My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Here you'll find advice from parents and teachers on special needs education.

SEN

think my dd1 may be dyslexic school says no

17 replies

hooper02 · 16/01/2013 13:18

Long story, will try to get everything in so don't drip feed. DD1 bright(age 4 we hid some sweets on top of kitchen cupboards, went upstairs, came back down and she had got kitchen chair, her fishing net and was trying to fish them down so no problem solving problems), however she has always struggled at school. End of year 1 she could hardly read, writing eligible etc., I managed to start her reading by working solidly with the Ladybird keyword system over the summer holidays as she just didn't get phonics. I mentioned to the school that I thought she could be dyslexic as my sister is dyslexic but they were more concerned that she was shy and lacking in social skills(takes after me) and that she had fine motor skill problems. had physio for that, didn't do a lot but again she takes after me in being a bit clumsy and uncoordinated. Eventually they did a screening test on her and said no but I know these screening tests are not always accurate.
They then thought she may be asd, but that has been ruled by psychologist, I never thought she was, just shy and lacking in self-confidence, we have another appoint with psychiatrist end of month
Now age 10, she says she feels doesn't fit in at school, always on the outside of groups, talked to her said I felt same and that others probably feel the same, she thought about it and admitted that two of best friends, unfortunarely in other class probably feel same.

She is still lacking in self confidence, is disorganised and scatterbrained. Her reading is probably now above average, although she struggles to read aloud when she does she struggles with phonics, loses her place and skips lines and words. Her writing and spelling are still very poor, she told me last week that she is the worst in the class apart from those diagnosed with dyslexia. She has also been diagnosed with dyscalculia so is struggling in maths as well.

There is a family history of dyslexia, as mentioned above my sister is dyslexic as is my husband's neice, my dd2 was diagnosed as being mildly dyslexic last year.

I feel that she may have a degree of dyslexia but the school won't reassess and I don't know what to do as I'm concerned she will really struggle at secondary school

OP posts:
smee · 16/01/2013 14:38

Did they give you a copy of their assessment and tell you who did the assessment? If not, insist on seeing it and find out who ran the test? Once you've got it, see how detailed it is in terms of types of tests they did. If it was a proper assessment, there should be a battery of results and analysis. If all that's there and it's a proper report, then they're possibly right and she's not dyslexic, but if they didn't do full Educational Psychologist assessment, then maybe you should push for that. If the school won't do one, could you afford to pay? Dyslexia Action are great in terms of advice and if you want to go down the private assessment route.

To be honest, even if your daughter isn't assessed as dyslexic, a full Ed Psych profile's really useful as it tells you how their minds work and strengths and weaknesses, which means you can help them more effectively.

Also, try asking her what she sees when she reads? So ask if the words move or stay still. I'd never heard of it, but my son is hugely affected by something called Meares Irlen syndrome. He used to skip words/ whole lines too. He didn't read until he was 7 and we'd had his eyes tested, but a normal eye test doesn't pick it up, so we hadn't a clue. He thought the same happened to everyone, so he'd never mentioned it. Basically though words moved/ disappeared when he focussed on them, which obviously made reading, etc really tricky. He wears tinted glasses now which adjust the frequency and means the words stay still. You don't have to be dyslexic to have Meares Irlen. Definitely worth asking her if she's similar.

PlaySchool · 16/01/2013 14:42

I am from a family of dyslexics and all my children are dyslexic. Teachers are not qualified to diagnose dyslexia so take no notice of what they are telling you. It is expensive, but if I were you, and if I could afford it, I would pay for an educational psychologist's report and then present the findings to them.

I'm afraid, it sounds very much like dyslexia to me. My experiences with all 3 of my children has taught me to take it all into my own hands as trying to get the school to acknowledge dyslexia is impossible.

hooper02 · 16/01/2013 15:00

That's what I'm thinking I'm going to have to do, Haven't got the money now but am trying to save up, I just feel so frustrated to see her struggling so much and she seems to be getting disheartened which is worrying me

OP posts:
hooper02 · 16/01/2013 15:02

It wasn't a full assessment, some sort of screening test but they won't do a full assessment as the test said no

OP posts:
hooper02 · 16/01/2013 15:46

Spoke to a father in dd2's class, he used to be involved with SEN now sahd, also is school gov, he is going to try and help me get an assessment dd1

OP posts:
smee · 16/01/2013 16:48

Well that's a start at least. Awful that your DD's becoming so demoralised. Good luck with it all.

