attainments? dyslexia advise please

[chonie]

hi, ive just come across this forum and wondered if anybody could help?
i have just had my sons school report, he is 6 in yr 1 and his attainments are
reading p8
writing p6
numeracy p8
All his teacher explained was that he was not yet reaching the targets of the national cirriculum... how far behind is he?
I have been concerned that he may be dyslexic since reception year, he has many of the charastic's and has speech difficulties. He has recently seen a educational psychologist and she has said he has many traits of being dyslexic and we now have another IEP in place and he will be reviewed by her again in december, she suggested more one to one work. He currently does some work in small groups, and he is making progress (although slow.
Im a little worried after meeting his new teacher for yr 2 as she has said their is less t.a help avalible, and she mentioned t.a hours? she said she would wait for him to settle in and then see if she thought he needed it.. (she made it sound like this would be hard to get?) so am i right in thinking i need to push them for this? at the moment he cant do much in school unless its one on one or in a small group. His hand writing has improved, but he is not yet reading or spelling cvc words.
obviously i have cut a long story short here, but hoping someone can help advise me x
thanks xxx

[mummytime]

Okay this means he is being assessed on the p scales which are below the national curriculum. I would be asking them if they are going for a Statement for him, and maybe even writing to the LEA to request an assessment. At the very least he should be on the SEN register and I would want a termly reviewed IEP (individual education plan, with specific measurable targets with dates to be met by as well as the methods they are going to use to help him meet the targets).
I would also suggest you contact your local parent partnership (they can be found via google).

[chonie]

hi thanks for replying. He is on his 2nd IEP (set up in march) although all the targets are only things to do at home, ie learn to read and write simple cvc words, reading books ect. Sometimes i feel the school dont think i am doing much with him at home, i do, but struggle to get him to do it, as he is often really tired and just not intrested. Im waiting for the next IEP which was discussed about just over month ago.
I also feel the school are saying that they are doing all they can and i should be greatful for the educational psycologist being envolved. I often feel like i am asking too much and over worrying about his progress :/
I dont know if he is on the SEN registar, this hasnt ever been mentioned to me, although i know she has signed the IEP and was at the meeting with the ed pysc.? i will have to ask.
Dont really know much about the 'statment' and didnt know if he was 'suitable' for it.
Im really out of my depth here, so thank you for your advise!
ive just got the number for the parent partnership so will give them a call tomorrow.
thank you again x

[cheval]

Tom has just won Apprentice. He's dyslexic!! And amazing. Also got a first in maths and engineering/mechanics/something???? Also a true geek - which I love. Yea!!!! to all guys and girls who don't quite fit the mold - they can be winners too.

[maizieD]

Don't let them just fob you off with the label 'dyslexia'; try to get them to get to the root of the problem. Else you could find that the school is wasting a lot of time on ineffective programmes because 'that's what dyslexics need'... Dylexia is more of a symptom than a discrete 'condition'; it may be a memory difficulty, a processing difficulty, an auditory or a visual problem (it might even just be inappropriate teaching). Unless the root problem is identified teaching cannot be properly targeted to address it.

[KATTT]

The best thing you could do, if you can possibly afford is, is to get your own EP's report.

The general thrust of all those in the employ of the local authority (schools, local authority EP's and parent partnership) is to down play the problems so they don't have to help. If you have your own professional report you can start to get to the bottom of what the problem is, have a list of things your child needs and have ammunition to use against them if they try to fob you off.

[IndigoBell]

Or you could spend the £400 an EP report (piece of paper) costs on actually helping your child........

[chonie]

i just wrote a long reply and its dissapered!
i really dont have that sort of money :(
i spoke to the parent partnership today and they said he wouldn't get a statment with his attainments! they lady took my details and said someone will get back to me in september.
mazied- the school haven't labled him as dyslexic, they ed pysh has said he has traits of a dyslexic child. It was me who raised my concerns over dyslexia, as he had/has many of the early symptoms. His main 'problems' are poor memory, retaining information and fine motor skills, the school have reconised this , im just worried he is not going to get enough support during yr 2. Everyone who i have spoken to tell me you have to fight tooth and nail to get help so i just want to make sure i am doing everything i can to help him.
thanks you all x

[KATTT]

You will have to fight, but don't be put off by anyone in the employ of the local authority, they don't want to have to spend money on tackling any problem so they will down play any problem. You know best, don't let try to tell you he's fine if you think not.

