Hi, I think I have a major case of dyslexia. I ignored it because I thought I’m just being careless, but the more I study the ACT, the more my visible my (possible) impairment seems. I have a bad case of misreading words and litterlt skipping over a chunk of words and it really hinders my performance
This applies especially for Reading and Science as those two tests reading/reading comprehension at a very rapid pace.
I also see this bringing me down in Math sometimes too, but not as noticibly as the other two sections. Sometimes I litterly skip out on a whole chunk of the math question and try to solve the question, but I have no clue on what to do because I skip out on some of the information (i don’t want to get into the details because I don’t want to drag it out)
I already took the ACT with a score of a 23 and was shocked because I’m a pretty decent student
I take a bunch of APs and do well on them (I’m a rising Senior and am taking the hardest APs my school offers)
And I know that doing well in school does not = doing well on the ACT but the baseline is shockingly low
Also, I have a bad feeling that its too late to get more time. Iv’e read here of many parents complaining their son didn’t get extra time and they are furious and doing appeals (which I in no way can do due to time constraints). But these people got a counselor reccomendation asking for more time, mines going to be a recent doctor thing verifying it if it pans out
What do you guys think?
Thank you and goodluck to everyone taking the ACT
You would need an official diagnosis of dyslexia from a doctor. They will not take your word for it.
Yeah, I’m getting an appointment today, but is it too late to go through the process is the question?
My daughter is dyslexic. She has to provide recent test results from a neuropsychoogist before the test companies will consider extra time. I think we have to include the results of the testing we had done when she was in grade school too. The testing isn’t cheap or fast. The last round we did took a few hours/day over 6-8 days. And it has to be done by someone qualified to make the diagnosis.
What is regular school like for you? You said you take the hardest APs your school offers and do well on them. It’s difficult to believe that you’d be able to do that without any interventions. Definitely get tested and see what the neurosych has to say. S/he can give you a lot of good information, but I’m not sure it will be helpful in dealing with the testing companies. They’re understandably leery of students who do well in the hardest classes a school had to offer but realize just prior to college admissions that they may have a problem. It doesn’t mean that you don’t, just that you may have a tough time convincing them of it.
Even with a dyslexia diagnosis, there’s no guarantee you’ll get the extra time. 7-8 years ago the ACT had to really crack down on a dyslexia diagnosis as the only factor for extra time because many students were cheating the system by getting a “diagnosis” from a doctor then using it just to get the time. That, of course, punishes students (like you) who truly need the help. I do have students who get the extra time, though, so don’t give up hope.
My students who get the extra time usually have a diagnosis, plus they can prove they receive extra time accommodations at school and have been receiving those since 9th grade. Finally, they have a guidance counselor at school who knows just what to put on the application to help a student’s chances of getting the help.
While September may be pushing it to get the time, it isn’t too late for October or December.
Extra time or not, a diagnosis of dyslexia (or any other learning difference) will help you learn how to better learn as a high school senior and in college (and beyond).
I would definitely try, because, like life, if you don’t try, you won’t succeed. Good luck!
For next year I’m taking AP Gov, BC calc, Physics C EM, AP lit
I dont’t do anything outside of school and usually sleep after 1:30AM on school days
Do you think its too late to even try to get tested cause you said it take 6-8 days to get the whole diagnostic thing to be done
Thanks for the reply! Unfortunetly as a rising senior + due to time constraints as the other replyer said it takes 6-8 days for the full test, I’m gonna have to bear through it 
6-8 days? It’s more like 6-8 weeks? Most of the good neuropsychologists are booked for months ahead of time.
The testing can take 2-3 days, and it can take 6-8 weeks to get back a diagnosis. In fact, it usually takes longer to get a report from a good psych because they’re being so thorough with their findings.
as others have said, usually you need more than a diagnosis, you need to show that you received and have used the same accommodations in school. Some evaluators may be able to give you a report faster, you have to call around to find out. My kids had a combined total of 4 neuropsych evals. As far as the deadlines are concerned, I think college board posted a deadline of Aug 12 for the October test date. (You may be lucky if you do not meet the deadline). For ACT, you need to provide at the time you submitted the testing request and I think the deadline is August 5.
Go to the doctor and get tested. But honestly, late diagnosis like this probably means you will be rejected for extra time. But you maybe able to get needed accommodations in your senior year coursework, and then colleges will be more likely to grant them if you used them in HS.