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Lyme and the ACT


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Hi all, 

 

My daughter, 11th grade, was diagnosed with Lyme a couple of months ago. As is typical, she is feeling worse while being treated. Her main issue is severe fatigue. She is normally a diligent student who is self motivated, but for the past few weeks she hasn't been able to get out of bed before 11:00 a.m. I wake her to give her some meds but she flops back down and goes right back to sleep. Right now she sleeps twelve or more hours per day and also naps. She has hardly been able to do any school work for two full weeks.

 

She is registered to take the ACT on Saturday. She already took it in February (didn't get a great score, but her health was already suffering at that point). I'm wondering whether to even have her take it this Saturday. Her score won't be good, but she would get more experience with the test. At the same time, it will completely wipe her out and it may take several days for her to recover. I do have her registered for the ACT in June, and she could probably take it in the Fall of her senior year. 

 

I don't know why it's so hard for me to make this decision. Getting more practice on the ACT seems like it would be beneficial. It scares me to think about how there are only a limited number of times available to take it. And yet the reality is, she is dealing with a difficult illness, and maybe it's okay to accept that and let her sleep in on Saturday. 

 

Any thoughts or perspectives to help me process this decision? Will it all be okay if she doesn't take the ACT this Saturday? (Sometimes I just need to know that it will all be okay.) Thanks in advance.

 

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Does she need to take an official one to get more practice, i.e. is the post-test recovery time really worth it?  I might have her practice one section at a time so that she could get more out of the practice (including going over all the answers afterward), and then one full practice test the weekend before the real June one.  So yes, I'd probably skip this Saturday if I were in your shoes.

 

Furthermore, if she's not feeling better in June, I might wait for the September test.  If she has trouble with the tight timing per question, also consider the SAT.

Edited by wapiti
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As the parent of two kids with lyme and having lyme myself, I say let her skip the ACT this weekend.  It sounds like she has enough on her plate right now just trying to rest and recover.  The ACT can wait until she feels better.  

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As a parent and an SAT/ACT tutor, skip the test! There's lots of places to find old ACT tests that she can use to practice with once she's feeling better. You all can choose one Saturday morning and "administer" the whole test at your kitchen table. As someone who had to take a SAT after being awake the whole night with a sick toddler, there's just no way to do well on the test when you are exhausted.

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Has she practiced since the February ACT? If not, there is no reason to expect she will perform better on this month's test, which might be demoralizing on top of being exhausting. I recommend she begin systematic study/practice for the ACT by working through a prep book AND having her take as many practice sections as possible (some under 'test conditions', aka timed). Aim for a solid improvement in her June test score and if she doesn't hit her goal, continue throughout the summer and re-test in September. I would have her work on test prep for 30-40 minutes per day and she should see real improvement. I'm sure her fatigue will be a barrier, but I would prioritize test prep over a lot of outher things during this short 'window' of time if getting a good score is important to her goals. Best wishes for her recovery.

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We all have lyme in our family and I remember that fatigue and I say let her rest and take the test later when she feels up to it. The brain fog and crushing exhaustion you describe make it really hard to function. She needs all her energy to heal.

 

We were diagnosed over 2 years ago and while we were really sick, I want to give you and dd hope that she will feel better. It might feel like  forever, especially at her age, but find a good LLMD to guide you through treatment options. 

 

There are some really good online support groups for lyme and pm me if you want some info on that. Big hugs to you and your dd at a very pivotal point in her education. Her long term health is the most important thing right now and she might feel big relief without the stress of the test.

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Thank you, everyone. It is a great help to me to have the freedom to let go of the ACT this Saturday. Deep down, I guess i may still be in denial and am wanting my daughter to be able to do some of the "normal" things her peers are doing. Right now, everything feels completely upside-down, and I haven't accepted this as our new normal. 

 

All of your input is like a weight taken off of my shoulders, and I'm sure it will be a relief to my daughter as well. Thank you.  :grouphug:

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