advice if anyone is knowledgeable about this please!
DD due to start uni in Sep and has had 25% extra time for GCSEs and will do for A-levels, based on the school and then college’s own screening tests showing ‘slow processing speed’. Having dug around in the uni’s website I think she will need evidence of a SpLD for this to continue. Uni may be able to help but I’d rather get it sorted before she starts. However I am pretty confident she has ADHD and I know slow processing is often linked to that. If she agreed to an ADHD assessment and was diagnosed, would this count as evidence for getting extra time? Or am I better finding a specialist teacher locally to assess her for dyslexia etc? What I am not clear on is, if the slow processing is related to ADHD and not dyslexia, is it likely the £4-600 for a PATOSS-accredited assessment will be a waste of money? No other signs of dyslexia but I am no expert. She does well academically, just slower. But would an ADHD diagnosis entitle her to extra time in itself?

I don’t think she’d want to identify herself as disabled (she can be quite prickly and rigid/sensitive to perceived criticism!) and not sure that she needs anything other than the extra time.

I think she needs to be a bit more flexible about this. She doesn't know what the demands of university will be like for her. It's better to have a plan in place, than let pride lead to crash & burn.

The kinds of issues she has aren't out of the ordinary; no-one will bat an eyelid. It's perfectly standard.

I completely agree! I hope we can move in that direction…

You need to contact the uni disability team, as has been advised. They might accept the JCQ form as sufficient evidence or have their own in-house screening, they might not. They might contribute to a formal assessment if required once a student is enrolled, they might not.

Someone recommended Right to Choose - you should to be aware that some ICB's have frozen funding for Right to Choose, they may or may not fund it from April. So in some areas new referrals are joining a waiting list with no idea of how long it is or if there will ever be any movement on the list. If she is moving for university then it's highly likely she won't be seen before September, so she would then have to stay registered with the local GP or reapply via her uni GP.

If you do need to fully fund an assessment you might want to consider something like this: cfpsychology.co.uk/students/splds-for-students/

My DD also had 25% in GCSEs and A levels, separate room and a rest break. She started university last September, went to student services and was assessed by the university's learning support team. They have continued her school set up with 25% / rest breaks / smaller room. No DSA, no paid for assessment just a conversation with the learning support team.

Good luck!

The step up from school to university is multi-faceted. It's not just the academic work.

Some Patoss assessors can carry out an assessment for features consistent with adhd - just to give you another option. They may well be able to carry out a dyslexia assessment as part of the same package. They can’t give a medical diagnosis of adhd but would refer on from that. The practitioner will best explain it.

Good to hear that slow processing speed but no dyslexia can qualify for extra time for uni. From what I understand of recent changes in the DSA process, a diagnosis of SpLD slow processing speed won’t now count for DSA - very happy to be corrected on that though!

Just get all the JCQ and associated reports from school. It’s a pretty rigid process for them to evidence access arrangements. I had to get my daughters to get extra time for TMUA. You don’t need DSA for reasonable adjustments like extra time. And yes, right to choose is often frozen and difficult to access especially if a de does not actually refer you.

Haven’t RTFT but DD’s evidence was not accepted by her university but the disability services sent her for an assessment and she only had to pay £50 towards it. She has 25% extra and a small room, though most exams are 24 hours and online so she gets no adjustments. No DSA as she thought she could manage.