Reaching Out: Have you successfully received accommodations for the PSAT/SAT test for a TYPE 1 diabetic?

[Josie]

I am in the process of asking for accommodations for the PSAT for our type 1 diabetic dd.  If you have preceded me in this endeavor, would you please give any pearls of wisdom that you have?  Surely to goodness I don't have to create and complete a 6 PAGE Individual Home Education Plan answering to issues that are not even part of type 1.  Thanks in advance.

[Julie of KY]

I haven't done it for diabetes, but I have received accommodations for learning disabilities.

 

What kind of accommodations are you looking for? I have a hard time imagining that they'll grant you extra time, but you might just be seeking extra breaks (to give meds, test sugar), snacks, separate testing, etc.

 

I certainly didn't write out any 6 page IEP. My son does not have any formal IEP or 504. I wrote out a cover letter summarizing what I was asking for and why. I wrote out a Last name homeschool education plan (my version of an IEP). This summarized diagnoses, testing and accommodations through the grades. I lumped all of elementary together and then started separating out accommodations for grades in middle school. It was completely customized to my child and did not include anything that wasn't pertinent to my son needing accommodations. In addition, you'll need a doctor stating your child will need certain accommodations.

 

If you are asking for time accommodations, it is harder than simply having a professional say that they have this diagnosis and therefore need more time. For time, they want testing showing that the student actually needs more time.

[Josie]

She does not need extended time, but she does need stop the clock breaks.  She also needs to be allowed to take her blood glucose meter, lancet, insulin, syringes, alcohol swabs, and snacks in with her.  She needs to be able to test whenever she feels high or low and needs to be allowed to treat a low with snacks or a high with insulin and wait until the treatment takes effect which is usually around 20 to 30 minutes.

 

Thanks for outlining what you did.  The paperwork that a homeschool group gave me was absolutely insane.  I feel sorry for those who have to deal with schools if they have to do all of this stuff.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Josie

[Julie of KY]

I think you will get at least most of what you want with a doctor's recommendation. I would hope they give you stop the clock breaks, but I have no real knowledge of how they do this.

 

Good luck. The paperwork's a pain.

[Gwen in VA]

I have a kid with T1D. We chose not to get accommodations, though we know many T1D's who did get accommodations.

 

The negatives of accommodations that we were concerned about --

1) We already had a bad experience with 1-on-1 testing in the public schools for an AP exam for a different child. Stop-the-clock testing would involve 1-on-1, which we didn't want to do again EVER. (Ds wanted to take an AP exam not offered by the school system or any local private schools. It was nice of the school system to proctor the AP exam, but he could have done without the phone calls and noises that the proctor engaged in.)

2) We have heard horror stories and personally know one T1D where the accommodations were "lost" in the shuffle. The girl we know personally didn't get to start her SAT until 1.5 hours after the normal start time while the school and the CB ironed things out. (Again, undoubtedly it was our school district, but that was the school that my dd would have taken the SAT at.)

 

Dd has great BS control so we were not expecting her to need to test or eat. If she were in less good control we would have gone the accommodations route. (Since she couldn't eat during the exam our parting words to her were, "Remember, we want  you alive at the end of the exam, so if you have to walk out in order to eat, do it!")

 

She did plenty of trial runs such as taking the PSAT multiple times without accommodations. She is in a performance-related career, so she has plenty of experience testing every 20 minutes for the three or four hours before an event so she feels her blood sugar is completely stable for the next few hours. (Starting as much as 48 hours before a big event like the SAT she watches her diet even more like a hawk than she usually does.)

 

Negatives of NOT getting accommodations are obvious --

1) Can't test

2) Can't eat

3) If the student goes low, she needs to walk out

 

Best wishes -- I hate the choice of "no accommodations" or "must be handled individually". I would so love to have a student who is known to be T1D to the school where he/she is testing be able to test and snack without a fuss! (But that's not going to happen in this world anytime soon!)

Edited July 12, 2016 by Gwen in VA

[Julie of KY]

FYI - my son has individual testing for his accommodations and has now done this 4 times through our public school. It has been a great experience for him - even finished earlier than everyone else on the PSAT since they took forever to go through all the rules in the big group.

 

I think your experience would be very individual based on how your public school treats both students that need accommodations as well as attitudes towards homeschoolers. Our school has been very easy to work with - they say if the College Board says he needs accommodations, they'll do whatever they say. They have to bring in someone extra to do individual testing so it's definately a hassle for them, but they don't give us any problems.

[EKS]

I dealt with getting accommodations for dyslexia.  I got the form needed directly from the College Board by calling them (they were very nice and helpful).  I think the form was at most two pages long.  I attached the report from my son's dyslexia doctors that gave his diagnoses, evaluation results, and accommodation recommendations.  

 

I would ask your daughter's diabetes doctor to write a letter explaining her diagnosis and accommodation needs.  The letter should be on the doctor's letterhead.  In fact, you could take a stab at writing it yourself to save the doctor time.  If nothing else, it will give him/her something to go on.

 

In response to the poster who had problems with individual testing--my son ended up being tested individually (on two separate occasions) because no one else had accommodations.  There were no problems.  

[Gwen in VA]

OP -- you might try asking this on the one of the many "parents of T1D" boards. When my dd was going through the AP/SAT2/SAT/PSAT testing period in her life, I asked lots of questions on those boards and the people were great about sharing their experiences.

 

[FaithManor]

Good luck Our doctor filled out all the paperwork and sent in all the documentation for eldest ds to get accommodations after the car accident, because he needed breaks in order to stretch his injure leg due to bad muscle spasms, and he needed longer during restroom breaks because he was on crutches and very slow moving.

 

We were granted the accommodations from ACT technically. It was a pain, but they finally said yes. BUT the testing site refused to provide a proctor for the accommodations. ACT refused to refund our money or even apologize, and the public school principal and superintendent who received the complaint, said "TOUGH!" That was that.

 

Sigh...

 

[Eos]

My T1D daughter did have time/eating/checking accommodations for the SAT, which was actually sort of funny.  She took it alone with a proctor at a high school an hour away.  The proctor was a vice-principal at the high school, but just happened to be a homeschool dad of 6 - a lovely surprise!  Getting the accommodation was needlessly complicated, in that only homeschoolers were required to have a snail mail letter granting the request, as opposed to everyone else who managed to get their letter from the mystical world of email....this meant she had to take it 6 weeks later than she originally signed up for.  I called the College Board and took copious notes.  They seem pretty on top of all the information we needed, but having to wait instead of just submitting online was ridiculous.  She did need a form letter from her nurse educator, which that office does for many kids all the time, so no hold up there.  It was helpful for us to walk down this path, as she now has time/eating/checking accommodations in college - easier to sign up for than the SAT in part because we had been through it before.  I'm sorry your child has T1D, peaceful wishes to your family.

[Josie]

UPDATE:  

 

The process for SAT accommodations for type 1 diabetes turned out to be fairly easy.  She has all the accommodations we requested.  Call the College Board's Services for Students with Disabilities at 212-713-8333 before you begin the process.  They are very helpful.  NOW for the part of getting the school to accommodate...   :mellow: