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    Joined: Apr 2018
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    Hi. So I�m an enthusiastically lopsided 2e human with ADHD, weird executive function, time issues, sensory quirks, and all that lovely asynchronous over-excitability stuff. I�m really (REALLY) slow. Like REALLY slow. For tests I get double time, separate location, long tests chunked over separate days, headphones with rain noise, active seatingl breaks every hour, word processor, and a timer. These accommodations are brilliant and perfect, and without them my world crumbles and school sucks.

    I have a questions about accommodations for the ACT, SAT Subject Tests, and AP exams. The ACT has approved the double time, test chunking, and word processor (YAY).

    HOWEVER, the SAT Board (which controls SAT subject tests and the AP exams) has only approved the word processor and time-and-a-half. Nothing else. I will do terribly without double time.

    My brilliant special ed teacher re-requested accommodations three times, but to no avail. I think they�re denying accommodations because I have a few neuro-psych scores which are normal and high. But the low ones exist too smile I have asked my teachers to make another request again. What should they do differently in the report this time? What details must be included in a report about a 2e human? Is there something I can do as a student? Can I call the SAT Board? Any suggestions would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

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    I am not a college prep expert, but maybe see how critical the SAT score is to your college choices. You could look into accomodations for CLEP exams instead of AP exams to see if CLEP accomodations might fit your needs better.

    Have you ever tried training to push your limits? Having a neurological disorder is a little bit cool (compared to other possibilities) because there is a lot we can do to influence our nervous systems. Neuroplasticity is amazing stuff! I have a neurological condition (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, if you're feeling like going on a fascinating google rabbit hole) and even though there is no current evidence-based treatment using neuroplasticity and nervous system hacking, I've had great success. I was misdiagnosed along the way with ADHD and I have significant sensory issues when my symptoms are uncontrolled, so I feel like I can relate a little bit to your experience. The cool thing is that ANS hacking and stimulating the vagal nerve benefit everyone, not just those who are neurodivergent, so there's really nothing to lose.

    Little things like laughter, meditation, breathing exercises and time in nature, practiced regularly over time, might reduce some of your struggles and make a situation in which your accomodations are insufficient more tolerable.

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    I have heard (from professional people who know such things) that the College Board wants to see processing speed scores below the 2nd percentile in order to even consider double time. So if you're not in that ballpark, that might be the problem.

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    MP, there is not a lot more the teachers can do to make the request more effective, if 100% extended time is already listed as that in your IEP accommodations, and they've already looked at your evaluation scores. In my experience, the College Board is usually looking for a processing speed score below average, and some academic fluency score below average (such as reading fluency or math fluency). I'm assuming here that your teachers are already using the guidelines provided by the CB for extended time documentation:
    https://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities/typical-accommodations/time

    You may also being dealing with the fallout from past abuse of the accommodations system. The CB appears to be really cracking down on extended time 100% (which requires school-based testing, not center-based testing).

    I would encourage you, though, to take a more optimistic view of your capacity to demonstrate your skills effectively with time-and-a-half. I don't doubt that 100% extended time is appropriate for you, but it doesn't necessarily follow that 50% extended time will be catastrophic. In the event that you are not able to get the accommodation for AP and SAT exams, you will still be able to do quite a bit, and it very well may be enough. It may involve a bit more test prep (since practice is the friend of fluency and speed), but you are still a bright and capable person, even when you don't have 100% extended time, and, as sanne said, there are strategies you can practice and apply to help a bit when you don't have full access to your accommodations.

    Many colleges are definitely moving toward test-optional, including some very big names, so don't feel like test scores that aren't fully reflective of your skills will keep you from a good college education. Also, many state universities will take your neuropsych evaluation in place of the SAT reasoning tests (not the subject tests, of course). Many colleges also allow for taking a local placement test to test out of entry level courses. They may be more open to accommodations through Student/Disability Services at that institution. I just want to reassure you that there are multiple pathways to reach your college goals.


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    Hmmmm...thanks for your answer. It�s so weird that they only look at processing speed. It�s also a bit unfair because there are so many different learning quirks that can make a human slow. But it�s good to know! I got a 2nd percentile score on the listening/working memory section of the WIAT, can that count?

    Also, I thought the WISC/WAIS processing section was a bit dumb because it was only testing visual processing. Also, it only looks at visual processing during a short period of time. Because I�m an average sprinter and a pathetic long-distance runner, that test didn�t say much about my brain. Are there neuropsych processing exams which are more comprehensive and test endurance (or lack thereof)?

    Is ADHD never enough to qualify someone for double time on APs? What if there was more about it? The only thing my teachers have used is the Conners� Rating Scale. Is there an ADHD test which could give more detailed information? Thanks for your response!


