How to Talk to Your Teenager About Getting ACT® Accommodations
Read time: 11 min · Last updated: June 20, 2026
You've started to wonder whether your child might qualify for ACT® accommodations. Maybe a teacher flagged something. Maybe you've watched your son or daughter struggle with timed tests for years. Maybe the diagnosis has been there for a while and it just never occurred to anyone to formally pursue testing accommodations. Whatever brought you here, you've done enough reading to think this is worth pursuing.
Now you have to bring it up with your teenager.
That conversation is worth thinking through before you have it. Teenagers respond very differently to the topic of accommodations - some are immediately on board, some are embarrassed, some are skeptical, and some have complicated feelings about their diagnosis that make the whole subject charged. How you frame the conversation at the start shapes how much cooperation you get throughout a process that, frankly, requires a lot of it.
Here is what works.
Lead With the Practical, Not the Clinical
The accommodations process begins with an evaluation - a formal psychoeducational assessment that documents your child's diagnosis and its functional impact. That evaluation involves testing, a professional interviewing your child, and a written report. Your teenager needs to participate willingly for it to go well.
The way a lot of parents open this conversation inadvertently can make it harder. Leading with the diagnosis - "we think your ADHD is affecting your test scores" - can put a teenager on the defensive immediately, especially if they have complicated feelings about the diagnosis or have worked hard to manage their diagnosis. Such a comment frames the accommodation as a response to a deficit, which is not how most teenagers (or adults) want to think about themselves.
A better opening focuses entirely on the test and the stakes. Something like: "The ACT® is a really long, timed exam. The way you've been working at school - with extra time - that same thing is available on the ACT®, but we have to apply for it. I want to make sure you're taking the test under the same conditions you're used to." That framing is honest, practical, and puts the accommodation in context of something the student already uses rather than something new being imposed on them.
"You know how you get extra time on tests at school? That same accommodation is available on the ACT®, but we have to formally apply for it. It's actually a whole process - there's an evaluation, some paperwork, and the school has to submit a request. I want to start that now so it's ready when you need it. Are you open to doing this?"
"I don't really need it. I do fine."
"You might be right that you can get through it. But the ACT® is almost three hours long and it's timed in a way that's different from anything at school. The question isn't whether you can survive without accommodations - it's whether the test would be more accurate with it. And since you already qualify at school, there's no reason not to have it available."
Explain What the Process Actually Asks of Them
One reason teenagers resist is that they picture something more invasive or time-consuming than the process actually is. Knowing what they are signing up for can reduce the friction considerably.
The evaluation itself is the most significant ask if you don't have one already. It is typically a several-hour appointment with a psychologist - a combination of cognitive tests, achievement tests, and a clinical interview. It is not a medical procedure, it is not painful, and it is not a judgment. It is closer to a very long puzzle session. Many students find it interesting once they are in it. Telling your teenager this ahead of time - and being honest that it takes a few hours - sets realistic expectations for them to be onvoard.
Beyond the evaluation, the student's main job is to keep using their school accommodations consistently. The ACT® places real weight on whether a student has an established history of using extended time at school. A student who has the accommodation on paper but never actually requests it in class is undermining their own application for accommodations. Your teenager needs to understand that using accommodations at school between now and the test date is part of the process, not optional.
"The first step is an appointment with a psychologist — it's basically a few hours of tests, some puzzles, some reading tasks, a conversation. It's not a big deal but I need you to bring your whole self to the process. The report they write from it is what we submit to the ACT®."
"A few hours? That sounds awful."
"I know. It's a commitment. But it's a one-time thing, and what comes out of it covers you for the ACT®, for college, and beyond. Also — and this part matters — you need to actually start using your extra time at school. If you've been skipping it because it's awkward, or getting extra informally from your teachers, that needs to stop. Because The ACT® wants to see that you've been using it consistently."
"I don't want to stay after class to finish tests. It's embarrassing."
"I understand that. Let's think about how to make it less visible — whether you use it differently, or request it in a way that draws less attention. But we need it documented. That's non-negotiable for the application, college, and later in life."
Address the "Is This Cheating?" Question Directly
More teenagers ask this than parents expect. A student who has internalized the stigma that accommodations are an unfair advantage will either not use them effectively or will feel quietly ashamed about having them. Neither is a good outcome.
