ASD and GCSE English

I understand that some  with asd have difficulties with English as they perceive things literally.  I have a daughter aged 16 recently given an asd diagnosis and her regular secondary school has made allowances for her difficulties by allowing her to drop certain subjects such as art as she has perfectionist problems and each project would never be right. 

She also went in to meltdown just before her GCSE's refusing to do her exams.  Thankfully one of her big sisters has helped her by saying that she failed Maths (although this isn't true) to make her feel that failure is not so bad.  The school has been very helpful providing a room for her alone with an invigilator who helps to remind her how much time is left. This is not a private school.

She does have some difficulty with writing but has been given time out when she needs it in the exam, unfortunately no extra time however. We missed the deadline for that allowance with the exam boards,  Perhaps a  laptop is not permitted incase it has access to the internet or notes - would they allow a standalone  word processing machine - see article here - a bit old but maybe still helpful on what you could get to help him do the exam.  About getting a word processing only device https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/in-need-of-a-good-portable-word-processing-device-556303/  I would say give up on the English literature and concentrate on the English Language only.  My daughter is doing this.  I would suggest looking at doing a course like this one in English Language and it will take as long as it takes to pass - don't pile the pressure on - http://eddistutorial.com/igcse-first-language-english.html  Future employers want to know if you can read and write decent English.  We are hoping my daughter will be accepted for an online work from home job as she has difficulty with social interaction.  I wish you and your son the best for the future.

Hi, my son is   ASD and  currently doing his GCSES, not expected to pass anything but he is willing to go through the motions bless him. He was not allowed to sit his GCSE English as he can not grasp the concept of how things are read, and written in a test. He has had withdrawal lessons for the past year wilth the LSA, no improvement. HE had a laptop when he was statemented to help him but the school lost it , then denied it was ever agreed with the SENCO that he should have had one. Sadly the Senco left and the new one was chasing her tail and Ive only ever met her aid who she delegates to . Im so glad he is leaving secondary school this Friday. Mainstream has been a long struggle, he was diagnosed very late, at 12 after school just thOughT he was being naughty and lazy and grieving after his dad died at 4yrs old. Alex is now going to college in Sept and Im hopeful that in a more adult environment he may flower in his education and find his pathway as to what he wants to do. Also he will get another chance to do his GCSE English and Maths again as is now part of the cirriculum that if you dont get a reasonable pass you do it alongside your choosen college subject.  I understand the stress and worry of trying to get them through school and exams. Roll on 3.20 this Fri and the I can say I got him through this far( got the grey hairs to prove it)

I did my English when they were still called O levels.

So my first attempt at English Language and English Literature.  I thought I did quite well.

The examiners disagreed, was ungraded in both of them.

I went on to fail my English language O level five times.

On CVs and application forms, I now put down good standard of education.

My son us about to sit the new GCSE in English and having problems as he cannot 'see' or understand a lot of points his teacher makes along with how the papers have been worded.  He has very rigid thinking patterns and it also dyslexic.  Is anyone else having these issues ?

Wow, it was so long ago I had commented on this subject. My son is now 22 and in the middle of doing a degree at university. He finally got a B for his GCSE English on his 5th attempt, and with his BTEC got to uni. He would not have got his English if not for an excellent member of staff who finally made sure he got everything he was entitled to in order to take the exam, ie, extra time, to be able to type on a computer, to work with no interruptions in a quiet place. I think as a parent one must go on and on at the staff, which I did, but in the end this one lady made sure things were done properly and fairly, and I thank her from the bottom of my heart.

The university and Student Finance have all sorts of support (much more than school or 6th form college) and he has the services of a mentor and a note taker, a computer with helpful software and help with accomodation. He had to have assessments galore to get these things, and it was a bit of a slog. Sometimes things are difficult for him, but he is still there, loving the course and managing independent life pretty well and socialising much more. A bonus for him is that the course doesn't have exams.

He now has a bit more choice with future employment or self employment with skills in a vibrant and growing business sector. It just took that one person to understand and be bothered to find the right help for him, and others like him, to progress. There are so many hurdles.

My son has just turned 16 and his doing his GCSE I have found the same with my son, his mind goes blank, I do put this down to anxiety I relate anxiety to a broken down car, no matter how many times you turn the key the engine wont start, once my sons mind has gone blank nothing you say or do will make him work, what I have found solves this is the teachers being positive at the beginning of the lesson before the exams starts, i.e Well Jordan I cant wait to see the results of your work as this is something you are really good at etc, this makes him feel the teacher cares and makes him relaxed also, Good Luck with his exams and I hope this tip I shared with school helps x

Thanks Longman

He does have a known writing problem, in a physical sense, but also has problems expressing things. Knocking out the obstacle of physical handwriting would help him concentrate. I am not sure if the exam is testing hand writing itself or understanding and communicating or all of it. Will follow your advice.

