High school student with developmental disabilities, the results of taking exams in a separate room #25

Hello.
I have been supporting my husband with ADHD and my son, who has both ADHD and bipolar disorder, for 25 years.
I am a mother of two (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)
My name is Hareko.

I am writing this note so that I can keep smiling today as well.

The final exams ended today!!
It was long. Why do high school exams take nearly a week anyway!?

There is a mock exam secretly scheduled for the day after tomorrow, but let's ignore that for now.

This time, I requested reasonable accommodations, and my son experienced taking exams in a separate room at high school for the first time.
I would like to write a report on that!

I wrote about the process leading up to the request in a previous note (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)⇩

As for the procedure, he first goes to the classroom as usual and attends roll call.
After that, he is guided to the separate room that serves as the exam venue.
At that time, he carries all his belongings with him when moving.

By the way, the exam time is 8:55.
The word is that even if he doesn't make it in time for roll call, as long as he arrives by this time, he will be in time for the exam.
I was told that if he arrives at school after 8:40, he should go to the staff room first instead of the classroom before heading to the separate room.

The separate room was the music room.
Students from all grades were gathered there, about 15 in total.
There was one exam proctor.

There was a clock as usual, and there was air conditioning.
The desks were the same ones used in class.
He was allowed to keep his belongings next to his desk.

He could choose his seat freely.
However, everyone naturally ended up sitting in groups by grade level.

The gender ratio was about 4 to 6, with slightly more girls.

There were 3 students from his grade.
Other than my son, there were 2 girls.

It was the second regular exam since moving up a grade, but there were also first-year students present.

My son looked around the room and said,

"There were a lot of kids who probably had developmental traits."

That was the impression he had.

He doesn't particularly interact with the kids in his grade, but there was a girl in the third year he is connected with on Instagram.

"That girl is really smart."

"She's a bit eccentric, but I think that's what you call a genius."

He told me things like that.

At school, there are other kids like my son who are doing their best while dealing with their own personal struggles.
And among them, there are kids with exceptional talents.

It might have been a time for my son to feel that "I am not alone."

On the other hand, there was another worry before the exams.
My son had previously said,

"I've heard that kids with traits sometimes have panic attacks, make loud noises, or accidentally say the answers out loud."

Because of that, he was anxious about whether he would be able to take the exam quietly.
However, once the exam actually started, he said that worry was completely unfounded.

Every day, the venue had a calm atmosphere, and everyone was focused on taking the exam.

The number of people was slightly different every day.
Some kids must have been absent.
Some kids must have chosen to use the separate room depending on the subject.

My son is also various.

On the first day, he took the exam normally.
On the second day, he apparently fell asleep during the test.
He says that from the third day onwards, he was able to take the tests by applying the lessons learned from that experience.

Falling asleep during a test takes some nerve.
I guess he really was sleepy...

But exposing the sight of himself sleeping during a test to many people lowers my son's self-concept.

And after the exams were over, the first thing my son said was, "I'm glad I took the exams in a separate room."
He said he was able to spend the time without feeling self-conscious.

Furthermore, he said, "I want to keep doing it this way every time."

Taking exams in the classroom is "normal," and taking them in a separate room is "special."

It's easy to think that way, but for my son, it might have been the opposite.

In a quiet environment, he can demonstrate his true potential.
He can focus on the questions without worrying too much about his surroundings.

It was because that environment existed that it led to the realization that he "was able to take the test."

Reasonable accommodation is not special treatment.

It is about setting up an environment so that a person can demonstrate their abilities as much as possible.

Through this experience of taking exams in a separate room, I felt that once again.

If there are any families currently hesitating to request a separate room for exams, I think it is worth trying at least once.

For my son, rather than "receiving an accommodation," it was more like "finally being able to take the test in an environment that suits me."

It seems that this final exam period was just that.
You did a great job. Thank you for your hard work.

↑ Next, I would like to write a note about studying.
If you have time, please come and read it (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)
I'll be waiting!