3littlefrogs · 16/01/2013 17:00

Dyslexia and dyspraxia both spring to mind.

I agree, teachers generally know very little about either, and are not qualified to run or interpret the necessary tests.

You do need a proper assessment by an educational psychologist, preferably one who specialises in these conditions.

Unfortunately, schools will not usually accept the findings of a private report, so it is difficult to act upon, even once you have it.

PlaySchool · 16/01/2013 17:32

The school said my eldest DS would get no additional support because he wasn't bad enough. Once I presented them with the EP report which said he was very clearly dyslexic, they put him on School Action Plus and he had additional 1 to 1 help.

hooper02 · 17/01/2013 13:28

Well got a meeting with dd1's teacher after school tomorrow(so long snow holds off!). Feeling nervous as am a coward and don't like rocking boat!!

OP posts:
MrsMcEnroe · 17/01/2013 14:11

We spent 4 years believing our DS to be dyslexic, based on what we were told by his teachers. His literacy skills were virtually non-existent and we couldn't understand why the specialist dyslexia tuition wasn't making any difference.

Turns out he's dyspraxic! Previously I'd had no idea that dyspraxia could affect literacy, but it really can. DS isn't particularly clumsy or uncoordinated but he does have problems with fine motor skills and sequencing, and he also had issues with tracking, for which several wise Mumsnetters suggested consulting a behavioural optometrist, which really helped. Might be worth considering these?

The school may be able to refer you to an education psychologist for an assessment but, if not, ask your GP to refer you to an EP or paediatrician ....

PlaySchool · 17/01/2013 16:11

Be firm hooper! I know what you mean though. Good luck!!

smee · 17/01/2013 17:38

Hope you get to see them hooper. Make a list of your points on paper. I did that when I had a meet about DS and it helped me keep my nerve.

Wolfiefan · 17/01/2013 17:42

Stupid question! Could it be you both suffer from dyspraxia (rather than "clumsiness"?)
Hope school do everything they can to help.

MariscallRoad · 18/01/2013 13:04

I agree with PlaySchool. My DC has been diagnosed dyslexic by Ed Ps. You need a proper diagnosis from a specialist either a registered Ed Ps or a PATOSS. They will tell you what the difficulty is and what you can do. NHS does not fund this. Teachers are not the specialists.

hooper02 · 28/01/2013 14:56

Well, school did screening test for dyslexia last week, haven't heard anything about that yet but saw CAMH today, adhd/asd ruled out but she arranging for dd1 to have full assessment by ed ps for dyslexia/dyscalculia etc as she feels that there may be something so we will have to wait for appointment and hopefully will get some answers

OP posts:
hooper02 · 01/03/2013 10:29

School screening test showed mild dyslexic tendencies but they said not enough for formal diagnosis. had parents evening last night and one of her teachers said that she thinks that she may be a compansating dyslexic. Have seen ed psych but are still awaiting report

OP posts:
bumpy06 · 01/03/2013 13:02

I think my ds2 is dyslexic but am still waiting for any tests to happen etc. Thing is I think his teachers finally agree with me and have finally acknowledged to me that there is a problem I basically had to force out of them that he is at the bottom of the class. Anyway my latest dilemma is I am inclined to give up my job (we would struggle financially) but it would be worth it to try and help him more at home and then I think I am not best qualified to do that it might be better to continue working and find the money for private school with very good repuation for dyslexia support and let the experts help it and have him get so sick of school at school and then school at home. I know he has already sense my anxiety and I not get Dh to read with him his homework books and I just do fun reading because I found it so hard to watch him struggle. Probably just answered my own question but does anyone have any advice
PLease

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.