ADHD and exam adjustments

[lovethissunnyweather]

I've only had one meeting with SENCO re: exam adjustments. Lady was very dismissive and seemed to be annoyed she wasn't contacted when my DD was diagnosed with ADHD during covid.
We didn't ask for special adjustments last year as she could cope ok and didn't want anyone to know at school.
This year she is now doing 5 Highers and the pressure is immense for a child that can't deal with stress.
Senco told me would get back to me 3 weeks ago after speaking to DD and teachers. She didn't. My DD approached her yeser and she denied speaking to me and said she was overwhelmed with her workload and what did she actually want from this!!! My DD was really upset afterwards as I she felt she was making the lady stressed.

So this morning called her out of class and said she could do exams in another room but no more time allocated in exams . She 100% would benefit from extra exams - she's very bright but doesn't study/can't study/can't concentrate/overwhelm etc .
Her teachers will view her as a good student - Bs and occas A so being at very average state school that looks ok.

Is it very difficult to request extra time? If her teachers said no is that it? Can I challenge?
She has tutor who specialises in additional needs kids and she said she would greatly benefit from extra time.
She has a diagnosis and on meds which have helped so so much.

Any advice would be welcomed.

You might need an Ed psych report

It may be difficult at this point if she is doing exams this year - the school will probably have to apply formally for the extra time with evidence of the need. I don't know what the detailed rules are for Scottish Highers.

"There must be appropriate evidence indicating:
(i) the impact of the candidate's disability on their ability to complete tasks in a specified time
(ii) that a candidate is normally given and uses extra time to complete other class learning activities, tasks and assessments
(ii) that a specific amount of extra time is appropriate."

So if she's been able to cope ok and managed to complete her mock exams without extra time, that will be a no. In DD's mocks, those with extra time had to change pen colour when the extra time began, presumably to provide the evidence that they did need it.

@lanthanum this is helpful and looks like she won't get it then.
She did ok in mocks - scraped Bs but ran out of time as per usual as she can't prioritise marks /answer times. Loads in her class did much worse. So it probably looks like I'm a tiger mom trying to get extra help.

If you don’t have an educational psychologist report and school are refusing extra time I would suggest (if possible) a tutor. Who will help your DD to understand how to answer the questions and exam techniques.
I’d also be asking for a meeting within a week with the SENCO to understand exactly why extra time isn’t possible.
Good luck

@NrlySp thank you. She has tutors which I am paying for privately. They have been a godsend and although very very expensive outgoing , my child could not have managed this year at school.
As said by @lanthanum it's probably too late for her if they need lots of evidence. I suppose it has to be proven beyond doubt that the child benefits or everyone would try it.
I'm gutted now I didn't investigate sooner. Micromanaging her and her workload is all consuming at times not to mention the moods as she gets so stressed. I find the tutors really help with that. They chill her out and break things down.

@lovethissunnyweather yes I’m sorry. After I read my message I realized it wasn’t very helpful!
I have similar with my son - speech and language issues. It’s so frustrating to me that they are not given every opportunity to demonstrate their abilities. Just because they are just about coping in the class room it doesn’t mean they are showing what they really can do.
For the last weeks of the year DS now has a math tutor and a history tutor - we are in Switzerland and he is doing Ap exams (like 1 year a levels)
It’s not too late if she is going the university route though - I would suggest when exams are done (or even now) start looking into what is needed to get extra time/support etc.

It's very difficult to get extra time unfortunately, and it's down to the exam board not the individual school.

My daughter doesn’t have ADHD but she is diagnosed with dyslexia and Tourette’s and we found it pretty straight forward to get her the adjustments.

She has quite a few adjustments - extra time, she takes her exams in a room on her own and has a scribe/reader.

We had to provide proof of her diagnoses - we sent a copy of her dyslexia report and a copy of her diagnosis letter for Tourette’s from her Neurologist.

She spoke to the SENCO herself about how the Tourette’s affects her ability to perform in an exam and the report from the Ed Psych outlined her difficulties with her dyslexia.

The school didn’t need tonnes of evidence, but had to justify to the exam board why they had granted the adjustments.

How was your DD diagnosed? Do you have a report from any professional outlining what her difficulties are? We had to go private for the dyslexia report in the end but it was quite quick to sort out, albeit quite expensive.

My DS has adhd and I was told before gcses that for adhd they often don't feel extra time is appropriate. I kind of get this, as he needs the time pressure to push him to really focus. I think you may have to prove that she really needs the extra time.

