Re: timed tests-school responded ASAP

[Guest guest]

We did this for my oldest daughter in college. Before she started, I sent a letter from her Dr. to the disability office stating her disability (ADHD and Asperger's) so she would never have to take a timed test and could always have a quiet separate room to test in. It wasn't always perfect since the advisor she had didn't realize one of her classes (a typing class) was all about timed tests. So, she had to drop that class. But, otherwise, it's been great. A huge relief to both of us that she doesn't have timed tests, can have a quiet room to test in plus she can have all the free tutoring she needs. I'll be sending my other daughter to college in the fall, (she's 17 now and will take her senior year there).

Benita

From: jmlrgs1870 <jmlrgs1870@...> Sent: Sat, January 23, 2010 11:03:15 PMSubject: ( ) timed tests-school responded ASAP

Just thought I'd share something:After hearing from a couple of members of this group (thank you both), I decided to go ahead and email my dd's school autism (spectrum) specialist about whether her 2-minute timed addition/subtractio n tests could be extended for another minute to relieve her anxiety a bit. She had meltdowns at school and at home just thinking about the tests. My dd said she thought that maybe, if she could have just another minute, she wouldn't feel so scared and maybe she could think easier. We tried an addition/subtractio n test at home to see how 3-minutes would feel for her, and she was able to relax more and then finished the test in 2 minutes 10 seconds with only one mistake! Wow! I relayed this to the autism specialist the next morning via email and when my dd came home after school that same day, there was an IEP change form saying that the school will make so my dd will not have her tests timed from now on, upon

our approval (signing the form). What a quick response from them! --Kari

[Guest guest]

I'm glad they were so helpful in the college setting, too.

My dd (third grade) is required to take keyboarding this year--I think it's only

for a couple weeks. My dd is having a rough time. One problem was that the

computer 'voice' yelled at her, she said. It kept yelling 'f!', 'g!', 'space

bar!'. She cried about going back to school. Sure enough, as I suspected, the

computer volume was set too high and she didn't know how to turn it down on that

particular computer. We took care of it and she was feeling much better when she

came home.

I don't know if they're timed in keyboarding in third grade yet. She hasn't

mentioned that. I think I'll check into it just to be sure--I'm glad you

mentioned that!

Take care! --Kari

>

> We did this for my oldest daughter in college. Before she started, I sent a

letter from her Dr. to the disability office stating her disability (ADHD and

Asperger's) so she would never have to take a timed test and could always have a

quiet separate room to test in. It wasn't always perfect since the advisor she

had didn't realize one of her classes (a typing class) was all about timed

tests. So, she had to drop that class. But, otherwise, it's been great. A huge

relief to both of us that she doesn't have timed tests, can have a quiet room to

test in plus she can have all the free tutoring she needs. I'll be sending my

other daughter to college in the fall, (she's 17 now and will take her senior

year there).

>

> Benita

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> From: jmlrgs1870 <jmlrgs1870@...>

>

> Sent: Sat, January 23, 2010 11:03:15 PM

> Subject: ( ) timed tests-school responded ASAP

>

>  

> Just thought I'd share something:

> After hearing from a couple of members of this group (thank you both), I

decided to go ahead and email my dd's school autism (spectrum) specialist about

whether her 2-minute timed addition/subtractio n tests could be extended for

another minute to relieve her anxiety a bit. She had meltdowns at school and at

home just thinking about the tests. My dd said she thought that maybe, if she

could have just another minute, she wouldn't feel so scared and maybe she could

think easier. We tried an addition/subtractio n test at home to see how

3-minutes would feel for her, and she was able to relax more and then finished

the test in 2 minutes 10 seconds with only one mistake! Wow!

>

> I relayed this to the autism specialist the next morning via email and when my

dd came home after school that same day, there was an IEP change form saying

that the school will make so my dd will not have her tests timed from now on,

upon our approval (signing the form). What a quick response from them! --Kari

>

[Guest guest]

Dear jmlrgs 1870:

If I read keyboarding as using typewriter key board on the computer, then I think there is something wrong with the situation. Why does the kid need to be graded on typing? I think the first time I had an aspersers out burst. it was in typewriter class in middle school thirty plus years ago. The typewriter was a manual one.