Keep pestering - make sure the IEP says what the school is going to do for him, keep pestering to make sure they are doing it. Don't be put off. Stat a file, keep notes, dates and times of every meeting, phone call every outcome and promise made.

There are three stages of help. School action - where a problem is recognised and the teachers can devise ways in the classroom of helping. He should be on School Action now - check this.

If that doesn't help he moves to School Action plus where they have to start spending money getting in outside help. Then if that doesn't improve things it's Statutory Assessment for a statement of special educational needs.

In all of this you will have to prove that real, targeted help has been given and you have to prove that the help hasn't improved his levels (presuming it doesn't - it may). So you need the paper work, the IEPs saying what's been done and you need a record of all his levels.

It's an f'ing campaign, but if you don't do it no one will.

[KATTT]

just one other thing - the crp about 'not getting a statement with his attainments'... it's crp.

[chonie]

kattt - thank you! I will find out tomorrow if he is on school action, its never been mentioned to me so i guess not. Im going to start the file! I guess i got my hopes up for nothing thinking the parent partnership were going to be a big help then! x

[ASByatt]

Absolutely do document everything and push the school for a decent IEP with proper measurable targets. Also, make sure that the IEP is reviewed thoroughly, as lots of schools miss this bit!

Also do be awarethat LAs vary in their practice, KATTT obviously has had some experience of one or more LAs but I knowthat my LA would not Statement a child in Y1 working at those levels.

[KATTT]

Chonie

Please ignore what ASByatt has just said, it's not up to the LA to decide a blanket level - lots of them try to say - if your child is over a certain level 'they won't statement'. This is completely illegal. The law does not allow them to do this.

If you go to the Special Needs Board, time after time there's instances of LA's trying this on - and endlessly people like me saying it's CR*P, don't be fooled. Fight them, don't be put off.

The document you need to get hold of is the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. Call 0845 6022260 for a free copy. It goes through all the stages and gives you the relevant legal quotes.

(The parent partnership may be ok - but not in my experience. Again over on the special needs boards there's lots of talk about what they're good at - and what they're not good at).

good luck

[Velvetunderground]

I'm coming from the POV of being the dyslexic child. Dyslexia jumps the genes so my Dad is dyslexic, i am and my son may be. So i am interested on how to help him in school as i never had that.

I would recomened getting a private report done. I know its expensive but it will have such a huge impact on your childs life. It will pinpoint the area that need help and can target the teaching to overcome the problems. I so wish my mum had done that for me. I had years of speach therapt, extra reading lessons and none of it worked, because of the way it was tought to me.

I got assest at 15 just as i was starting my GCSE and it was too late then. I got assessed at 18 before going to uni and i had a read age of 12 and a writtening age of 13. If i had of got the help i needed early on i could have done better.

On a posative note dyslexic people are very smart and even without the help i got 9 GCSE all grade C and a 2.2 Degree but i still wish my mum had got me the help i needed early on.

[maverick]

Please read the following web page for evidence-based advice, information on the role of ed. psychs etc:

Should I have my Child Assessed? or Why isn't my child learning to read?
www.dyslexics.org.uk/should_I_have.htm

HTH

[Velvetunderground]

Also it might be worth going to your local LA and seeing what help they can give you and also for secondary schools some specialise in dyslexia and can provide more help than other secondary schools.

[GooseyLoosey]

Have to say I would be slightly cautious about getting a private EP report done. We have done this and it would be fair to say that it had no impact whatsoever. I would check with the school whether they are prepared to act on the recommendations of a private EP first if you are getting it to ensure some form of intervention in school. If you are getting it for your own piece of mind, that is different.

