<p>TO ALL PARENTS WONDERING ABOUT ACCOMADATIONS/ETC…</p>
<p>I am actually a high school junior with Tourette’s. My vocal/motor tics are relatively mild but kinda noticeable if one actually cares to pay attention, but unfortunately I also seemed to have gotten every other little thing that comes along with Tourette’s (ADHD, OCD, anxiety, depression that has since been treated, bad phobias, executive functioning problems, etc.) but oh well, I manage. We had not reported any of my conditions to the school (even the Tourettes. seems my school is really oblivious, even with me siiting there tic-ing in class lol).</p>
<p>Anyway, I have always been top of my class, straight A+s/ As, despite all of these challenges. Last year, however, when I was a sophomore like the OP’s son, my grades began to slip. I had B+s interspersed throughout the year, and was in danger of getting B+s for the year, as well. I KNEW that I knew the work, but when I took tests, I’d never be able to finish, or I’d have to rush through it to finish on time, thereby having less-than-stellar effort throughout. I <em>begged</em> my parents/guidance to get testing/504, because I KNEW that there was something wrong there. I told my guidance counselor I had ADHD (wasn’t ready to disclose the rest), and she said I <em>might</em> be able to get a 504 with that, but it would be unlikely. Despite being a Neurologist, my mom (and dad) agreed with her. I had to work my a$$ off in the end, barely ever sleeping, in order to finish the year with all As. But no one would believe that I had a problem because I still managed to get such good grades.</p>
<p>This year, my first quarter had about 50% B+s and Bs, more than I’d ever had. And when 2nd quarter was about halfway through, it looked to be the same. FINALLY, my parents got me tested, and my mom warned that they’d probably just recognize the ADHD/executing functioning stuff during the test, but that it would likely not be enough to get me accommodations.</p>
<p>Well, 2 weeks later we got back the results, and everyone was shocked: In addition to the stuff we’d already known was there, I had a HUGE processing deficiency that had gone undetected even though I had been insisting for more than a year that I had a problem. My parents and the guidance department apologized for not believing me earlier (as if that made everything all better. but whatever 
) and immediately issued me a 504, granting me extra time as well as anything else I thought I needed. I decided to just stick with extra time, as well as a suggestion that teachers give me notes if I ever ask for it (I could have made it mandatory, but didn’t want to be a burden to them).</p>
<p>The week I got the extra time (time and a half), I had 4 tests. I got a 95 or above on * every single one*, when the week before I had had a 76% in math and a low 80 in physics, etc. It was great to do so well, but bittersweet, because I would have to now make up for those shoddy first 2 quarters in the last 2 (which I have been doing tremendously). Also, I realized that if they had all believed me when I first started suggesting I had a more significant problem than they thought (which really started at the end up freshman year, but I got more persistent sophomore year), I could have had an A+ in every class I’d had an A in.</p>
<p>I also just got back an email 2 days ago approving me for extra time on SATs/APs. I took the Chem SAT II last year, and though I only got like 5 wrong, I didn’t answer about 20 of the questions because I didn’t have time to finish. But I did realllyyyy well on my SAT I (because I studied for them for more than 9 months, knowing that no one believed me so I’d have no extra time, and worked my butt off), so they had at first refused to give me extra time despite the <em>clear</em> documentation of its necessity. But after an appeal, where they were given statements from my teachers indicating that the time in school had boosted my grades drastically, they agreed to approve me for accommodations.</p>
<p>SO, moral of the story: If you are seeing a decline in schoolwork (or even if it has always been a little low and you know your child is capable of doing well), immediately push for testing! And get outside testing (as I did), because school-appointed testers will almost always insist there is nothing wrong whatsoever, even if you can only finish 1 problem out of 20. But the school can’t contest clear data from outside professional neuropsychologists, so go with those. And even if your kid’s grades have dropped, but he/she is still getting amazing scores, if they have dropped at all, that could be a sign of a problem. It is unfair to them, even if they still outperform other children, because they are technically not on a level playing field, and could potentially do ** even better ** if given the proper accommodations. If an amazing runner was still faster than his competitors when he had a broken foot, would you still make him run with such a setback? No, because even being faster, he could still be **even more faster<a href=“excuse%20my%20poor%20grammar%20there,%20lol”>/b</a> if given a fair shot with a level playing field. And don’t let the school/College Board tell you you are doing fine anyway, so it doesn’t matter, because <em>you</em> know that something is wrong with the situation.</p>
<p>If anyone has any further questions, feel free to PM me.</p>