ADD, dyspraxia and GCSEs

[ThingsWeLost]

DS is 14 and had all of his schooling in Australia until we moved to the UK last year.

in Australia he was diagnosed with ADD and fine motor dyspraxia by a developmental paed, the normal process over there. He has slow processing speed and real difficulty writing, particularly under pressure. His inattention is severe.

He’s doing 9 GCSEs, the school SENDCo assessed him and decided he needs a word processor for exams, but not extra time. As things stand, I think he might fail most if not all of his GCSEs. He’s a bright boy if given time and not forced to read a wall of text/write essays. But his learning environment isn’t like that. He’s not doing any work at home at all. He’s not using a word processor in class.

What can I do? If I sat with him and gave him 1:1 guidance on each subject he’d probably do much better, but I’m overwhelmed by the sheer volume. Where do I even start? If I could get him to do some independent study that would be better, but I’m not sure how to make that happen.

Have you spoken to the SENCO?

DS needs to be using a laptop of something in class if he will be using one fro exams as it needs to be his normal way of working. It is normal for a word processor to be considered before giving extra time. You can see the rules on access arrangements here. DS could also have a prompter &/or a reader/reading pen.

What other support are the school giving?

Thanks @JustKeepBuilding I spoke to the senco a couple of months ago, I made it clear that I expect him to fail across the board based on his current tests/assessment results. We discussed college options where two grade 3s at gcse would allow him entry to a carpentry or mechanics course. I’m not sure he’s keen on these options, it’s just that’s what he’s looking at based on his current trajectory. He’s not getting any support at school apart from being allowed to type in class. At 14 he’s very self conscious and doesn’t want to stick out as the only kid using a device, I need to keep on at him to give it a go.

You need to speak to the SENCO again about support for DS. For the exam access arrangements you could speak to the exam officer, but they might be focused on Y11 (and Y13 if the school has a sixth form) at the moment.

Unfortunately, if the word processor doesn’t become DS’s normal way of working he won’t be able to use it for GCSE exams.

There’s lots of level 1 options other than carpentry and mechanics. What does DS want to do?

Thanks @JustKeepBuilding I'll have another chat with the senco. DS isn't sure what he wants to do, it's very difficult to motivate him to do anything. He seems to have a natural aptitude for maths and he enjoys food tech. I am wondering if we choose to focus on a handful of his GCSEs (maths, english, forod tech) and just accept that he'll fail the others. That might be better for him than trying to scrape a pass in 9 subjects

Focusing on fewer GCSEs or GCSE equivalents is a good idea and often happens. Although you are more likely to get the school to agree to 5/6 rather than 3/4. For example, maths, English language, 2 sciences, food tech.

You will need to discuss with them what would happen in the remaining time. Some schools run further English/maths/SEN Support lessons in the option blocks. If the school doesn’t and DS doesn’t have an EHCP funding may be an issue.