Dyslexia diagnosis - in Year 11!

[MylorMum]

Hi everyone,
I am after some advice. I'm a bit flummoxed really. My 15 year old son, who is in year 11 and due to sit his GCSEs next June has finally been screened by his school for dyslexia. I had requested this many times over the last four years. The school did a basic screening a couple of years ago and told us he was definitely not dyslexic. We were told by teachers he was immature and this was why he was struggling academically. I have to admit to getting frustrated with him because he was so disorganised, couldn't concentrate and found writing so hard. Well, today we received a letter from the school stating that a more in-depth test had revealed that there was 'strong evidence of risk' that our son was dyslexic. He had scored 1.7 overall - this may mean something to people on here (not to me). I feel very annoyed with the school that this has not been picked up on before now. But maybe I'm being unfair. Before I meet with the SENCO (something I have requested - she hasn't even offered this), I wondered if people on here could tell me - am I right to feel aggrieved on my son's part. What duty does the school have to have picked up on my son's problems before this late point? I feel he is now at a distinct disadvantage compared with his peers. Any advice or help on what to say to the school or what to ask for now would be very much appreciated. Many thanks

[afinetoothcomb]

Just to clarify, you got frustrated with him for being disorganised, not concentrating and finding writing hard but are annoyed at the school for not doing anything. What did you do, as his parent, to get to the bottom if his problems?

[Yogagirl123]

Doesn't surprise me in the least OP. My son was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was 9, he was found to be severely dyslexic and two years behind in his learning. School suspected he was, however they just did not have the resources, at the time there was no Educational Psychologist employed by our local authority to conduct an assessment. We decided to pay privately, it cost around £450, so pretty expensive. However, it gave us the answers we needed and school were very helpful in following the recommendations in the report. Unfortunately, you can't go back only forward, ask for your son to see an Ed Psych, to plan the best way forward, they may be able to make exceptions for the exams such as extended time, and possibly a reader and scribe if required. Good luck with your meeting. Such a shame so many dyslexic children are being let down.

[billybagpuss]

Yes you have every right to be aggrieved but its probably not a very helpful use of your energy at this stage. You need to get a plan of action in place to help him going forward.

My DD2 was also diagnosed as dyslexic in year 11, she is above average so it had been missed as she had found ways around it. The first thing she had to do was work out how to adapt to the extra time that she got. She had been using a method of rushing that led to mistakes so the extra time came as a bit of a shock. The other issue she had was that she got very distracted, when everyone else left the exam room it upset her train of thought and she found it very difficult to regain her momentum. She was able to do a couple of the more intense exams in isolation.

They should put plans in place to help him, some of the things we had were: Lesson notes printed out so she could read them in her own time and annotate accordingly rather than having to try and copy from white board or make her own notes. Extra help from English teacher who really understood her issues and was able to give her techniques for the comprehension section of the exam (she eventually got a B and was so over the moon) They tried coloured sheets to help with the reading elements. She is now at college and has a laptop to make notes on which makes things much easier.

He should now get extra time in tests too so try using different colour pens one colour for the normal time allowance and a different one for the extra time, just so you can see the difference it's making.

Good luck x

[MylorMum]

Thanks everyone, this is all really helpful. In response to afinetoothcomb - I asked for his junior school to test him for dyslexia, I asked his secondary school to test him twice. I had meetings with the SENCO at both schools to discuss why he might be struggling. None of them seemed to notice or recognise the dyslexia, which I find strange. I have also paid for my son to have tutors for English and Maths, supported him every day to organise himself, do his homework, listened to him read....everything I could possibly do, I think I have done. However, I guess there is a lesson for me in that I accepted what the school and the SENCO told me - and I didn't question enough. It's all the more worrying for me as I have a very vulnerable foster child starting at the school, and I have lost all my confidence in the staff. Not having a great day but once the news has sunk in, I will come up with a plan. Thanks again everyone

[Smartiepants87]

I was 16 when I was diagnosed with dyslexia. My dm a private test and worked overtime so they could afford to do so. It's not the end of the world it would have been a big help for my gcses but I scored much higher with the right support at college and at university aswell. It's not the end of the world. He will now have access to the necessity support he requires.