My daughter was diagnosed when 10yo. She's a motivated student and does well in school except on tests and her ability to focus has greatly improved in last 1-2 years. She tried a few different meds when she was 10-12, but didn't like the side effects, so hasn't taken them since and done ok. But now she's a freshman and is having extreme anxiety/mini panic attacks when she has to take tests. She says she physically can't study for finals because her heart races/pounds. I think what she's describing is a mini manic attack? She's not just trying to get out of it as she was sobbing last night in frustration because she wants to study and is so anxious about the finals.
Does anyone have any recommendations for what to tell her or what she can do? I'm at a loss.
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Welcome.. sounds like she needs to get professional help asap. Does she have a 504 plan? You could make sure she can test in a private setting. Good luck
My grandson's anxiety got worse in high school. There is not as much support as they get older. With a diagnosis they can have special accommodations for testing. He is on an antidepressant and mood stabilizer for this. Don't let her suffer. This is so sad.
I worked at a high school that had several accommodations. They can take one page at a time, some of the kids also dictated their answers. They were able to take the test in a room with only like 6 people in it as well, and 2 staff to help them through it.
Thank you. I thought she had been getting that accommodation, but she just told me she hasn't yet in HS, so I'm going to raise the issue in our 504 meeting, which is coincidentally this week.
What luck! I’m glad you could help her advocate for her accommodations. I work in education and just talked to my daughter’s teacher who didn’t even know she had a 504. Communication is key.
That's the problem when you get to high school. Sometimes they get lost in the shuffle. I had to go to each teacher and make sure they knew he had an IEP.
And this is why it’s important that we keep advocating for our kiddos. Even as a sped aid, it’s hard to keep track of them all. I love working with them all though.
find her a skilled therapist who practices cognitive behavioral therapy and not just talk therapy. CBT will build skills for her to manage her anxiety. Better even if the therapist understands ADHD and emotional dysregulation. As my daughter has gone through HS her anxiety only got worse and led to her disengaging from school, that was even with therapy. We have realized now that emotional dysregulation is the underlying factor. She is starting to learn skills to manage it and it is helping. She has a more skilled therapist now. It makes a big difference. Emotional dysregulation is very common with ADHD. In HS, the combination of increased workload, pressure to perform, and surging hormones can be a challenge for anyone, but particularly kids with ADHD. The recommendation for accommodations for extended time on tests could help a lot as well. This helped my daughter, but it’s the fear of failure and the surge of debilitating emotions that come with that that needs to be addressed and what I have learned is that it takes skills building not just talk therapy.
Thanks so much. I think that's exactly it. I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday who's a child psych and she recommended the same thing. That we should find a good therapist and ask them to work specifically on test anxiety and also to push for test accommodations. She was getting that in middle school and I thought now HS, but my daughter just told me it hasn't happened in HS. She said she hadn't felt like she needed them, so never spoke up when other kids were pulled to library for testing (so annoying!). I have our annual 504 meeting this Thursday so I'll address it then. My friend also said test anxiety is a huge issue for tons of kids in HS as they feel intense pressure to perform for college apps, etc, and her ADHD just makes it all the more difficult to handle the stress.
You could also ask about a study skills class on HS. This is considered an elective class, but she could use this time to study and take tests. There are many things to consider like when then test is given becuase you don't want it to cut into the next class. Also, some kids are worried they will miss out in discussion during the test. There is no perfect answer, but if you get the plan written up all teachers need to follow it. In addition, I just saw this:
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