The honest answer is worth giving clearly: accommodations are not an advantage, they are a reflection of what you need to succeed. The ACT® is designed to measure what a student knows. For a student whose disability affects processing speed or reading fluency or sustained attention, standard timing does not measure what they know — it measures what they can do under conditions that disadvantage them in specific. Extended time does not give them new knowledge. It gives them the conditions under which their actual knowledge can be demonstrated.
A useful analogy: a student who needs glasses is not cheating by wearing them during a test. The glasses do not make the student smarter. They correct for a condition that would otherwise prevent the student from seeing what is in front of them. The test is measuring knowledge — not the ability to perform under conditions that work against a specific disability.
"I want to ask you something directly — do you feel like this is somehow unfair to other students?"
"Kind of, yeah. Everyone else has to do it in the regular time."
"Everyone else doesn't have what you have. The extra time isn't giving you answers — it's removing an obstacle that other students don't face. Think of it this way: if you needed glasses and the test had tiny print, giving you glasses wouldn't be cheating. It would just be making the test fair. That's what this is."
"I guess. But it still feels weird."
"That feeling might not go away completely, and that's okay. But I don't want you leaving points on the table because of a feeling — especially when the whole point of the accommodation is that the test reflects what you actually know."
Colleges Cannot See It
This one matters to a lot of teenagers, and it is worth stating clearly and early. ACT® score reports do not indicate that a student tested with accommodations. There is no flag, no notation, no asterisk. A college admissions office receiving a score report has no way of knowing the student had extended time. The score is reported as a score, and nothing else.
This was not always the case — for many years, some testing organizations flagged accommodated scores. That practice ended. Today, both the ACT® and the SAT® report scores without any indication of how the student tested. Your teenager does not need to disclose this anywhere on a college application, and nothing in the score report will disclose it for them.
Please note: this is not true for service academies, eg US Air Force Academy, West Point.
"Will colleges know I had extra time?"
"No. The score report doesn't say anything about accommodations. Colleges see a number. That's it. Nobody reviewing your application will know."
"Are you sure? I feel like they'd have to disclose that."
"I looked into this specifically. The ACT® changed that policy years ago. There is no flag on the report. Your score is your score."
What You Need From Them Throughout the Process
Getting accommodations approved is not a one-time event — it is a months-long process, and your teenager is an active participant in it, not a passive one. Being clear about what you need from them, and why each piece matters, is better than springing things on them as they come up.
The evaluation requires genuine effort from the parent, child and the school. An evaluation where a teenager is visibly checked out produces weaker data, which produces a weaker report, which produces a weaker application. The psychologist is trying to document what is actually happening — the student has to let them.
Using accommodations at school is not optional. If your child's 504 Plan includes extended time and they have been quietly not requesting it, that needs to change now. The ACT® looks for a documented history of use. A plan that exists on paper but is never used does not establish the ongoing need the ACT® is looking for.
And finally, communicating. The process has deadlines and things occasionally go sideways. If a teacher is not honoring the accommodation, if something at school feels off, you need to know. A teenager who handles this quietly to avoid conflict (as some are understandably wont to do) can inadvertently create documentation gaps that hurt the application for accommodations .
"I want to be clear about what I need from you over the next few months. First, show up to the evaluation and actually try — it matters how the report comes out. Second, use your extra time at school every time you're entitled to it. Third, if anything goes wrong — a teacher isn't giving it to you, something feels off — tell me immediately. I can't fix what I don't know about."
"This feels like a lot."
"It is a process. But most of it is on me — I'm managing the deadlines, the school, the paperwork. What I'm asking from you is pretty specific and pretty doable. The appointment, the consistent use at school, and keeping me informed. That's it."
If Your Teenager Is Still Resistant
Some students genuinely do not want accommodations. They feel that needing them is embarrassing, that they want to prove something to themselves, or that the process is not worth the effort. These feelings are real and worth engaging with — not overriding.
The one thing worth being direct about: a score earned under conditions that systematically disadvantage your child is not a fair measure of what they know. Colleges use ACT® scores to make decisions about admission and scholarships. Taking the test without accommodations your child genuinely needs is not a demonstration of independence — it is leaving points on the table that belong to them.
And not using the accommodations that exist to help them will disadvantage your son or daughter when they enter college and then the work force.
