Dyslexia Accommodations Aren’t as Glamorous as You Think

So maybe you know someone who's dyslexic and they get time and a half accommodations on their tests. Sounds pretty awesome, right? Who wouldn't want that? Well, it's a bit more complicated than that.

Hey everyone, we're Nick and Sonja and this is Dyslexia Journey. And today we want to cover how accommodations, while they can be really, really important, aren't sometimes as glamorous as they might appear or as like sort of useful, I guess, as they might appear. Right. Their accommodations, as we discussed in a recent episode, are very important for your dyslexic kids. So I don't want anyone to take this episode as discouraging people from seeking out appropriate accommodations. But this is kind of more of a public service announcement kind of thing where there are some downsides. And so it's important for everyone to understand that they aren't really as glamorous as you might think, as Sonja said.

Yeah. And often we focus just on, you know, the idea and understanding that it's an issue of equity, you know, where if someone thinks it might be unfair that it's an issue of equity to try to, you know, bring someone up to having the same access. But in this case, we're actually going to be talking about some of the downsides. So you can really see how it plays out in real life.

Yeah. And so the first and kind of primary accommodation that we're going to be discussing today is extra time on tests, because this is one of the most common accommodations for dyslexia. It's one of the most important, in our opinion. But it has some downsides. And so if you think about it, I guess the best way to phrase this is, is if you have more time to take your tests, it means you're going to be spending more time taking tests.

Right. And so we'll break that down a little bit for you to so you can see how that might not might be a difficult thing in certain ways, too. Yeah, exactly. So first of all, as we've discussed before, and as many of you are aware, it takes a lot of energy and mental effort for dyslexic kids to focus. And so when dyslexic kids are taking a test and when they're really, really focused on taking that test and if they're really on, that takes so much mental energy that it's hard for them to focus for a standard, maybe hour test.

And so by by adding the extra time, which which is probably necessary for them in order to process all the written material in the test, it does mean that they have to focus for perhaps 50 percent more, perhaps double time, depending on what their accommodation is. So so so really, if you think about it, we are giving the dyslexic kid the accommodation of more time, but we're actually asking them to do more mental effort by focusing for longer for an hour and a half or two hours instead of an hour, which is can be quite challenging.

Right. And so I think anyone can imagine, too, that if they're losing focus on the test, that's also means that, yes, you're getting the extra time, which might help you. But the fact that your focus is is becoming, you know, not as good can actually like harm how well you're doing the test. So it's this balance sort of between how long you're taking and how long a dyslexic kid or anyone can focus and and the fact that the extra time is needed.

Yeah, exactly. And one might say, oh, well, they should just break it up. They can do half one day and half the next. And the problem with that is that most teachers are going to be very reluctant to do that because they're going to be worried about cheating. They're going to be worried you're going to go home and look up the answers or whatever and then come back the next day. So so like that would be better.

But most teachers are not are just not going to allow that. Right. And so here let's talk about a specific example of this. That is an extra extreme case because it's a long test anyway. So if you're taking more like a standardized test, usually, you know, let's say it's an AP test or the SATs. An AP test usually is around three hours. And so a time and a half, which is the most common time accommodation, would mean that it's four and a half hours of testing.

So already you can see that that gets to be really long, especially for an already long test, just in the way we just talked about, which is in terms of focus. But if I break that down even further, I think, I think, you know, what you might not realize is so there's different sections of the test, for example. And so it often will take even longer than four and a half hours, maybe closer to five that someone's actually in the testing area because they have to do that.

You at the beginning have to do the thing where you're filling out all the bubbles with the information. And then you do take brief breaks between sections. And so maybe it ends up being more closer to five hours. And then you also, unfortunately, it's not like you can, you know, just do all the sections. And so then it's actually less time and sure, you have to stay there, but you're sitting there and you're done at the end.

It won't work that way because there is the break after each section. So unfortunately, it's really by that like third section where the focus will probably have been lost. Yeah. And I mean, I don't have dyslexia and but I am a computer programmer in my day job and like I can't sit there and focus for five hours on my work without like a lunch break or something. And so expecting anyone to do this, let alone a dyslexic kid who, as we just mentioned, it takes extra mental effort, so much mental effort to focus.

Like to expect someone to be able to do that for five hours is is just not a recipe for success. Well, yeah. And the breaks are not such that you can really eat or anything like that either. So we've got that factor out of in there, too. So so longer, you know, can be really, really quite challenging. So. Yeah. Yeah. So that kind of the second like really big problem with extra time on tests is that the system, the school system is not set up well for this.

So usually a test will be and I'm talking about middle school and high school here. Elementary school, it's a little bit easier because it's a little bit more flexible. But when you have kind of separate classes where each class is an hour or an hour and a half, if you have kind of a black schedule that the tests are usually meant to be done in one class period. And so if you're taking extra time, it's going to take longer than one class period.

And so. So what do you do? You have to either miss your next class, you have to miss lunch. Maybe you have to stay after school, come before school. There are options, but none of them are great. So if you miss if you miss another class, then you have work to make up for that class. And then you get behind in that class. And as we've discussed before, you know, again, that's that's harder for dyslexic kids, especially if you're just like a kid learns better orally and learns better by actually being in class.

Like missing class is going to be kind of detrimental there. Right. And then if you miss lunch or if you have to stay after school, then you're missing social time. You're missing activity time. You're missing downtime. It's just it's just all around negative, really. Yeah. And just to mention college, because I don't know how it is at every single college, but from the personal examples that we've heard, it's a problem there, too, because often you go to a particular center to take the test and it's often at a different time than the exam is actually given.

So, again, scheduling gets really tricky because, you know, it might be at the same time as you have another class or something you're supposed to be attending. Yeah, they'll often and often in college, they'll make you if you have a combination of extra time or whatever, they make you do it earlier than the rest of the class does it. Right. They're worried about cheating again. And and so it's just it's just a hassle all around.

Yeah. And so so another way that this figures in is sort of the challenge of scheduling. Right. This is an extra extra work to actually figure out and do. OK, so this goes to the systemic problem again, where there isn't there isn't a system in place for kids to get extra time just kind of automatically. So your dyslexic kid is going to have to arrange with their teacher for every different teacher, for every different test.

They're going to have to arrange when do I take the test when and so on. Right. So it's it's again that extra mental overhead, that extra just work they have to do. And then if if your dyslexic kid also has ADHD or or any of other kinds of issues that make that makes it more difficult for them to to be organized and to remember things, then that's going to be like an extra hurdle there as well.

Yeah. Yeah. And so, you know, in this video, we're not going to really get into potential solutions to this, but I do think it's possible, you know, just even starting to think about it. Of course, it would require a lot of a lot of change in how scheduling works. But, you know, maybe you'd have specific exam weeks always and you do more exams at those times, like not just during finals. And you'd always make the exam period longer for everyone.

And then you'd make sure it's something, you know, how sometimes there's activities that are like fun, but not essential, you know, that could be could happen for the other students when they're done. I mean, it's obviously not going to be perfect and it would take a lot more thinking out, but it is possible. It's just that when things are done a certain way, it does get very hard to change it. So that is the biggest hurdle, I think.

Yeah. And I think that's a really good point to reframe this a little bit in that this isn't this isn't your it shouldn't be your dyslexic kids problem. This is a systemic problem. But the chances of the system changing anytime soon are, I think, unfortunately, pretty small. So it's something that your dyslexic kids do have to deal with. Yeah. And we're going to talk in, you know, in a in a video really soon about about sort of this trade off and how to think about it.

You know, there's no perfect answer, but like when to consider, like not even maybe using an accommodation, even though it's very important to use them at the same time. So to go onward to there's a couple more things still that like for the for the time being longer for time and a half, for example, still are difficult. So sometimes there's group tests and this is something usually everyone's like, oh, so wonderful.

Right. You have a group test like some, you know, in theory, you're sort of like, you know, someone knows one piece of it and the other person is stronger than the other. And so usually people's grades go up right when they have a group test. Well, group tests are very, very difficult when a group member has the extra time because, you know, it's just it just doesn't really work with that system.

Right. Right. And not to mention that the group tests are, you know, that if if your dyslexic kid is slower at reading, like they're going to have a harder time maybe even keeping up. If people are trying to do it in the compressed time. So then they might not feel as if they're contributing as much because they're they really should have longer. Right. Right. And so even though there's the benefit of the other people helping out, you know, let's say they don't have the extra time.

So it's pretty much ends up being a choice. They either decide to take it alone and have their extra time and maybe feel like it flows better. The timing if they felt like they couldn't contribute or they do the group test and that boosts them. But then there's these other challenges that go along with it, like you just mentioned. Right. Exactly. OK, so one last problem that we thought of regarding extra time on tests is that when you're taking it a separate time or when you're taking longer, the teacher is not always going to be available to answer questions.