If the Kid is getting the stuff in the computer than what does it really need to be graded so much. The "Home Keys" thing when typing, and getting used to where to keep the fingers and hands is really good. Being punitive does not make me think it is more easy, to remember where the keys are.

T.

( ) timed tests-school responded ASAP> > Â > Just thought I'd share something:> After hearing from a couple of members of this group (thank you both), I decided to go ahead and email my dd's school autism (spectrum) specialist about whether her 2-minute timed addition/subtractio n tests could be extended for another minute to relieve her anxiety a bit. She had meltdowns at school and at home just thinking about the tests. My dd said she thought that maybe, if she could have just another minute, she wouldn't feel so scared and maybe she could think easier. We tried an addition/subtractio n test at home to see how 3-minutes would feel for her, and she was able to relax more and then finished the test in 2 minutes 10 seconds with only one mistake! Wow! > > I relayed this to the autism specialist the next morning via email and when my dd came home after school that same day, there was an IEP change form saying that the school will make so my dd will not have her tests timed from now on, upon our approval (signing the form). What a quick response from them! --Kari>

[Guest guest]

Hi, ! I agree...and especially at a third grade level, why would kids need

to be put in a position of stressing over how fast they type and/or be graded on

it? I still don't know if she's being timed on her typing/keyboarding (on

computer). You mentioned something I hadn't even thought about--being graded on

her progress. I sure hope they're not grading them on it. She's only eight years

old! I understand kids need to be familiar with computers in this day and age,

but it seems like this would be too much pressure and too soon (unless some

child 'wants' to try timings for fun or something). -Kari

> >

> > We did this for my oldest daughter in college. Before she started, I sent

a letter from her Dr. to the disability office stating her disability (ADHD and

Asperger's) so she would never have to take a timed test and could always have a

quiet separate room to test in. It wasn't always perfect since the advisor she

had didn't realize one of her classes (a typing class) was all about timed

tests. So, she had to drop that class. But, otherwise, it's been great. A huge

relief to both of us that she doesn't have timed tests, can have a quiet room to

test in plus she can have all the free tutoring she needs. I'll be sending my

other daughter to college in the fall, (she's 17 now and will take her senior

year there).

> >

> > Benita

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > ________________________________

> > From: jmlrgs1870 <jmlrgs1870@>

> >

> > Sent: Sat, January 23, 2010 11:03:15 PM

> > Subject: ( ) timed tests-school responded ASAP

> >

> > Â

> > Just thought I'd share something:

> > After hearing from a couple of members of this group (thank you both), I

decided to go ahead and email my dd's school autism (spectrum) specialist about

whether her 2-minute timed addition/subtractio n tests could be extended for

another minute to relieve her anxiety a bit. She had meltdowns at school and at

home just thinking about the tests. My dd said she thought that maybe, if she

could have just another minute, she wouldn't feel so scared and maybe she could

think easier. We tried an addition/subtractio n test at home to see how

3-minutes would feel for her, and she was able to relax more and then finished

the test in 2 minutes 10 seconds with only one mistake! Wow!

> >

> > I relayed this to the autism specialist the next morning via email and

when my dd came home after school that same day, there was an IEP change form

saying that the school will make so my dd will not have her tests timed from now

on, upon our approval (signing the form). What a quick response from them!

--Kari

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Roxanna,

The typing program you found for your child sounds like it was a big hit, currently we are working on my son's typing skills, where did you purchase the zombie program? I think it would be great one to try for my son.

Thanks,

Dawn

[Guest guest]

You can check with your school as to how they do typing programs. In

ours, the kids all went through a few weeks of keyboarding as part of

their time spent in the computer " lab " each year. It was not graded

really. They had a kid's " how to type " program and they each worked at

it. I think keyboarding is a great skill to work on, especially for

AS/HFA kids, who often have fine motor problems and poor handwriting.

Learning to type early and well is a wonderful skill. And most kids

these days are doing pretty good with it. If the program " yells at

her " , then it might just be a bad fit with the type of software - i.e.

She might do better with a different " how to type " program. With my

oldest, I actually found one about zombies. They came at you and you

had to type the letters to make them stop before they got you. lol.

It was stressful, I thought! But he loved it and he hated taking

typing, so it did what it was supposed to do.

