With the EBAU, formerly Selectividad, exams just days away, families in Málaga continue to request adaptations for their children with special educational needs. This is the case of Elisa Jiménez, who denounces the Education Delegation's refusal to grant her son, diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), the extra time needed to complete the tests.
Elisa's son, Miguel, received his ADHD diagnosis last October after a lengthy process. According to his mother, suspicions about the disorder date back to his preschool years. Following an initial evaluation at age four, it was deemed too early for a diagnosis. Throughout primary and secondary school, Miguel's behavior, described as restless and with attention difficulties, prompted his mother to seek interventions, though without a formal diagnosis until later.
It was during high school, at IES Colegio Nuestra Señora de la Presentación, that a tutor suggested a more in-depth evaluation due to his classroom behavior, such as skipping questions or losing focus. After requesting a new assessment from Mental Health Services in December 2024, the official ADHD diagnosis was confirmed last October, just as he began his second year of high school. Adaptations, such as seating him at the front or away from distractions, were applied during high school.
However, the school informed them in February that the Education department had not granted these measures for the Selectividad. The mother has filed complaints with the Delegation without receiving a response. Education sources refer to current regulations, stating that adaptations are granted if prior educational support measures from the previous stage are proven. They emphasize that cases have been examined "meticulously" and that adaptations are authorized "in all cases where the application of diversity attention measures during the first year of high school and the first term of the second year of high school has been verified." Applications that do not meet these requirements or where the condition is not considered to have arisen recently have been dismissed.
Elisa Jiménez criticizes the Delegation for creating "obstacles for the school" and questions the change in criteria regarding when the diagnosis should have been made. She asserts that there is a "lack of defense" and argues that the crucial point is that children with ADHD face challenges during the Selectividad, regardless of when they received their formal diagnosis, demanding measures she believes are stipulated by law.