So if you're going into another class, the teacher is going to be teaching another class. They're not going to be available to help you. If you're doing it during lunch, the teacher, you know, depending on the schedule, might be teaching a different class, might be at lunch. I mean, so there's a oh, and then the location to sometimes like our daughter ends up just like sitting out in the hallway sometimes taking these tests and then gets distracted by people walking by and whatnot.

Usually for the standardized test, because that is more planned, it is a pretty good location, though, I will say. So that's so that's true. But for the regular daily test, yeah, like extra time for more regular tests. There was a math test she took recently where she said she was out in the hallway and she just. For the, you know, last part of the test, when with the extra time, she just couldn't focus at all because people are walking by and talking to her.

Yeah, yeah, it can be pretty difficult. Yeah. And then and to go back again to the asking teachers questions, that's going to vary in terms of how much it affects each individual student. But, you know, in general, dyslexic kids need to ask more questions. So, again, it's like this trade off for like something that is a different kind of accommodation, if you will, or just a standard thing that they use more of in asking questions about the test.

Yeah. So. All right. So that was mainly all around increased time as an accommodation, increased time for testing. There's just a few other pieces we wanted to bring in about accommodations in general and why they are not as glamorous as they might seem. Yeah. Yeah. So the first one we kind of touched on in this already is that they never happen automatically. So. So as as with asking for extra time on your test for every test, you kind of have to remind your teacher every time like, oh, OK, I get to, you know, type this essay or.

Or I don't have to read aloud in class or I get to pre-record my presentations. It kind of has to be arranged each time with with each teacher. Yeah. And I mean, that, again, might would be probably less true in elementary school where you have the one main teacher. But it really is understandable, like at the other levels, because teachers have so many students when they have multiple classes and they're quite big classes.

So it just is kind of a fact, like they're only human they can. It's hard for them to keep track of all that. So and, you know, it is a good thing, actually, for a student to learn advocacy in that way. However, it's still kind of almost mental, emotional work to do it. Right. And it's hard to it's it's just frustrating when the kind of like, yes, it's important for kids to learn self-advocacy.

But when it's lumped in with the stress of, you know, managing your classes and worrying about your grades and stuff, it just becomes an extra added layer of stress. Right. And then this may be the time to segue into the fact that there's a lot of teachers, too, who try to encourage who try to encourage, like seeing if you can do it at the in the smaller space of time. And it's well-meaning. It's sort of this idea that maybe you can get better and better at it, you know, which I mean, really isn't fundamentally understanding the accommodation.

But because it's, you know, something that's going to be with the person forever, but maybe there'd be some incremental change. You know, if you test, if you took a test every day, maybe you'd get a little faster. I don't know. Or maybe not. But but mainly, I think hopefully you can see that that is difficult because it's like you're trying to advocate and you're getting resistance. And so then it's a whole other. Yeah, I mean, this starts as early as elementary school where a teacher might might say, OK, you know, are you ready to read that book in front of the class today, you know, the next day?

OK, you want to try reading? And where for most kids, it's better to just wait until they feel comfortable and they sort of volunteer to do it. Or sometimes teachers seem to have a misimpression that that in college things will be different. So they're trying to prepare the student, but maybe not understanding that the accommodations are going to also be in college, too. So, yeah. Or for standardized tests, too. A lot of teachers, surprisingly, a lot of teachers don't seem to understand that you can get like extra time on standardized tests as well.

Or maybe they're already realizing that it's so long. Yeah. I mean, that's possible, too, actually. I guess I'm making the assumption. Maybe they're thinking ahead like, oh, my gosh, a five hour test. Wouldn't you be better if you could do it faster? I mean, yes, but. But yeah, but it just doesn't work that way. OK, and so the other kind of general problem with accommodations, well, this may or may not be a problem depending on your particular kid, but it does make you stand out.

And so for anyone who's sensitive about their learning difference or for anyone who is worried about being teased or who is has been teased in the past, have some trauma around that, perhaps like they're going to stand out. So if you're taking extra time on a test, everyone's going to see that you're taking extra time on the test. Like if you're not reading out loud in front of the class, kids are going to notice you're not reading out loud in front of the class.

And, you know, this can be a problem at any level, any age. You know, young kids in early elementary school can be sensitive to teasing and feeling different. Kids in college can be sensitive to feeling different, right? I mean, it's it's it's not specific to any age and it requires a certain level of self-confidence to be able to. Just kind of do what you need to do there without worrying or without being discouraged by what your peers might might think or say.

