Dyslexia - why are private assesments so darned expensive?

[carocaro]

Dyslexia Action charge £550!

I know they are a charity, but wow!

School do a basic one, but that's it. SENCO is great, got lots of resources he uses and TA fab too. But like casting a fishing net and hoping to grab a prize salmon is a sea full of cod isywim.

An assesment would give me and DS a better understanding on his needs, what we can do to help etc.

Otherwise it's a bit like trying to drive a articulated lorry with only a quarter of the instructions and no training.

Why does this big gap between school and private organisations? If school/government put more into it children like my DS would do better!

I have written to all political parties asking them about this issue. How many replies have I had?

NONE.

[mummytime]

You might be able to get a private Educational psychologist to do it for a bit less, and if you are impoverished the Helen Arkell for instance do have bursaries.

However, for your money you get: 3-4 hours one on one time between the child and an educational psychologist (increasingly a doctoral profession, anyway takes at least 7 years to qualify). Then the Ed Psych probably takes at least another 3 hours to produce an in depth report. There are also fees payable for the tests used (someone has spent a lot of time and money developing them, and then testing them so they are reliable).

Really to get an idea of a child's needs I would make lists of areas they are struggling with. Then work from there. You can request that the LA does a full assessment on your child, and they would have to justify why they refuse.

However, I had my son assessed at 7, and since we have had lots of further assessments, in school, from Dyslexia Research trust, seeing an occupation therapist, and a speech therapist. It is a long process, and if you are sure he is dyslexic you might be better spending the money on a specialist tutor (expensive too).

Good luck!

[maverick]

I think you really need to ask yourself what you'd expect as a result of seeing the ed. psychologist, having obtained the 'dyslexia' label for your child.
BTW, because of their inability to give a legitimate diagnosis, a specialist dyslexia teacher or educational psychologist's written report will not include the concrete label of 'dyslexia'. Instead, it will substitute words such as, 'has a specific weakness in phonological development'/'has deficits in phonological awareness', or it will be hedged about with words that avoid commitment to a definitive diagnosis; 'literacy difficulties follow the pattern of a SpLD known as dyslexia', 'has dyslexic traits' or, 'is at risk for Dyslexia-SpLD', with the clear cut 'dyslexia' label only given to parents verbally.
The fact is that obtaining the label certainly does not guarantee that your child will, as a consequence, receive expert 'in school' tuition with an evidence-based intervention programme to remediate his/her reading difficulties.
As mummytime says, you might be better spending the money on a specialist tutor; one who uses a genuine synthetic phonics intervention programme.

[carocaro]

Thanks very usefull advice here, I was not saying that the cost was not justified, much as going to a barrister and asking for free advice - I get it.

We are not impoverished but don't have a spare £500 either.

What I am trying to point out is the gap between school saying he has been screened for dyslexia, and is moderately dyslexic, having an IEP and the SENCO invovled and having the TA doing excellent daily reading work and what we do at home. It just seems half hearted to me, there is no definate grasping of the nettle system that he can be put on, much like those who are statemented, but dyslexia is not a statementable issue.

As Maverick says areas could be specifically identified that he could get defined assistance with, at school and at home.

He's on school action plus, but have been told the educational psychologist does not need to be involved - which I am now confused about? He has seen a speech therapist - all fine, see an OT for which he is attending weekly NHS sessions.

A specialist tutor again £35-50 a week, for a one hour session, up to £200 a month; not a tiny sum of £.

I have not "obtained a dyslexia label for my child" I have looked into it and have a great understanding of it and the parameters which my DS may or may not be in. But as with so many other illnessess and consditions, there is no ONE SIZE FITS ALL senario, hence the need for further investigation by a specialist, which again leads to the issue of it being a cost issue.

Which, again leads me to think, that a school is very much like an organisation, where there are issues they need to be addressed and systems put in place to assist them, to make both the individual and organisation stronger. Not just left to float about, as is the case now.

What I would like is a blueprint to work with, as you say to get a clearer idea of where he needs the work, which I would do at home, I want to get on with it for my DS not fight the bigger battle of the gap within the system.

We should be able to afford it at some point, probably at the start of the September term.

Where would I find a specialist tutor and how do I check their credentials?

Thanks again, very intersting and usefull.

[carocaro]

By the way he's 8 tomorrow in fact and can read ORT level 8 books with help, I have no idea if this is miles behing his peers or on a parr.

He struggles to get his ideas down on paper, writing a complete sentance on his own his tought going. He can speak really well and has all his thoughts and ideas in his head and can verbalise them well.

I know compare and contrast is futile, but an idea would be usefull.

