The importantance of clarity in remedy seeking

Two weeks ago, Caitlyn had her first states and capitals test, which involved 4 states (8 items to remember). She made a 100 on this and we spent 2-3 hours that week studying it (a reasonable time for us - memorization is one of her weakest skills.)

Last week, they were supposed to do 11 states (22 items to remember). This is beyond her threshold, as I've learned. The way the testing was designed was that students were given a blank map with the state boundaries drawn on, and were to write all state names and capitals from memory. This is 5th grade, by the way. She froze completely and simply sat at her desk until the papers were collected. She was assigned a make up test for the following Monday; we spent a good 7 hours studying (in addition to what we'd done through the week). She again made a 100 on the makeup test.

I emailed her teacher for that course and explained what had happened (her anxiety, threshold for memorization etc). I asked if she could either be given extended time for complex memorization testing, or if it could be broken down into smaller chunks (10 items or less). I did not expect a quick reply, and since this is not yet included in Caitlyn's IEP, I wasn't sure if the teacher would go for it.

This morning, to my immense glee, I received an email that the OT had prepared alternative testing for Caitlyn; she'll do 2 tests for each 1 unit planned (half the amount at a given time), AND will have a word bank to use for prompting herself. WOOHOO!!

I feel confident that she will continue to master the material and succeed in the curriculum if we continue to receive this type of support/accomodation. She is a very smart child; sometimes she just needs a little extra time or support to succeed.