Test Anxiety Stinks!

My daughter came home this week and immediately began to lose it over a test she was scheduled to take. A test, A TEST! I cannot take a test. This is absolutely awful. I will fail. I will never pass this test! Although I tried to reassure her that all would be well, secretly I stressed out with her. I believe my daughter has a strong Individual Education Plan, (“IEP”) and a strong team of educators to implement the plan. BUT anxiety is anxiety. Accommodations or not – when a person on the spectrum is having challenges – everyone has to be patient.

The truth is I had no idea how she would perform on a standardized test. Would she stare at the test? Would she refuse to take the test? Could she focus for that length of time?

We prepped as best we could. We encouraged her to go to sleep early. We organized for the day- more so than usual. We provided her with extra snacks on the day of the test and gave her additional encouragement.

I was a wreck all day and then she called. Hi mom- test was great. All done. Can I use my phone in class?

I was caught off guard. Ahh- sure honey. And that was that.

Test anxiety stinks for students and parents. What we can do for our ASD students is keep calm. It is clearly an ongoing lesson.