Ataxaia type 2 and exam provsion

[Nana100]

I have a daughter suffering from Ataxia

ia type 2. She gets random bouts of vertigo that debilitates her for a few hours. Does anyone else have a child in a similar situation. What exam provisions they have in their school for exams. She is doing AS in the UK.

[sheild]

You need to speak with the exam centre urgently as they will probably need to do assessments, ask for medical evidence and fill in appropriate forms. Exactly what is needed will depend on the health of the candidate. The rules concerning consideration have tightened up considerably in the last couple of years and the deadlines for submissions are variable.

I belong to a yahoo group for home educators preparing for exams and we do have members who may be able to help further, if you wish to contact me off list I'll see what we can do in the way of further advice if you get stuck with the exam centre.

[SueMillman Partner Ataxia UK]

Hi Nana 100

This information is for all schools in the UK

and comes courtesy of Epilepsy Action who have assembled it for students who are epileptic.

Access arrangements

If you can predict what she may need before the exam starts, then talk to your special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) or the school’s examination officer. Tell them how you think her epilepsy could affect her exam performance. You need to do this as soon as possible because it can take some time to get special arrangements in place. And there are official deadlines that need to be met.

The SENCO will need to know what sort of problems she may have. They will need medical evidence such as a letter from her neurologist, to support this. They will put the claim together including suggested reasonable adjustments and send it to the Joint Council for qualifications (JCQ). The JCQ will decide if they agree that she needs the reasonable adjustment. If they say no, you have the right to appeal.

The aim of access arrangements is:

To allow her to access the exam and

To be able to show what she knows and can do without changing the demands of the assessment

The adjustments are made under the Equality Act 2010. This applies if she would be at a “substantial disadvantage from other people”. In this situation the JCQ has to consider possible reasonable adjustments:

They have to be reasonable and

They have to be apply to her specifically and

They can apply to an individual exam or all exams

If she already has special educational support she is much more likely to be able to get reasonable adjustments at exam time.

Here are some examples of the types of help she may be able to get:

Having supervised rest breaks during an exam

Having an exam supervisor to sit with her to make a note of any attacks she might have during the exam. They would then allocate her extra time at the end of that exam

Taking an exam at a different time of day or place to other people who are taking the same exam. For example, if she is usually worse first thing in the morning, she might be able to take the exam in the afternoon

Getting one-to-one support for practical exams

Special consideration

Special consideration is a scaling up of her marks or grade after the exam. Here is how the JCQ explain the circumstances in which she might get special consideration:

“Special consideration is a post-examination adjustment to a candidate’s mark or grade to reflect temporary illness, temporary injury or other indisposition at the time of the assessment, which has had, or is reasonably likely to have had, a material effect on a candidate’s ability to take an assessment or demonstrate his or her normal level of attainment in an assessment.”

The grade can be increased by up to five per cent depending on circumstances. The JCQ recommends an increase of three per cent for a person who has a seizure.

The exam board takes into account the marks the student got in previous exams or course work in that subject. They may also ask the teacher about other work the student has done on the course. A certain amount of the total assessment (course work, practical or exams) must have been completed in order for special consideration to be possible.

When someone might get special consideration

Someone may be given special consideration if, for example, they have a seizure or attack that affects their performance in an exam. The seizure doesn’t necessarily have to happen during the exam. It could happen before the exam, but still be affecting performance during the exam. Special consideration could be given if someone attends an exam but are disadvantaged compared to other candidates. It might also be given if they are absent from the exam because of illness.

How to apply for special consideration

Talk to the SENCO or exams officer at the school or college. They will then ask for special consideration on your behalf.

The application for special consideration must be made within seven days of the exam. You may need to get a letter of support from your doctor to show that you were unable to start or complete the exam. The exams officer should be able to tell you what you need.

However, my advice would be to lodge the application for special consideration NOW, as it may be refused and the appeal procedure can be lengthy. I have personal experience of the appeals procedure so if you need advice please get back to me and I can direct you towards some organisations that can help you.

Good luck

Sue

[sylviagreenhalgh]

sue has been very thorough in her response. when I had severe vertigo last year after a bug the GP showed me some exercises you can do. you lie on right side and turn your head to the left 10 times so that you are looking up, then you sit up on the bed and do the same thing on the other side.I have not looked online yet but that is where the GP got the exercise from. hope it settle down I was also prescribed travel sickness pills. good luck Sylviaxx you need to do these at a slow pace as the movement might make the vertigo worse if you go too fast.