Gingerbread Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Hello everyone - my youngest DD has Asperger's (high functioning autism) and the symptoms of this, for her, include anxiety problems and "freezing", being unable to smile, finding it difficult to make eye contact, smile etc - which are are all exacerbated when she is out of her comfort zone. She is currently working on Grade 6 RAD ballet with a view to taking the exam possibly in the summer. As she is entitled to certain special provisions at school to help her cope with her GCSE exams, I am wondering whether there is any possibility of the RAD taking into account her learning disability in a similar way? She works so hard and is a lovely little dancer - just does it for fun and exercise, no ambition career wise, but only ever scrapes Merits in her RAD exams despite all her hard work and potential to be the best in the class, according to her teacher. Her older sister is at vocational school and never had any issues of this sort - sailed through exams, auditions etc with only the "normal" level of worry/anxiety. Dance teacher reckons my youngest potentially could have been maybe even better than her older sister! so her learning disability definitely has held her back - and I am now at the stage where I'm wondering whether it is worth informing the RAD of the situation. Or do they not recognise such issues? I wonder if anyone could let me know, or whether anyone has had or is having a similar experience with their DD? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ja Sm Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I am sure others will be able to advise you on this, but I understand that there is something like special consideration marks. I thinks you teacher has to register any need with the RAD. Best of luck to her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingerbread Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Ah, thank you - I will talk to her teacher. Still interested to hear of anyone else's experiences. xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Your daughter would still have to perform to the same standard but special adjustments means that adjustments can be made to how the exam is run to accommodate your ds's needs. Off the top of my head it would be things like having the examiner give direct instructions eg would you like to go to the barre - answer - no from an aspie or can you show me your character dance - answer - yes - because they can but don't actually dance because they've only been asked can they! Consideration of sensory issues or distractions, fine motor issues (changing shoes for example) & not being expected to make conversation/maintain eye contact. You can apply for the exam to be taken solo instead ofvthe group of 4 if the presence of others is a distraction. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Picturesinthefirelight Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 http://www.rad.org.uk/documents/exam-docs/copy_of_ReasonableAdjustmentsandSpecialConsiderationPoliciesandProcedures.pdf We havnt applied for anything but dd did have a melt down when her shoe elastic snapped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 As others have said you need to talk to her teacher so that a form can be filled out and sent to the RAD to register her special needs. She will still be assessed according to normal criteria but the examiner will be aware of it. A friend of my youngest was registered with the RAD, though she only took exams up to about grade 4. They allowed her to take the exam on her own and allowed extra time to talk to her - in part the extra time was to help settle her nerves. She had dyspraxia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aballetlife Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I can't really help much but I do know there is the special consideration mark which you can apply for, a girl at my old dance school has bad arthritis which obviously affected her performance so she had a special consideration mark. I'm not sure under what circumstances it applies but it's worth looking into Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dance*is*life Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I put one girl in for the Grade 5 exam with special conditions. She had a medical condition which gave her extremely weak muscle tone. We had to provide a medical certificate to get it approved. The strange thing was that the examiner did not get that and I had to explain the problem to her just before the exam. She told me that as far as marking was concerned, she had to stick to the criteria, so the girl got a very low pass mark. However I suspect that without the special conditions she might have failed her. What I am trying to say is that if your daughter gets Merit without the special conditions, she will probably get similar marks with them. However if the examiner does know the situation and is able to make your daughter feel more comfortable in the exam, then she might well succeed in performing better and raise her mark, so it probably is worth while asking your teacher to arrange this for you. Very best of luck to your daughter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evie Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 My disabled daughter did her RAD examinations with special conditions when she was very young in grade 1. She was given a low Mark, whereas her sister had a high Mark. I think she felt like a disabled ballet dancer, even though she aS still relatively young and gave up. However, we went on to ballroom for a while which she absolutely loved and even did the odd competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dance*is*life Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Her mother and I didn't tell my student that we had asked for special conditions, so I think she felt okay in the exam. The low mark did put her off doing another exam, but she carried on dancing until she left school. There were some exercises she couldn't do so I used to give her a simple solo whilst, for example, the others were doing turns in a circle - she was very bright - she knew what I was doing and appreciated it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Good luck to your daughter who sound like a fantastic young lady. I do hope the examiner would be informed of your daughters condition, so that she could make your daughter more comfortable during her exam. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingerbread Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) thank you so much for all the helpful replies. I will be talking to her dance teacher after her next class and see what arrangements can be made. I haven't used the ballet.co forum for what seems like ages, and as soon as I post again i get all this support.... thank you everybody!! Edited March 9, 2015 by Gingerbread 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessandtheFrog Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Hey I have HFA!!! The only thing I can say is that I never look the examiner in the eye. For me I look just above and in their direction - so a point in the wall. You would generally be in a big hall or something similar and the examiner would mainly be writing and only watching you when you dance. The only bad experiences I have had is when I was younger I was awful because I had such bad motor skills, if it wasn't for ballet my motor skills would still be really bad and in my last graded exam in one of my last dance I had a weird shaking thing which docked me two points off an extinction!! I was so annoyed but you have to look back and laugh! Don't worry about that happening because everyone is different just remember "So you've met one person with autism? Well you've met ONE person with autism"???? That is all I can comment on, hope it helps???? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullContretemps Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Don't really have much to add other than that I think the people who said you are entitled to reasonable adjustments but will still be marked by the criteria are right. Don't know whether special consideration would change it at all or not, but worth asking I guess (maybe they would give something extra for the performance section or something?). RAD aren't always the most accommodating, probably because they have very high standards and reputation to maintain, but it doesn't make it any easier for those at a disadvantage. I do also have AS, but have never bothered to declare it for 2 reasons. I was never diagnosed until adulthood anyway so would only be the most recent exam I could have tried with, but also I didn't feel for me it would make much difference. But as PrincessandtheFrog pointed out, one person with autism is one person with autism. For me it is almost easier to perform to an examiner as I don't know them and will never meet them again, than to show feeling in class where it is very vulnerable because I spend time with those people every week. It sounds like your dd's issues are mostly with anxiety and performance so maybe think whether there is anything the examiner could do to make that easier for her: it is all about what would help her, not just a 'generic' 'person with AS' Not sure I've helped, but sometimes it's just nice to know there are others out there Let us know how things go! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 A lot of people with AS are literal thinkers. I don't know about your daughter, but keeping instructions clear may be a big help, especially in a very anxious state. If the examiner was made aware then she/he could be more understanding when giving instructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessandtheFrog Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 This is a random fact that I've just heard of but apparently eating a banana calms your nerves so just before an audition/ exam, eat a banana. Don't know if this is true or not but I also agree with FullContretemps, I find it easier to do an exam because it's likely you'll never see the examiner again rather than a show which I personally find more stressful 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessandtheFrog Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Oh, and make sure you have a rehearsal in the same room as the exam, often in my exam rehearsals I'm terrible as I am getting used to everything as it is a new setting etc. and I do sometimes freeze or don't do as well as I could've done. Sorry, lots of things are flooding to my memory! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingerbread Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) Thank you! good to hear experiences from those of you also on the spectrum...... it's so true that actually performing for an examiner is easier for her because she won't see the examiner again. DD has definitely mentioned this feeling. I guess the problem is with the rehearsing/practising with the class and teacher. DD has the dvd and practises religiously in the sitting room at home, but NO ONE is permitted entry into the room whilst this is going on... (fair enough though)! Especially not her older sister when she's home. Sadly, DD often comes out of the sitting room angry and upset, saying she just can't do it. But she does keep going though! Edited March 10, 2015 by Gingerbread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngatheart Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) The likely problem with her marks would be due to the performance element, which is an impoerant aspect of RAD exams but a major problem for someone with AS. As has previously been said above, special consideration will not change her mark but should explain some of her mannerisms/lack of smiling etc to the examiner who may treat her more sympathetically if she understands her better. It is important that she does try & smile, and does not "stare" at the examiner - she should try to project her gaze over the "audience". Edited March 10, 2015 by youngatheart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullContretemps Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Don't know if it would help if she can try and think of a smile as part of the dancing - you know, turn out from the hips, stretch your legs and feet, engage your stomach muscles and smile. Maybe not, or might end up as a fixed grimace which can be worse! Just an idea. I know all my teachers (who don't know I'm on the spectrum) always comment on the mad faces I pull when dancing! What you said about her practising just took me right back to schooldays! I had completely forgotten but I was just the same with music. I hated practising when anyone was around and would go over and over something getting crosser and crosser and it would go worse and worse and half the time I'd end up storming off in floods of tears. Makes sense now I know about AS! At least she won't have this problem in exams - it's one try and that has to do. But maybe try and help her with tactics for moving on and starting afresh - can be a thing if something does go wrong we write the whole thing off as a non-starter. Would there be any possibility of her having some time on her own in the studio some time before the exam if that would be helpful to her? Mock exam with a teacher she doesn't know who can feed back to her/her teacher? Hard to know what will help for someone else, but at least you are behind her and looking for the best for her. Helping her work out triggers and what makes her anxious is a really helpful thing you can do for her though. My Mum is fantastic for that, even before we knew what it was. She can ask the right questions to help me understand myself, and when I know what's going on in me it's easier to deal with and react less irrationally. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzpaws Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 A few years ago, when DD took RAD grade 2 or 3, there was a girl with mild autism who used to come to the classes with her cousin. She took the exam with the other girls and wasn't a distraction in any way, which I always felt was a remarkable achievement. The ballet teacher did inform the examiner (and had possibly informed RAD as well), but unfortunately this girl was failed. I felt this was very harsh as it was harder for her to take the exam than it was for the other girls to pass. She was presented with a special certificate that the principal made, which did soften the blow, but I really can't see how a low pass would have hurt. She didn't take any more exams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 What a dreadful shame, Jazzpaws. Wouldn't it have been nice for her to have done an RAD Presentation Class instead? Less pressure and she would have got a nice "official" certificate from the RAD. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dance*is*life Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I do think it depends on the examiner. One of my best students had a panic attack in the exam and was unable to complete the exam. I think she was Grade 4. The examiner whispered to me that she would make sure she passed the exam nevertheless, because she saw how good she was. She gave her all 9s and 10s for what she had done and she passed. I always thought that was very nice of her because a few marks less and she would have failed. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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