I have also found that what private EPs do is fairly limited and there is a whole range of things which they are not able to diagnose or really suggest much to deal with (or perhaps that is just my experience).

I am just girding my loins to go into battle for dd and have so far found that one of the things that helps is to put my concerns in writing. Spend a few days reading it over and deleting the more histrionic bits and then e-mailing it to the school. Having a written record of what your concerns are and when you raised them does seem to help.

[KATTT]

GooseyLoosey

The EP's report is good ....

1. If the school aren't taking you seriously - they will try to say your child is 'within normal range' if you have an EP's report saying your child is in the bottom centile or whatever it will wake them up.
   
2. A good one will have recommendations for what the school should be doing to help the child. This should be used to create IEPs.
   
3. It can provide a diagnosis - in fact EP's are the only ones who can provide a diagnosis of dyslexia. (this may help your child and you)
   
4. The whole legal basis of SEN is about a childs 'needs' and whether they are being met. The EP can say categorically -
   

a. these are this child's needs
b. they are not being met (if they're not)
c. This is how they should be met.
This is pretty invaluable if it comes to a legal argument with the LA.

[Velvetunderground]

I agree with KATTT post above.

There are 7 types of dyslexia and each type needs different teaching methord/stratagies to over come it and it is possible to have more than one type.

so for example you give a child one-on-one extra reading and speach theapy for 5 years then get assessed and all that is needed is blue tinted glasses and light bulbs to make the words on the page from moving so the person can then learn to read. thats 5 years wasted. Or you get the report done and the tinted glass got and then you have 5 years to teach your child how to read.

How can not finding out what the problem is help the child?

[KATTT]

Velvetunderground - if indigo reads that - she'll have something to say. I'd duck if I were you :)

[IndigoBell]

Kattt - not at all, VelvetUnderground doesn't need to duck

I 100% agree with her that you need to find out what is causing problems learning to read and fix them.

I just don't know what all of the 7 types are that she is referring to - I thought there were less.

Velvet - Can you please tell me what the 7 types are.

And I don't know of any EP who tests for 7 types of dyslexia - but I don't know many EPs. All the (LEA) EPs my DCs have been to have not been nearly so thorough.

Thanks

[KATTT]

Sorry indigo :)

I've now seen 4 EP reports on my kid. 3 private and one LA. They are all incredibly different. I guess it's important to know what you want from the reports and make sure that the EP can/will provide.

This doesn't help OP - she doesn't have the ££ for an independent report.

[Velvetunderground]

Thanks for the heads up KATT

Indigo - it was in a leftlet i read 10 years ago in the special needs tutors room in college. I do not remenber the name or who it was by or all of the 7 types.

I remember it was the halo effect, the colour of the paper, the word merging together, the factthat the brain changes the words so some people see them back to front (so a d is a b and a p is a q), then somepeople see the word blur or float of the page. There is more but i have forgot. I found it very eye opning at 18 to be told i didn't have it so bad

Also different people need different coloured paper to make the words stay still.

A lot has changing in that time and from the link above the whole dyslexic disability is unproven to even exsite

[IndigoBell]

Thanks VU, I normally just break it down into:

• Visual Problems
  
  
• Auditory Problems
  
  
• Neuro Development Problems
  
  
• Bad teaching
  
  So halo effect, colour of paper, words merging together are all vision problems, which need to be addressed by a vision specialist not an EP etc.......
  
  Anyway the OPs DS has seen an EP - who appears to have said bugger all of use.

[KATTT]

The OP's DS has seen a LA EP

• who said bugger all of use, which isn't surprising because that's what she's paid to do.
  

A private EP has a different agenda and can be useful.

[IndigoBell]

Maybe, but an EP is still not a vision specialist, or an auditory specialist or a neuro development specialist.

So I still don't think they're worth paying money to.

I haven't seen that many EP reports - but I've never seen or heard of one which is about curing the underlying problems which are causing the learning difficulties.

They all just seem to be about interventions, like toe-by-toe and wordshark, or recommendations for compensating strategies.