I am a school administrator is being asked by a family to develop a 504 plan for their daughter because of OCD. She has been diagnosed withOCD, panic disorder and bulimia. She is currently in eleventh grade in high honors classes. She reports that the OCD compels her to check off the wrong answer on multiple choice tests although she knows the correct answer so they are asking for oral testing (because she thinks she could say the correct answer just not check off the correct one) or for the multiple choice test to be modified to short answer. She is also asking for the elimination of deadlines on written assignments because she says she does complete the assignments on time she but her OCD prevents her or anyone else in her family from handing them in. Her therapist suggested that she be allowed to do alternate assignments. The problem is we are in a state that requires students (especially those in honor classes) to take very vigorous exit exams in order to get a high school diploma. These exams allow modifications such as questions read, oral testing, etc. but do not permit alteration of the format of the exam. Has anyone every heard of OCD symptoms such as these? I have been in the field seventeen years and have only dealt with the garden variety OCD. Any suggestions or insights welcomed.
Re: Unusual OCD symptoms
It stands to reason that OCD could rear its head in this interesting way.
But what’s the problem? If the tests allow for oral testing, let her have that. Tell her modification to short answer isn’t possible but oral testing is easily possible.
If she’s “faking” an oral tester won’t ‘pollute’ the results in any way. She’ll either know the answers or not.
Re: Unusual OCD symptoms
Is she on medication? Any chance you can get permission for her to write on the multiple choice exam rather than the scantron sheet? If mods are allowed, perhaps a letter from her therapist explaining this phenomena would assist the powers that be in making this decision.
I think rather than extend time on assignments, reducing the breadth or length of the assignment. I frown on time extensions in most cases because things can snowball and it doesn’t teach the student anything.
I still wonder if she is on meds. There are meds. that help these folks a great deal.
Correct me if I am wrong here...
But Section 504 (which allows for those accomodations necessary for children with “other health impairments” to thrive) supercedes any state laws, regs or policies. So exit testing formats, while structured to allow for ease in grading, cannot displace necessary accomodations as provided for under the ADA and it’s various amendments.
The first step is to determine the extent of the OCD/anxiety, and what form the accomodations need to be. I should think that if allowing this honours student to give short answer to demonstrate mastery of general knowledge for graduation is what the TEAM decides is appropriate, that is not such a big deal that it cannot be done.
If your district/state refuses this, it places you in a losing position, and there are plenty of ambulance chasers who would take this through the due process system at no small expense to your district.
There is always the chance that if this girl can receive appropriate help in reducing her OCD/anxiety the point of testing format will become moot by the time it rolls around.
Good luck and please let us know how it turns out.
This sounds like a child who is a high achiever, stressed and in over her head. Perhaps she has test anxiety and marks the wrong questions because of the stress? I have never heard of this type of OCD. Short answers seems like a viable solution to me but the exit exams will be a problem. What about tests where she has to find the false answer and not the correct answer, since she seems to like crossing out the incorrect ones..