The Student Room Group

Is there a way to not do the speaking exam (GCSE)?

I have ASD which causes me to have severe anxiety especially when speaking in front of a class, I also struggle to understand people’s emotions by their faces so I cannot tell if they think I’m awful or not, plus I have OCD which makes me feel the need to do certain movements a specific amount of times it’s embarrassing and very scary. I’ve always avoided it in any way possible as I just cannot get the words out and I just have a complete breakdown. Is there anyway I can not do a presentation for the speaking exam in English GCSE or make it easier for me to handle? Any information would be very much appreciated and I’m sorry for the long message....
The speaking presentation doesn’t have to be done in front of a class it can just be done in front of one person (like an examiner) so ask your school if they could make an exception for you and let you do it in a less stressful environment. Honestly I don’t know why some schools do it in front of a class as so many people don’t like speaking in front of peers and it’s stressful enough doing the speech in front of just one other person.

You’ve got this!
Original post by Anonymous
I have ASD which causes me to have severe anxiety especially when speaking in front of a class, I also struggle to understand people’s emotions by their faces so I cannot tell if they think I’m awful or not, plus I have OCD which makes me feel the need to do certain movements a specific amount of times it’s embarrassing and very scary. I’ve always avoided it in any way possible as I just cannot get the words out and I just have a complete breakdown. Is there anyway I can not do a presentation for the speaking exam in English GCSE or make it easier for me to handle? Any information would be very much appreciated and I’m sorry for the long message....

I am so sorry to hear you suffer with this. I know it’s hard but maybe in some way try letting your class including your teacher know how you feel and what you go through may help. People can be more understanding than we think and once it’s out in the open you could feel slightly better.
I am sorry I can’t help but I wish you good luck and strength for the future.

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