Right. And I mean, this does actually bring back in the fairness and equity thing again, because sometimes that's just a more general kind of self-confidence about being different. But I think sometimes there is that perception, like that it's not fair. And so and I mean, so the typical thinking, right, would be which is technically true that like any tests, especially like if people are time pressured, that anyone would do better with more time.

Right. But there's still this other factor that that I think is hard sometimes for people to understand and that other students might not understand, which is that we're still trying to get the equity level the same. So even for a dyslexic. So just to run through it for a dyslexic student at time and a half, they're still going to feel time pressured. Right. Because if you need the extra time, it's like to what level are they feeling?

I mean, I would prefer we've talked about this before. We prefer that no one feels time pressured on tests because that's not a good measure of people's learning. But given that there is the time pressure, it'd be more like you're trying to have roughly a similar level of the time pressure feeling for each of them to bring them up to the equity. Yeah, that's a really good way to explain it. And I think this can get especially hard, though, when you get into high school and college where tests are sometimes curved.

So, you know, the the the score that every person gets on the test affects the eventual grade of everyone in the class. Right. So it's like your scores relate to each other. And so you can see how someone who doesn't have dyslexia, who doesn't have accommodations is going to look at this and say, well, wait, this isn't fair. And if you do better on this test, like that's going to bring up the curve for everyone.

Right. Which means that so effectively, let's say someone didn't do well on a test and and it and the dyslexic kid did, let's say, pretty well because they, you know, had the equity of and they were they should have done well because they needed that extra time. But in the way it works with the curving, it it essentially means that if the dyslexic kid had done worse, the other student would have done better with the way the curving works.

Right. So you can see how you might get some pushback from from other kids. Yeah. All right. And then just a couple of specific examples of other kinds of accommodations, just a couple for this particular video and how they might not be as glamorous as they seem. So, for example, one kind of accommodation can be to prerecord a presentation. You know, if a dyslexic kid has more challenges with, you know, trying to look at some notes and go back and forth with looking at the notes as the reminder for what they're supposed to say, like you usually you're allowed some notes.

So sometimes prerecording is one way that that is that is accommodated. But it's actually a lot of work. It can be a lot of work to to to prerecord the presentation. It's a it's it is a slightly different thing in a way in the sense that it sort of is more like because you're doing it ahead. It's like a little more perfect, I guess, in the sense it's like you feel like you are you're really like trying to say each thing exactly.

Well, it's a little less extemporaneous that just automatically happens when you're speaking the other way. And so it usually takes a lot more time to prepare. Yeah, that's true. Not to mention technology, right? You have to sometimes that's easy for kids, especially if they've done it for a while. But you do have to you have to know how to acknowledge yourself, figure it out. Yeah. OK, well, I almost wraps it up.

We do have one other point that we thought of that can make accommodations more difficult. And this is if you, for example, have an accommodation of listening to audio audio books or having someone read it to you. You may not have that available when you're in class. And so if you're given class time, say, to read the book you're supposed to be reading. maybe you might not be allowed. Maybe you listen to audio books on your phone, but you're not allowed to have your phone in class.

So you have to wait until you get home or maybe your parents read it to you. So you have to wait until you get home to listen to your audio book or to have your parents, one of your parents read the book to you. And so you've you've wasted that time in class and then you have to do extra work at home to make up for it. And I would say it's a it's something true in general that it's harder for dyslexic kid to make use of last time.

I guess that's a little beyond just being about an accommodation, but it's just just yeah, it's just more difficult to use the time they're given in class for various reasons. But yeah, so even but sometimes that relates actually to the accommodations that are needed. Yeah, exactly. So hopefully this was helpful. So you so that, you know, if you know someone dyslexic or, you know, maybe you'll feel seen if you are someone who's dyslexic, that it's not it's just not as cushy, not as glamorous as it seems.

But the accommodations, it really is this equity issue. And there's actually, unfortunately, drawbacks to it, too, and tradeoffs to having accommodations. Yeah, with that said, obviously, we are strong believers in accommodations for dyslexia. Don't you know, if you have a dyslexic kid or if you are dyslexic yourself, definitely seek them out. This is more, like we said, educational for kind of everybody else. Like, it's not as glamorous as you might think.

But share your experiences with us. We'd love to hear them. Put some comments on YouTube or message us on the podcast and let us know what you think.