The Student Room Group

Dysgraphia / stress / mental health

Hello. I think I have a dysgraphia-like condition that manifests primarily when I am stressed, such a few months around the exam period. My constant stammer also gets particularly bad to the point that sometimes I can't speak and I struggle with fine motor skills such as threading a needle. At other times, however, I feel like I write just fine. I'm not quite sure how it is best to compress my story, so I'm sorry if this may at first seem too long and not to the point.

When approaching my AS exams, I got immensely stressed, and I believe that the stress triggered mental health issues like insomnia and OCD-like symptoms. For example, I couldn't leave my schoolbag to the point that I had to take it to the shower and bed with me; got panic attacks during the night because I felt like I was being watched; was afraid of crossing the street on but a few locations; and had problems making choices as simple as picking a T-shirt to wear or which pen to use. This was also the first year after I'd moved to the U.K. on my own, and because I didn't have my friends / family around me to support, I felt like I was in absolute hell.

By then, I'd already had a history of mild mental health problems like social anxiety and bipolar. However, I never sought medical help until very recently, probably because there is a stigma attached to mental illness and all sorts of disabilities in my home country, and thinking back to it I'm astounded and angry that my parents didn't intervene themselves.

My handwriting got so poor that my teacher got concerned and recommended that I undergo an assessment. The evaluation concluded that I have moderate-to-severe dysgraphia, which entitled me to extra time. However, I ONLY used the report to type my History essays and did NOT use any extra time for my other exams that didn't require too much writing (Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths). The reason was probably that I didn't want any labels attached to me then. Besides, I've always been a good student and by the time I moved to the U.K., I was ahead of the curriculum, so I didn't find A Levels particularly challenging.

Later, I began my uni studies, also in the U.K. I again wasn't feeling great and the exams were much more time-pressured. In spring, all of my tutors started complaining that they couldn't understand my writing, and at one point my counsellor asked if I'd ever had been evaluated for dyslexia (I didn't even bring that up myself). He recommended that I take any extra time I could get, and I believe it really helped. In my second year, I took extra time as well. However, probably because I optimised my study strategy, got counselling and started taking medication, my writing has significantly improved to the point that I don't even think that's my main problem any more (it's less clear than most people's and I don't write as fast but it's readable). Although I did have problems sleeping and some moderate disturbances around the exam period, I came very high up the ranks.

This make me feel guilty because I don't think I've ever had dyslexia as such but other issues which caused of semblance of it. I feel like I've been misinforming the university about the true nature of my problems, and that it has been if not unfair but incorrect on my behalf. I think that I don't want to have extra time this year, especially because it is my final and I don't want anything that could make the results less of my own. If I do take extra time, however, I want it to be because of my actual problem, that is mental health. What do you think I should do? If I say that I no longer want extra time / want it for a different reason, would it seem strange?
Reply 1
Original post by aloilmclelan
Hello. I think I have a dysgraphia-like condition that manifests primarily when I am stressed, such a few months around the exam period. My constant stammer also gets particularly bad to the point that sometimes I can't speak and I struggle with fine motor skills such as threading a needle. At other times, however, I feel like I write just fine. I'm not quite sure how it is best to compress my story, so I'm sorry if this may at first seem too long and not to the point.

When approaching my AS exams, I got immensely stressed, and I believe that the stress triggered mental health issues like insomnia and OCD-like symptoms. For example, I couldn't leave my schoolbag to the point that I had to take it to the shower and bed with me; got panic attacks during the night because I felt like I was being watched; was afraid of crossing the street on but a few locations; and had problems making choices as simple as picking a T-shirt to wear or which pen to use. This was also the first year after I'd moved to the U.K. on my own, and because I didn't have my friends / family around me to support, I felt like I was in absolute hell.

By then, I'd already had a history of mild mental health problems like social anxiety and bipolar. However, I never sought medical help until very recently, probably because there is a stigma attached to mental illness and all sorts of disabilities in my home country, and thinking back to it I'm astounded and angry that my parents didn't intervene themselves.

My handwriting got so poor that my teacher got concerned and recommended that I undergo an assessment. The evaluation concluded that I have moderate-to-severe dysgraphia, which entitled me to extra time. However, I ONLY used the report to type my History essays and did NOT use any extra time for my other exams that didn't require too much writing (Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths). The reason was probably that I didn't want any labels attached to me then. Besides, I've always been a good student and by the time I moved to the U.K., I was ahead of the curriculum, so I didn't find A Levels particularly challenging.

Later, I began my uni studies, also in the U.K. I again wasn't feeling great and the exams were much more time-pressured. In spring, all of my tutors started complaining that they couldn't understand my writing, and at one point my counsellor asked if I'd ever had been evaluated for dyslexia (I didn't even bring that up myself). He recommended that I take any extra time I could get, and I believe it really helped. In my second year, I took extra time as well. However, probably because I optimised my study strategy, got counselling and started taking medication, my writing has significantly improved to the point that I don't even think that's my main problem any more (it's less clear than most people's and I don't write as fast but it's readable). Although I did have problems sleeping and some moderate disturbances around the exam period, I came very high up the ranks.

This make me feel guilty because I don't think I've ever had dyslexia as such but other issues which caused of semblance of it. I feel like I've been misinforming the university about the true nature of my problems, and that it has been if not unfair but incorrect on my behalf. I think that I don't want to have extra time this year, especially because it is my final and I don't want anything that could make the results less of my own. If I do take extra time, however, I want it to be because of my actual problem, that is mental health. What do you think I should do? If I say that I no longer want extra time / want it for a different reason, would it seem strange?


Have your MH issues been diagnosed? If they have then take the evidence to your student support department. They can use that to adjust your individual exam arrangements (if needed), or keep it the same as it currently is. For what it's worth, I rarely used my extra writing time, apart from when I was hallucinating in exams (but I also had rest breaks and extra time at university, among other individual exam arrangements, so yeah).

Honestly, I don't think you've been dishonest. They don't give extra writing/non-writing time out that easily (or rest breaks, depends what your university calls them tbh), especially at university level. There has to be a valid reason.

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