Thanks the SENCO didn't return my call (as expected)
She gave my daughter an outdated library book on studying if you have dyslexia or ADHD!
Said she could arrange a smaller room but would be no time adjustments.
I'll speak to her soon and see but can see it's highly unlikely now as the highers start after Easter break! So basically only one week if school left.
I assume it's lots of paperwork and assessments.
She has a diagnosis report from a child psychiatrist. No education psych involved. She's a child under the radar with pretty major issues but very well supported. Unfortunately it's likely she will crash in these exams , the procrastination and blocking out of workload is extreme.

Where I am the adjustments for exams have to mirror the child’s normal way of working. So if they need extra time for tests in class they should have it in exams too. It’s very poor the senco is not communicating with you

@Andacherryonthetop unfortunately we have never asked for any adjustments before. Not long diagnosed (just last year) and didn't know the process.

I don't know what the rules are in Scotland but in England the exams officer would have already had to put in the requests for specific adjustments such as extra time and if they were applying late there would need to be a good reason and a more lengthy application has to be made. As someone else stated they would need to provide evidence that it was her normal way of working and as she has not had extra time before now that would be difficult to show. However you can still ask that they put in for the extra tike.and can explain that you didn't flag it last year because there weren't exams.

Hi. I would doubt you would get extra time now, but as she's in a separate room you could ask for rest breaks if getting overwhelmed is an issue. I have had pupils that were able to have a rest, one was even allowed to go for a walk and I had to go with him!

Sorry you are going through this, there is some misinformation on this thread. I'm involved with sqa highers, so your dd needs to inform the senco and then each subject area needs to be evaluated for evidence. It's not a blanket decision like the English system. If her subject teachers have been doing their jobs they should already have this evidence from prelims, end of unit tests etc. so if she did run out of time there is evidence she would benefit but they need another piece of evidence she was given et 25/33/40/50% depending on teacher/senco judgement. This would show she benefits from the et. and they only need one piece where she changed ink when et started!
unfortunately with the exams literally starting in 4 weeks this is hard to navigate. However 'medical' reasons for the sqa do not require evidence but senco certification, this means your daughter could have timed supervised breaks or separate accommodation with short notice. One thing schools don't like parents to know in the sqa any parent can request any student uses a word processor. So this could be something to ask for if your dd works on computers a lot!

I used to be an exams officer but in England so not entirely sure how the rules differ. A couple of points to how it works in England.
To get extra time in exams you do have to demonstrate that it's their normal way of working. Schools can ask students to change pen colour for work completed in extra time during mocks etc. but this isn't mandatory, it's just an easy way for them to gather the evidence.
It's not down to individual exam boards, if a student meets the criteria for the standard amount of extra time they should get it in every exam.
There is a cut of date for applying for any access arrangements, e.g. extra time, but late applications can still be made right up until the day of the exam if it can be shown that it would discriminate against the student not to have them.
It's the exam officer who has to make the application for extra time, usually with all the evidence supplied by the SENCO. You will need scores for processing times, so you will have to get your DD assessed by a qualified professional, either in school or privately. You won't be able to get this done through the school so close to the start of the exams so private would be your only option and you will probably struggle to find someone this late in the day.
Rest breaks, quiet rooms etc are easier to give students as they are decided by the school. Speak to you exams officer, explain the situation and ask what they can do to assist your DD.
If your DD is planning on staying in education, then it's still worth raising this now so she can get the arrangements she needs for future exams. Good luck!

Haven't read the whole thread but you don't need an Ed Psych report to get exam arrangements.

Double check for Scotland as it may be different, but the deadline for Pearson Edexcel, for example, is 31st March.

For extra time, we had an Ed psych report and EHCP stating he needed it. He did a mock that included the extra time and any work done in that time was in another colour. This was submitted and approved by the exam board. With a new diagnosis, you may well need a professional report, a mock done under timed conditions and marked by your tutor and for them to write a report saying that your DD had not been able to achieve the mark they should have in the time due to their disability. This may be a tall order to organise in a week, but not impossible. It is worth complaining over this as it sounds like not having these arrangements in place will significantly harm her ability to achieve her full potential compared to her peers due to her disability.

IASS may be able to help.

It really is too late if in year 11. All paperwork will have been done but most importantly evidence of need is collected from year 9 onwards. No SENCO is going to risk this application now without rafts of emails from staff. JCQ come and inspect and have the power to close down the centre at worst or pull the child's exams if malpractice is seen. Without having evidence from year 11 mocks as a minimum I think this is a non starter. In fact they are doing pretty well giving her a room. You could ask for rest breaks as well.