Anyway, said DS was dinner so must go!

[Slugbrains]

tbh though that has not gone up much it was £350 to get done around 20 years ago. suppose it less unusual now.

school assessment and independant assessments are different in the level of detail ime though this might have changed. also if you have a statement school legally obliged to do something. i wonder about the impartiality of school based assessments sometimes.

[maverick]

There are no definitive tests for dyslexia.
I tutor children with and without a professional 'dylexia' diagnosis.
I use the following tests and they tell me all I need to know about the child/ teenager/ adult before I start teaching:

• Tests of segmenting and blending ability
• A single word reading test
• A spelling test
• An Alphabet Code test (this is the most important test IMO)

If you scroll down on this page it gives some advice on choosing a tutor:
www.aowm73.dsl.pipex.com/dyslexics/should_I_options.htm
£35-50 sounds steep to me -I don't charge anything like that, but I suppose it depends where you are in the country.

[Slugbrains]

Maverick are you a tutor or an ed psyc. IME the assessments offered by ed psycs are very comprehensive and include far more then what you have listed. which scale you you rate the children on? Welscher? etc? or is your assessment based on what you are targeting help at?

[Slugbrains]

PLus diagnosis for me was invalible to accessing the resources and funding i needed to complete a degree. Tutor based help is good but doesnt solve all the problems ime.

[maizieD]

Slugbrains, your cynical wonderings are probably quite unfair to schools. I think most schools would be delighted to get more statements for their pupils as it would mean extra funding for them.

I have seen the number of statemented children entering the secondary I work in decline very markedly over the last 10 years. This isn't because there are fewer needy children but because the Local Authority has made it far more difficult to obtain statements. We have pupils who would have had a statement a few years ago but have nothing at all now. However, it can be done if the parents shout loudly enough.

It is possible that the OP's school, which has seen and can compare a far greater number of children than any parent can, may not consider the child's difficulties to be so severe as to warrant asking for a statement. This would not stop the school seeking help at School Action plus and implementing suitable support.

A private EP report would not hold any weight with the Local Authority when considering a request for a statement. It might be considered as supplementary evidence but a report from an LA Ed Psych would be necessary. Though, once again, very loud shouting might 'move' the LA...

[Slugbrains]

you can access lea ed psycs directly throught the council parent support thing (different names for different areas) they will approach school re assessment in school if needed.

Maizie you would be horrified to see some of the stuff i have seen re statementing and assessment in particular. Statements and assessments are too different things but both hold sway. if you are in possession of a valid assessment it holds up for a stronger negogiating possition and actually helps the case in a lot of occassion

GOing to hide thread as its making me irrationally annoyed suspect PMT.

Good luck op and go with your gut.

[maverick]

Slugbrains, I'm an independent tutor and the assessments I use are specifically designed to tell me all I need to know before I begin to teach a student (of any age/IQ) how to read and spell.

I don't need to use an intelligence test as IQ-achievement discrepancy that has no bearing on teaching reading.

I don't teach by-pass or coping strategies. I just simply and straightfowardly teach children how to read. There is no mystery to it.

You may find the following helpful:
www.aowm73.dsl.pipex.com/dyslexics/should_I_have.htm

[DyslexiaTeach]

You can get a specialist teacher assessment for less than a full ed psych assessment. I don't charge nearly that much. Mine is a 3-4 hour assessment, and a report that includes a lot of very specific suggestions for parents and teachers to help. It's much more tailored to children with dyslexia - more error analysis of reading and writing - than a standard ed psych report, which often concentrates very heavily on the IQ test/subtests with only a small portion devoted to error analysis. I would assess reading accuracy, comprehension and speed in prose reading as well as single word reading, spelling in free writing, prose dictation, and single words, general ability in verbal and nonverbal areas, perceptual skills including memory and sequencing in both auditory and visual domains, various tests of phonological skills, sometimes handwriting/motor skills, and a few other tests appropriate to the child's age. The recommendations include general summaries of the areas that need work, and many specific ideas of games and activities to help, and a list of games, resources, books, suppliers, and so forth.

As for the cost, it's 3-4 hours on the day, several hours of scoring and writing up the report, time spent talking to the parents afterwards (and possibly the teachers), and actually purchasing testing materials in the first place, which can be very expensive.

A private report like this might or might not be any use in a statementing process, but it actually contains things that would help a specialist tutor, parent, or TA to help the child, which many parents think is money well spent.

[thirtysomething]

Having jut shelled out for the exact same assessment as the OP I would urge caution.

Ours was not a definitive diagnosis - the psychologist diagnosed dyslexia but has referred us elsewhere to confirm diagnosis of other disorders.

