How to Support SLCN Students Through Exam Season

Exam season is right around the corner, and, for many students, revision has begun. Now, we all know how stressed students are in this period – now imagine the extra added stress for a child with Speech Language and Communication Needs. 

But what challenges do children with SLCN face and how can you offer support during exam season?

 

What is SLCN?

Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) are the most commonly reported Special Education Need in primary schools, with 2-3 children in every classroom experiencing a lifelong SLCN. 

SLCN defines any problems an individual experiences that impact how effectively they communicate with others. This can range from difficulties in developing language, the speech sounds they make or even difficulties with nonverbal communication, such as eye contact or non-literal meaning.

Despite 10% of students experiencing lifelong SLCN, resources and support often stop by secondary schools. As this is where social communication skills and life skills typically come into play more frequently, they must continue to receive support.

 

What challenges do students with SLCN face during exams?

Children with SLCN face a variety of challenges that may impact their revision period and how they perform in exams. 

Attention and Listening

Those with SLCN might also experience difficulties with attention and listening. Unfortunately, this means they are more prone to missing key information in class and revision sessions. In addition, they may struggle with their timekeeping during exams.

Expressive/Receptive Language Delay

Language delay is also common, particularly in areas of social disadvantage. Those that experience difficulties understanding or using spoken language, they may also find that their vocabulary is limited. This can impact the way they have learnt subjects at school, not picking up on key subject vocabulary or being able to take in the full extent of information.

Reading Comprehension

Students who struggle with reading comprehension may also struggle with exams, as these are primarily in written format. They may also struggle with grammar and syntax, making it difficult to provide written answers. 

Selective Mutism

For individuals that experience Selective Mutism (SM), exams can be an issue! In extreme cases of SM, even written communication can cause extreme anxiety, meaning that exams can be even more anxiety-triggering than most! 

Comorbidities

Speech, Language and Communication Needs often have comorbidities, such as anxiety and depression. In times of high stress, like exam periods, these comorbidities may be more apparent, and cause more challenges for the student. 

 

What arrangements might children with SLCN need in exams?

Children with SLCN might need some additional support during their exams to make sure they have the best chance to achieve their full potential. Some of these arrangements might include:

• Additional time to support their anxiety, attention and listening skills, or reading comprehension. 

• Modified papers in cases like dyslexia or other forms of SLCN may make reading or comprehension difficult.

• Laptops may be easier for children with SLCN to lay out ideas and structure their answers.

• Readers for individuals that struggle with written comprehension might better understand the questions in spoken language.

 

What can you do to support students with SLCN through exam season?

So, you know what to do for their actual exams – but how can you support them through the build-up and revision period? 

One of the best things you can do is ensure you have a communication friendly environment for them to learn and recap information in. This is all about the feng shui of the room – how is it laid out? What’s the seating plan? Are there visual aids? Can the child access all visual and auditory resources easily? All of these impact the accessibility of your classroom and how the child absorbs information. 

The next step is providing a safe, quiet revision space. If they are constantly surrounded by noise, they may be easily overwhelmed or struggle with processing the information they are reading and writing. A secure revision space, ideally in a communication friendly environment, will make it much easier for them to revise. 

Most subjects will have a subject-specific vocabulary. Those with language or vocabulary delays may struggle with word-finding for this vocabulary. To support this, try pre-teaching vocabulary or aid their understanding during revision sessions. You might want to do this with associated questions (e.g. ‘What does it sound like?’/‘Are there other words with the same meaning?’). Alternatively, provide visual aids, like flashcards, to demonstrate the words meaning. 

Finally, ensure all arrangements for their exam are in place. Check in advance what the student needs to give them the best chance to achieve their full potential in exams!

 

How can parents support their children at home?

Now, we all know revision and exam season pressure doesn’t disappear when they walk out of school gates! It’s important this support continues in the child’s home – but this might be in different ways.

Again, make sure you are providing a safe and quiet revision space at home also. Students will do most of their revision at home – so it’s essential they have a designated space where they can separate their home life from their revision space!

Whilst revision is important, making sure the child has time for rest and recreation is crucial too. An overworked student can’t perform their best! Give them a good couple of hours in an evening to rest up and enjoy a hobby to switch their brain off for a little while. 

Create a safe space in your home. Exams are overwhelming – and for students with SLCN, overstimulation is entirely possible. Make sure they have a safe space at home where they can be uninterrupted and wind down. Make sure it has a few of their favourite things sprinkled in there too – as well as a few sensory items.

And last but not least, make sure they’re having plenty of brain food! During exams, it’s crucial to keep up good nutrition and make sure that your child isn’t feeling sluggish. Make sure they’re geared up and ready to take on the world!

 

How can Chatterbug help?

At Chatterbug, we want to transform lives by empowering children and young people to achieve their full potential. That’s why we’ve got your back for exam season and beyond!

For schools and other education settings, we can provide targeted- and specialist-level input for your students, based on the needs of your students and setting. We will even make sure the intervention is consistent for the best chance of success by including teachers and parents every step of the way.

Additionally, we also offer a wide range of training courses to upskill your staff and make your setting more accessible. We have set dates for the training on our website, but this can take place online or face-to-face (if you’re near our locations!) bespoke to your setting if these dates don’t work for you!

For parents of children and students with SLCN, we also offer private therapy. We can offer this in person or even virtually with our telehealth service.

 

Get in touch

Interested in the many ways we can help support your teachers, students and children? Contact the team for quotes or more information on:

Phone: 0113 240 8510         Email: [email protected] / [email protected] 

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