<p>How many of you have a child who suffers from extreme test anxiety? Last year, my D began having anxiety attacks when taking the SATs, SAT IIs, and AP exams. She would wake up in the morning of the test with a look of terror in her eyes. She would almost immediately begin vomiting and this would continue until she got in the car to leave. I have to wonder how this affected her test scores. I assume she did not perform as well on the tests as she could have. She refused to take the ACTs due to the anxiety.</p>
<p>Our children are under so much pressure to do well on tests in order to get into a college. My husband and I are very low key. We have never pushed her academically. Most of the pressure she feels comes from within herself, as well as her peers. She spent hours and hours reading the CC forums, which probably didn't help the situation. I think some of the students work themselves into a frenzy.</p>
<p>My daughter has test anxiety also. She literally does not sleep the night before and she feels shaky and lightheaded beforehand. She was home schooled and didn’t have a lot of experience with standardized tests. By the time she took the SAT and ACT, so much was riding on the outcome that she had worked herself into a tizzy!</p>
<p>My junior D1 has non-hyperactive ADHD, with a processing disorder and underlying anxiety. She has muddled through school without accommodations since the end of 7th grade, when she was released from her IEP for testing withinnormal range in math (the focus of her LD). Suffice it to say, this poor girl does not do well on standardized tests. </p>
<p>I was talking with one of my sisters recently (a pedi rheumatologist, married to a pedi neuro guy) about getting D1 tested again so she might be afforded more time on SAT/ACT… and carry such accommodations over into college, and she suggested talking to her MD about Propanol (SP?) …which helps to calm nerves. I’m going to go have to check that now… I’m sure I didn’t spell it right. SOrry.</p>
<p>If the only problem is standardized exams, your daughter has plenty of options for avoiding them in the future. She can start by looking at the list of exam optional colleges and universities at [The</a> National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org%5DThe”>http://www.fairtest.org) However if this reaction to the SAT is merely a more severe example of something that she’s had her whole life, you do need to help her get a handle on it now. Think back over her life history. Did she exhibit any anxiety symptoms in any other aspect of her life? What about when you were 5 minutes late to pick her up from Kindergarten or a club meeting? Does she exhibit a milder form of this for her exams at school, or when she has to complete a major assignment?</p>
<p>I ask this because the daughter of a dear friend of mine had anxious tendencies through her school years, but managed to power through them. When she got to college, she became so debilitated by her anxiety that she failed all of the courses second semester her freshman year. Her academic record was spotty, and included a mid-semester withdrawal followed by a full semester at home in counseling to help her master her situation. Ultimately her full-pay parents shelled out for eight semesters of classes for which she has barely four semesters of credits. She’s home now, working on her anxiety with a better therapist, and figuring out how to create a life for herself that doesn’t cause these attacks.</p>
<p>She has always been a bit anxious, but it never was a real problem until her junior year with all the college pressures looming in the future. She’s been seeing a therapist for 7 months and is taking medication. They are working on her anxiety issues, as well as her social awkwardness. It remains to be seen how she will do in college. This is something that I am very concerned about. I am hoping with therapy, medication, and adequate support she will be successful. Her #1 choice is a local state university that is only 20 minutes away. That way, she can come home if things get rough.</p>
<p>From my understanding, this is prescribed, to be taken just before an exam. It gets rid of the sweaty palms, heart palpatations, and other physiological distractions…so the subject can focus on the exam material.</p>
<p>I will ask her therapist if she thinks propranolol would be beneficial. She will be taking her AP exams in May. I just read that one of the side effects of propranolol is nausea and vomiting. Since she vomits before taking these important tests, taking a med that causes nausea might not be so great.</p>
<p>She has been learning stress management techniques. It might be best to see if she can handle taking her first AP exam in May before resorting to propranolol. The ultimate goal is that she will learn to deal with stress and anxiety by using various coping techniques.</p>
<p>If your clinician agrees it (or some other formula) might be worth a try… maybe give it a whirl before a routine quiz or test, before trying it on something more lofty/with greater implications. It is certainly worth asking about/exploring. Good luck.</p>