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Exam Support

This article provides supportive strategies for managing exam anxiety in students with ASD. It discusses the importance of structure, preparation, and explicit instructions, as well as tips for understanding exam questions. Practice and rehearsal techniques are also highlighted. Available in multiple languages.

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Exam Support

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  1. Exam Support “Examination pressure and an increase in the pace of work may raise the anxiety levels of students with ASD” McGillicuddy and O’Donnell (2014)

  2. The greater the stress level, the greater the need for supportive strategies. The mind is an amazing tool, but if we are unable to switch it off, it can overwhelm us.. It is estimated that the average person thinks around 70,000 thoughts every day!

  3. Teachers You may wish to consider • Drawing up a weekly study plan for students at the start of the course, so they can see what they will be learning and how they will prepare for exams • Drawing up a timetable showing when exams are taking place – keep it on display in your classroom • Talking about how you’ll be preparing for exams at school, for example revision lessons; practice with old exam papers • For the last two to three weeks of a course, do practice papers or look at past papers to work on students’ exam technique • Talking about what happens during exams (you could write a short ‘social story’) • Trying to see students at the start of each exam: seeing a familiar face at this time can be comforting.

  4. Provide as much structure as the examination board will allow • Consider forfeiting some ‘worked independently’ marks to get extra help with planning and structuring • Break tasks down into smaller more manageable chunks - 1,2,3 works well • Have a detailed timetable of what needs to be completed by when • Introduce mind mapping software such as ‘Inspirations’ • Be as explicit as possible with all instructions • Provide access to the mark scheme so student understands where the marks are allocated • Keep the coursework subject as simple as possible playing to strengths. If student is good at Maths steer him/her towards a project which will allow him/her to pick up Marks for using some complex computations • Give constructive and explicit feedback....’needs more detail’ is of little help to a student with autism

  5. Understanding exam questions In a school English exam a question read • ‘Can you describe the main characteristics of Macbeth’s personality?’ Student with autism simply answered ‘Yes’, because he could. Students with autism can take things literally, and may not understand open-ended questions. If we take the exam question above as an example, the student was unable to infer from it that he should write about Macbeth. The question may have been better phrased like this: • ‘Describe the main characteristics of Macbeth’s personality’. It might also help to say how much students should write, for example between 400-500 words.

  6. Exams are a stressful time • Rehearse - reading and answering questions, be careful with either/or questions, timing a vital issue • Rehearse exam rules - when to start, finish, what to do if you need help • Maybe adapt exam environment – alternative room – minimise distractions, timer, extra time • Remember issues like toilet Available now as an App for an I-Pod

  7. Practice, Practice, Practice

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