Roxanna

" The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do

nothing. " E. Burke

( ) timed tests-school responded ASAP

> >

> > Â

> > Just thought I'd share something:

> > After hearing from a couple of members of this group (thank you

both), I decided to go ahead and email my dd's school autism (spectrum)

specialist about whether her 2-minute timed addition/subtractio n tests

could be extended for another minute to relieve her anxiety a bit. She

had meltdowns at school and at home just thinking about the tests. My

dd said she thought that maybe, if she could have just another minute,

she wouldn't feel so scared and maybe she could think easier. We tried

an addition/subtractio n test at home to see how 3-minutes would feel

for her, and she was able to relax more and then finished the test in 2

minutes 10 seconds with only one mistake! Wow!

> >

> > I relayed this to the autism specialist the next morning via

email and when my dd came home after school that same day, there was an

IEP change form saying that the school will make so my dd will not have

her tests timed from now on, upon our approval (signing the form). What

a quick response from them! --Kari

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Kari, Don't hesitate to email the teacher or send a letter to ask specifics about her classes. I email my son's 1st grade teacher at least once a week. They expect the kids to tell us about their day, and we know they don't. Our school has a website which they usually update weekly on the current week's studies. If I ask my son "What did you do in science today?", he'll say "nothing". But if I go to their website or ask the teacher than I'll ask "How did you test solids and liquids in science today", and he'll go on for 10 minutes and describe everything to me. It helps us to communicate more. I know the teacher thinks I'm a pain, but I don't care. His school had a pajamma day and he was upset when he came home because he was the only one in his class not wearing pajammas. When I asked the teacher and

principal why I didn't get a notice about this, they said they are 'going green' and don't want to waste the paper and that the kids are supposed to tell us. They told me to send a letter requesting that I get a note on all school functions like this. Maybe you can also get a typing software for the home computer for your dd to practice to relieve the stress at school. Ask her teacher if you can borrow a copy or where to buy it cheap. You can also call your library to ask. GenFrom: Roxanna <MadIdeas@...>Subject: Re: ( ) timed tests-school responded ASAP Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 10:46 AM

You can check with your school as to how they do typing programs. In

ours, the kids all went through a few weeks of keyboarding as part of

their time spent in the computer "lab" each year. It was not graded

really. They had a kid's "how to type" program and they each worked at

it. I think keyboarding is a great skill to work on, especially for

AS/HFA kids, who often have fine motor problems and poor handwriting.

Learning to type early and well is a wonderful skill. And most kids

these days are doing pretty good with it. If the program "yells at

her", then it might just be a bad fit with the type of software - i.e.

She might do better with a different "how to type" program. With my

oldest, I actually found one about zombies. They came at you and you

had to type the letters to make them stop before they got you. lol.

It was stressful, I thought! But he loved it and he hated taking

typing, so it did what it was supposed to do.

Roxanna

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do

nothing." E. Burke

( ) timed tests-school responded ASAP

> >

> > Â

> > Just thought I'd share something:

> > After hearing from a couple of members of this group (thank you

both), I decided to go ahead and email my dd's school autism (spectrum)

specialist about whether her 2-minute timed addition/subtractio n tests

could be extended for another minute to relieve her anxiety a bit. She

had meltdowns at school and at home just thinking about the tests. My

dd said she thought that maybe, if she could have just another minute,

she wouldn't feel so scared and maybe she could think easier. We tried

an addition/subtractio n test at home to see how 3-minutes would feel

for her, and she was able to relax more and then finished the test in 2

minutes 10 seconds with only one mistake! Wow!

> >

> > I relayed this to the autism specialist the next morning via

email and when my dd came home after school that same day, there was an

IEP change form saying that the school will make so my dd will not have

her tests timed from now on, upon our approval (signing the form). What

a quick response from them! --Kari

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I think it was called, " The typing of the dead. " I googled it but it

doesn't seem to be something very current. (My ds is 21 yo now!) You

will have to find an older copy somewhere. I wish I knew what the kids

did with ours but it may not work on Windows 7 or XP. In a search for

this game, I saw a different, free game -->

<http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/432253> It was hard, didn't

teach typing but sure let you practice.

Roxanna

" The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do

nothing. " E. Burke

Re: ( ) timed tests-school responded ASAP

Hi Roxanna,

 

The typing program you found for your child sounds like it was a big

hit, currently we are working on my son's typing skills, where did you

purchase the zombie program? I think it would be great one to try for

my son.

 

 

Thanks,

Dawn