Certainly you should pursue the use of a laptop in exams. Is his writing problem attributable to fine motor control difficulties? Has he been assessed as having difficulties writing? Its a pretty likely scenario for someone on the spectrum, so goodness knows what they think "extra time" does if you have a difficullty with manual dexterity.

Extra time is usually for things like dyslexia. Its about "levelling the playing field". If someone has difficulty using a pen extra time makes little odds.

The usual objection to a lap top is the risk of abuse, accessing stored data. But there are ways around that.

So I think this objection to the use of a laptop is the school making inappropriate excuses. Challenge them.

Or write to whichever Exam Board applies.

Hi Athena,

What you describe is almost exactly the same as my son's experience with the subject of English. He is now 19 and at college with As and Bs in GCSE maths and sciences, has half a BTEC level 3 in Engineering but will sit GCSE English for the fourth time this November (after getting a D which, we have found, is absolutely useless for getting into uni, an apprenticeship or a job). He is also taking classes for a retake next June, if the November one is less than the magic C grade.

Throughout college he has had the use of a laptop which he finds very useful for doing written work, mostly because he can easily go back and correct or change things, in his English and other work. All his English coursework was done on the laptop and has had very good grades in this part but he falls down on the exam because he has to physically write. He is allowed extra time, but not the use of the laptop for the exam part and he is all at sea. He is angry about this, it seems most illogical and unfair. Not getting a C in English these days is very limiting in almost every way.

I would love to know how Azalea got an A without doing the actual exam. My son's college only seem to do the Foundation level, which limits the top possible grade to a C anyway. His teacher had told him that some of the coursework was A grade, but of course that means a C in reality. With an F in the exam part the overall was a D.

I have offered to help him practice writing but I can't see that this will change now, he has been the same all his life and only made small bounds of progress from time to time with the help of (only) about 3 few very good teachers during his school years. The rest have just got impatient with him or punished him for being lazy.

I am in the process of trying to get him to be able to use the laptop in the exam, even though the college have already said,  'no - his extra time allowance takes account of his slow writing'. I don't hold out much hope even though the college are sort of trying to accomodate him and I don't doubt that in a couple of years time all exams will be done on computer screens.

He was never put in for English Literature exam, but one of the 3 good teachers taught him the subject anyway (with no tests) because he was a good reader, very interested in learning and remembers EVERYTHING.

All he wants to do is learn, and not be stopped by this mother of a hurdle, that will surely put him squarely on the dole.

English Literature certainly gave me trouble, especially when attempted at undergraduate level (but not after Year 1). Unfortunately I was expected to be good at it because I read a lot and across a diverse range.

The problem is that it would seem that all authors, poets and playwrights expect us to see double meanings. I just couldn't see these, and got laughed at for my naivity and for taking things at their face value. It wasn't that I couldn't analyse - early on I developed good synthesis skills.

But I didn't see the subtle sexually repressive meanings in Gerald Manley Hopkins poems - I liked the language used but it was interesting for sound and effect - I'm afraid I didn't see the sexual connotations. Some of the American poets were also supposed to be full of double entendre that had me perplexed.

I'm not unable to see double entendre in humour, and I'm not incapable of seeing a lewd connotation. I just didn't see it in most of the stuff I had to study.

I don't know whether it is an attempt to get a class of students interested and attentive, or to play on the reactions of students, but english literature was spoiled for me because I couldn't see what I was evidently meant to see.

On the other hand there were in my day books on the interpretation of plays and poems, and nowadays there are websites that provide model outlines of how to analyse and discuss. I don't think the double meanings were essential to passing exams then, and I don't suppose they are now.

But I've no doubt there are still teachers trying to play for popularity stakes by encouraging classrooms of students to see some strange meaning, and there are still pupils/students who don't want their vision soiled.

Hi autismtwo

Thank you for " People with autism, jump the fences when they are ready and when they do they will leap over the moon. So don't whip him, encourage slowly and gently, let him find the solution." 

That is such a comfort in our situation with our son. Wonderful words, will hang on to them.

X

I have problems with sounds, spelling and grammer,, good thing is that being on the aspergers learning curve,, my english has improved over the years and gets better. So hopefully the same goes long-term for your teenager. TIME People with autism, jump the fences when they are ready and when they do they will leap over the moon. So don't whip him, encourage slowly and gently, let him find the solution.