The school year is nearing the final weeks, which brings both excitement and dread for many students and parents. Year end is usually the time when projects wrap up and papers are due. Final exams are inevitable for most classes, which can raise the anxiety in children and parents. Those who have learning problems or special educational needs often find this time to be quite stressful.
- Students who are gifted may feel pressured to perform well and ‘prove’ their intelligence.
- Pupils with learning disabilities in specific subjects may experience anxiety in that class.
- Other children, such as those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), may find it difficult to maintain motivation and see an increase in procrastination due to their executive function deficits, resulting in more problems with study skills such as planning, organizing and attending.
Ways You Can Help
Speak to Your Child’s Teacher – If you find your child is struggling with end-of-the-year stress or anxiety, there are many things you can do to help. First, it may be useful to enlist the support and guidance of your child’s teachers. They usually appreciate parents who are involved and invested in their child’s education. The caveat to this would be parents who are over-involved or wait until things reach crisis proportions to reach out.
Ask your child’s teacher for suggestions about study skills, time management and helping your child stay on task, if those are problems she or he faces. Although you are the expert on your child, teachers are usually the experts in managing a classroom, and they can often provide great insight on how to help students with special educational needs prepare for their end-of-school-year finals.
Get a Professional Opinion – Another option is to speak to a child psychologist, who can offer assistance to children who experience exam stress and anxiety. Sometimes the cause of exam stress and anxiety is an underlying learning disability or misunderstanding of your child’s strengths and weaknesses. A psychoeducational assessment may help in this regard. Parents may also learn skills and strategies to help with homework, school projects and preparation for final exams by talking to a psychologist who has expertise in learning disabilities and helping children cope with anxiety.
Make a Plan – The following strategies may be helpful for dealing with exam stress:
- Be prepared! Help your child create a calendar that lists all of their deadlines and create a study schedule.
- Be sensitive to your child’s emotions – they may take their anger and frustration out on you, they may lose their appetite, they may retreat and ignore you. The important thing to do is remain supportive, understanding and calm!
- Don’t add to their pressure by setting high expectations.
- If needed, get a tutor to help them prepare for the subjects they have difficulty with.
- For students with ADHD/executive function deficits, anxiety or a tendency to procrastinate, get an online coach who will keep them accountable and help them organize their study schedule.
It is also worth mentioning that parents who model the behavior they want from their children often see good results. Set an example for your child by adhering to a schedule, prioritizing work before play and planning for big projects and deadlines.