Also, the workload for SENCOS has grown by 100% since lockdown. I have psychologists closing their books because there is so much need. I can absolutely understand the Sencos Annoyance at you not contacting at the time of diagnosis - how was she supposed to put reasonable adjustments in place without knowing? I have every sympathy for her.

Would she find typing easier and speed her up?
Ds was diagnosed with adhd and asd over lockdown and they've just said he can use a laptop.
They tested him in his mock (he's year 10 so only doing one GCSE) about a month ago and he went from a 4 to a 8 .

But that seemed fairly easy to check, and make allowances for the exams. He went for a test using comparison of typing and writing and came out as bottom 20% for writing , top 5%+ for typing. They said they didn't normally have such an easy decision.

He only got that less than a month ago and will have it in his GCSEs so there may still be some time if you push.

@KathieFerrars the school knew my daughter had been diagnosed with ADHD - they needed to fill in the questionnaires.
The senco didn't contact us or her.
I didn't know what was needed to gain extra support. I've no experience of ADHD , I wasn't given a handbook at diagnosis. She's on medication that helps. It's only because she's struggling this year that I contacted the school again.

Don't feel sorry for the SENCO, she hasn't done anything, claimed not to know who she was after I'd spoken to her a month earlier.
I fully understand from all the helpful posts that's it's a complex issue needing lots of evidence and paperwork trail. I'd no idea.
I contacted the education board to request info and they told me in February the school had until April to submit evidence but I assumed (naively) it was a matter of proving your condition.
She's not bothered about the separate room and breaks unlikely to help her.
Hopefully will have something in place to support her if she makes it to university. I now know information will need to be submitted early.
Thanks for all the help everyone.

My child adhd also. Gets extra time, quiet room & uses laptop. Schools suggestion for quiet room.
I have another child, no learning disability but really terrible handwriting ... the Senco proactively gave him a writing & typing test. He now getting to use laptop for A levels. (Because they want him get good results, if essays can’t be read, his grade will suffer)
Shouldn’t the school WANT best performance. I can’t imagine extra time costs them money.
I didn’t mention I have very disabled child, now adult & I had to fight for everything for him from people who just seem to hate their jobs and hate children (and hate the parents of SEN kids)
You have to find a way to get your child extra time, quiet room & keyboard. The Senco can make this happen, my child has Ed pysch report but I think only extra time is mentioned
Just to vent - my sons primary Senco said Dyslexia gets extra time, but adhd kids should be fast . What an idiot.

I’m saying this as a parent of an ADHD/ASD child.

I’m also a scribe / invigilator and have been for over 10years.
On average each year we have 4/6 kids who have extra time, I’ve not known one yet use any of that extra time. Most are finished within 45 mins (high estimate) of the exam starting and that’s with an encouraging “ can you go through again and check you’ve done everything you can”
Same with kids who have a scribe and extra time. I’ve played a lot of hangman with a lot of kids,
Doing an exam in a small room with these kids is probably the most effective help they can get, it removes a bit of the formality, is much less stressful and we’re alot less stern and a bit more forgiving with fidgeting etc etc.
We also know the conditions the kids have.

However these smaller rooms can also be used to house the “naughty” kids who disturb the main exam halls, this isn’t all schools but they’re often all lumped in together and when a kid decides they’re going to play up it can be very distracting.

@Brendabigbaps

I’m saying this as a parent of an ADHD/ASD child.

I’m also a scribe / invigilator and have been for over 10years.
On average each year we have 4/6 kids who have extra time, I’ve not known one yet use any of that extra time. Most are finished within 45 mins (high estimate) of the exam starting and that’s with an encouraging “ can you go through again and check you’ve done everything you can”
Same with kids who have a scribe and extra time. I’ve played a lot of hangman with a lot of kids,
Doing an exam in a small room with these kids is probably the most effective help they can get, it removes a bit of the formality, is much less stressful and we’re alot less stern and a bit more forgiving with fidgeting etc etc.
We also know the conditions the kids have.

However these smaller rooms can also be used to house the “naughty” kids who disturb the main exam halls, this isn’t all schools but they’re often all lumped in together and when a kid decides they’re going to play up it can be very distracting.

I'm an exam arrangements assessor and totally agree. So many of the students don't use the extra time they and their teachers have asked for. Ditto coloured overlays. Some do use it, and find it enables them to complete where without it they wouldn't, but we are always reminding the teachers, only request extra time if the student will actually use it.