Also, having passed the report onto school they have apparently chosen to disregard its rcommendations. i think they are annoyed that we paid for it ourselves rather than waiting 1-2 years at school for the ed psych. Also as my child achieves an average level at school despite being severely syslexic, they really aren't interested in helping her.

My argument is that with help to overcome her dyslexia she would achieve more - they are happy with average achievement so don't see her as a priority. So other than confirming what we suspected, the assessment hasn't really achieved much at all - just increased our frustration with the school!

I presume other schools would take the report more seriously - just wanted to tell you of our experience and warn you that it may not give you the result you want.

[thirtysomething]

i mean dyslexic not syslexic of course!

[hettie]

i was only diagnosed at 30 when going back to retrain (as a psychologist!). i had to pay for assesment but it was worth it....why?....well because dyslexia is a spectrum disorder and also presents different difficulties in different people- i for example read fluently, have v good verbal reasoning and vocab, but spelling not as good and maths/mental arithmatic/memory tasks appalling! it helps to identify specific problems that can be worked on (nb not cured, but i have work arounds/electronic aids for the bits that i find hard). not sure my assesment cost that though- more like £250?

[alittlebitbored]

For what it's worth OP, please be aware that the syntactic label 'moderately dyslexic' makes the condition seem pretty benign, compared to the very debilitating reality iyswim. Not explaining myself clearly but the moderately dyslexic pupils I teach (2ndary) are clearly very much hindered by it, far more so than those who are 'mildly dyslexic'.

As you have asked for comparisons, I would say that ORT stage 8 with help and difficulty constructing a sentence is definitely behind the average 8 year old. Therefore, the more information you can glean about your dc and their specific areas of difficulty, the better. Also, as a secondary teacher, it is clear that dyslexic pupils who had early intervention fare FAR better than those who did not. So, IMHO, if you can find the money for an Ed Psych report, do it!

[pointissima]

Private ed psych assessment best thing we ever did. Clear diagnosis of exactly what spld ds has (not all dyslexia /dyspraxia is identical) with really good practical advice on improvement strageges, and excellent liaison with the school.

If you can find the £500 it is really worth it: if you have really accurate information you will not waste time with the wrong therapies/ strategies.

[JaneS]

Hi, I'm late to this but would say that a good ed. pysch. report is definitely worth the money! I'm 25 and still studying, and I've had a few (you need up-to-date ones for secondary school etc.). Each time they show a similar pattern, but it is so good to find out what I'm struggling with and why.

People say this rubbish about assessments not being useful because we may as well teach all struggling readers in the same way. Well, I've long ago learned to read, but a ed. pysch. can still tell me what underlying problems there are - the same difficulties that made it so hard for me to learn to read are still there, still affecting the way I think and work. Each assessment shows me where I've made progress and what I need to concentrate on next.

[carocaro]

So should I push the school for an educational psychologist assesment, particularly as he is on school action plus?

[JaneS]

It's definitely good to get one - whether school will be push-able isn't so certain. Some schools will be very, very reluctant to do one, particularly because a child with a statement requires them (in theory) to actually do something.

[IckleDawnie]

Write to your LEA and request an assesment if the school is not willing. My son has recently been diagnosed with dyspraxia by going through the GP it took nearly a year but at least I have half the picture, but my original concerns of him having dyslexia are still a cause for concern the school is not cooperative he has had problems since year 2 and is now in year 5! I found some really helpful advice on www.ipsea.org.uk/ they will help you by sending you information about how to get your assesment directly through the Local Education Authority. Good Luck x

[IndigoBell]

There is no way you will get a statement for dyslexia if your child is 8 and can read ORT books 8 - but nor does he need a statement.

I would keep pushing/shouting for the school to get the ed psych to see your child. (By which I mean nag them every single week untill they absolutely have to give in to you.) Because if your school won't put your child on the list to see the ed psych they are unlikely to listen to a private report either.

Or move school - which is what I did.

[teamcullenIsaGleek]

carocaro My DS turned 8 last week also. He has just been assessed for dyslexia through the school by an ed Phyc. I have to say the assessment wasnt as basic as you may think.

I met with the ED Phyc after he had seen DS and talked me through what tests he did and how well DS managed them. He could tell me specifically the areas that DS struggles in.

When I received the report, I sat on the internet for a few hours googling keywords and reading up exactly what they meant and how the specific tests worked. I found myself understanding much more by identifying with things that DS does and how he works.

Im lucky that I know the school will put actions in place that have been recommended. For me, Im concentrating on the social side of dyslexia, such as getting DS to stay focused long enough to get to school on time.

Good luck