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ASD and GCSE English

Athena

Hi,

My oldest son is 15 and has had an ASD diagnosis since he was 9. He now copes pretty well in after years of developing strategies, however, he has come up against a brick wall with his GCSE English. He can discuss the work in class but goes blank when it comes to putting it down on paper. I have discussed this with him and he says it is like he has the thought but the moment he picks up a pen it disappears. We had a meeting with school as they put this down to him not wanting to do the work and they weren't rentirely wrong as if he thinks he can't do it then he doesn't want to do it but it all stems from his ASD reactions. We thought that this was just with the Eng Lit exam so didn't put alot of pressure on him (they take it at the end of year 10 and then do Eng Lang in Year 11). We spoke to him about support options but he wasn't interested in using a laptop or speaking and getting someone to scribe instead. He took his exam but doesn't think that he did very well - all the little noises in an exam room were off putting for him too. Now my son has started doing his English Language and this seems to be worse. He has to find the metaphors etc in the work and he just can't do this, in his words "the curtains are blue because they are blue", it has nothing to do with indicating depression etc. Again school are saying that they have tried everything to help him and he is just refusing their help, he will now have to take his English lessons in inclusion. I don't know how to help him. I have tried to talk to him about it but he says he just can't do it and there is nothing we can do.

I have read in many places that English is a classic area for ASD to have issues with but I have found nothing to suggest how to deal with it.

Does anyone have any suggestions? My main concern is that my son will struggle with any further education etc without any form of English GCSE.

Many thanks

Parents

  • 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.

Reply

  • 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.

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