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    Well, the CB gets to make their own rules. I am generally comfortable with the use of the WISC/WAIS PSI to measure processing speed for written tasks, but I grant you your point on sprinting versus sustained distance running is fair. There are other, more direct, computer-administered measures of sustained attention, such as the Connors CPT, IVA, and TOVA, but it is highly doubtful that your school has access to them, as they are a bit pricey, and typically owned only by hospitals or some private neuropsychologists. Schools don't have the funds for the license, or sufficient utility for them on a day-to-day basis.

    At one point, ADHD could sometimes be used as justification for 100% extended time, but the research on the use of extended time for most persons with ADHD hasn't borne out substantial benefit. The best aggregations of research have recommended 25-50% extended time for ADHD, as more time actually causes a significant fraction of test-takers with ADHD to decline in performance (postulated to be because a little time pressure helps some people focus better). And, of course, the CB has moved over the past year to a greater focus on tests of processing speed and fluency as documentation for extended time.

    On the WIAT, neither the oral discourse comprehension or sentence repetition component tasks is likely to be accepted by CB as documentation for extended time, since both of them have more to do with accommodations such as having oral directions repeated and rephrased, or chunked. Or accompanied by visual supports. They do, however, have a great deal to do with ADHD-primarily inattentive type.

    I know you have a system of accommodations that works for you right now, and the obvious solution is to want to transfer that directly over to all other high-stakes tasks, but you might want to prepare for the possibility that this is not going to be the case. Some other strategies that you may wish to consider include:
    1. create mini-races or targets for yourself, to take advantage of that fact that you can "sprint". So instead of looking at the AP exam as multiple hours of sustained attention, conceptualize it as a series of one-page mini-tests. So, for example, part I of the AP Physics exam consists of 50 multiple choice items in 80 minutes. Instead of thinking of it as 80 minutes of nonstop work, think of it as 4 20-minute intervals. In each 20-minute interval, you might target completion of 12 items. Spend 18 minutes of focused time, trying to get as close to 12 items complete as possible, and then give your brain a 2 minute break. Or use 8 10-minute intervals: 9 minutes of focus, followed by 1 minute of break, working on 5-6 items at a time. I'd suggest trying this on a few practice tests, and seeing how it works for you, once you get used to the rhythm of it. You won't be able to use an audible timer in the real test session, of course, but you can use a watch, and just mark the fifth item with the target time. Use the break minute to stretch quietly in your seat, practice breathing, shake out your hands, do progressive relaxation through your body (to release tension), or whatever nondisruptive activity you can do in your seat that helps you refresh yourself. And then dive back in for another focused period. (Just remembered you did get approved for time-and-half, so you would actually only have to target 4 problems for each nine minutes.)
    2. Take a lot of practice tests, to increase your familiarity with the format of the test and the item types. Then you can at least minimize the amount of time you spend trying to understand what the question is asking for. Test-taking is a skill, just like the nominal content of the test is a skill. More practice and familiarity with it translates to greater speed and fluency.
    3. It might be worthwhile to take a test-prep course, mainly because of the access to practice tests, and because sometimes they can help you learn to recognize the easy/fast questions, so you can fly through the whole test with those first, and then go back and spend the remaining time on the more time-consuming ones. A point is a point, so learning some of these test-taking strategies to make testing more efficient can be helpful.

    How did you do on the essay section of the WIAT? That's timed, but for longer than 1-2 minutes.


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    Thanks, spaghetti, for more up-to-date info on litigation. Sadly, in the absence (or even presence) of OCR settlements, and even during this school year cycle, CB does appear to be trying to make its own rules. Even if they are not supposed to.

    Unfortunately, there have long been inconsistencies with regard to which learning profiles were able to obtain test accommodations on SATs, which may be presumed to have created openings for those with more resources and fewer scruples to obtain accommodations for students who neither needed them nor used them in everyday instruction. The crackdown on this presumed abuse, from what I can tell, is also unfairly affecting many students for whom those accommodations were entirely appropriate.


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    WOW. Thanks so much for your ultra-fascinating response. I really appreciate your insight and I low-key want to stage a rebellion against the CB! Do you think they are discriminating against me for having some psych high scores as well? Is it just based on the cognitive quirks? Or is it it based on being 2e? In other words:

    Thelonius= Intense ADHD and average psych scores
    Monica= Intense ADHD and some high psych scores

    Will either of them get accommodations? Will Monica be discriminated against for having high psych scores? Will Monica be discriminated against for having ADHD? Will Monica be discriminated against for being 2e? Will Thelonius get accommodations? I guess this last question is the most important because it answers some of the others.

    If this is a 2e thing, then potentially we could gather evidence of other 2e accommodation rejections and then find a 2e organization/special ed law human to start a lawsuit? Would that work? Or could we look at the number of kids with disabilities who take the ACT instead of the SAT?

    Thanks again for your response : )

    All the best!

    MuddlePuddle

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    MP, most likely, neither Thelonius nor Monica will get accommodations of extended time, especially not 100%, based on the data we have on them. They would each need some -low- scores, specifically on timed tasks. If all scores are average or above, extended time is highly unlikely to be approved.

    How did you feel about your AP exams? Were you able to finish?


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