"I just want to do it like everyone else. I don't want special treatment."
"I hear that. I really do. But here's the thing — you're not asking for special treatment. You're asking for equal treatment. The test is designed for people who process information a certain way. You process it differently. The accommodation makes it fair, not easier. Doing it 'like everyone else' when you have a documented disability isn't independence — it's just harder for no reason."
"What if I just try without it first?"
"You can always choose not to use it on test day. But we can't get it approved in three weeks if you change your mind. Let's get it in place so the option is there. You're in control of whether you use it."
The Bigger Picture
Some teenagers need more than just practical information regarding what accommodations are. They need to understand what accommodations actually mean for them and their life.
Accommodations do not stop at the ACT®. Every college in the country has a disability services office. A student who arrives with documented accommodations can request extended time on exams, note-taking support, flexibility in how work is submitted, and more — through all four years. The documentation your family is building right now is the same documentation they will hand to a disability coordinator the fall of freshman year. It keeps working for them.
And it does not stop at college. The workplace has obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. An employee with a documented disability can request reasonable accommodations from an employer — adjustments to how work is completed, reviewed, or measured. The legal framework that protects your child in high school extends, in different forms, through their entire professional life. Getting accommodations now and learning to use them is not a crutch — it is practice for advocating for themselves in every environment they will ever enter. And they will have to advocate for themself.
"I want you to think past the ACT® for a second. College has a disability services office — and if we have this documentation, you walk in freshman year and request the same accommodations you have now. It covers you through finals, through papers, through whatever the hardest semester turns out to be. And after college, the ADA means employers have to make reasonable accommodations too. This isn't just about one test. This is about knowing how to get what you're entitled to for the rest of your life."
"I don't want to be the person who always needs accommodations."
"You're not 'the person who always needs accommodations.' You're a person who knows how to operate in environments that weren't built for your brain. That's actually a strength — most people never figure out how to advocate for themselves at all."
What People in My Generation Didn't Have
There is one more thing worth saying to your son or daughter — and it is probably the most important thing in this entire conversation.
People in your generation — their parents' generation, my generation — did not have such structures paths to obtain needed accommodations. The legal framework that requires schools to evaluate students, write 504 Plans, provide extended time, and document disability for standardized testing is relatively recent. Many parents of today's teenagers sat through years of school struggling with undiagnosed ADHD, unidentified dyslexia, or processing differences that nobody had language for, let alone legal tools to address. They were told they were lazy, distracted, or not trying hard enough. Some of them internalized that. Many never reached their potential in formal academic settings — not because the ability wasn't there, but because the conditions and lack of accommodations never let them show their abilities.
The accommodations your child is resisting? People fought for those. Disability rights advocates, parents, attorneys, and legislators spent decades building the legal infrastructure that makes a 504 Plan possible, that requires schools to evaluate students who struggle, that obligates the ACT® to provide extended time to students with documented needs. That infrastructure exists specifically so that your child does not have to do what previous generations did — perform under conditions designed for someone else and be judged on it.
The accommodation is not about lowering the bar. It is about removing an obstacle that was never supposed to be there. It is about letting your child be measured as themselves — not as a version of themselves performing under conditions that work against them, competing against people for whom those conditions are neutral.
That is what this is for. That is what was fought for. And that is what they should walk into the testing room and use.
"I want to tell you something that might sound a little heavy, but I mean it. When I was in school, none of this existed. Kids who struggled the way you do were just told they weren't working hard enough. Some of them believed it. Some of them still believe it. They never got to show what they were actually capable of because the system never gave them the right conditions. People spent years fighting legally and politically to change that — so that you would have access to what they didn't. It hurts me to watch you turn that down out of embarrassment."
"I didn't know it was that serious."
"It is. And I'm not saying this to pressure you. I'm saying it because I want you to understand that this isn't charity and it isn't a shortcut. It's something that was built specifically for people like you, so that the test measures who you actually are — not who you'd be if your brain worked differently. That's all I want for you. For the test to see you. Not someone else."
If you want the full picture of how the accommodations process works - the documentation window, what the ACT® actually requires, and the mistakes that get applications denied - start with my guide on what most parents don't know about ACT® accommodations.
Talk through your child's situation - book a free consultation →