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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

Still no support for dyslexic dd

105 replies

Sleeperandthespindle · 28/01/2017 07:39

I've posted several times about this. DD (7 in y3) is dyslexic. Her spelling is not improving at all. The last piece of work I saw, a really long and good piece for her - 3 paragraphs - had every word (except for 'said', 'and', 'the' spelled wrong at least once.

I have been meeting teacher and SENCO half termly all year. Nothing they agree to or suggest is put in place and continued. They provide something for a week or two and then it stops.

Currently they have said they can give her a session with a TA twice a week. This has happened 5 times since the beginning of December. They can't tell me what she's been doing with the TA, or what is planned for them to do.

I am at the end of my tether with worry for her. To make it all worse, I am a teacher myself and know exactly what would help. I can also see that she is weaker in spelling than practically every other child I have taught (unless they have had SLD or ESL). None of my expertise is helping (and I do approach the school as a concerned parent, not as a know-it-all). Efforts at home are not working (other than reading) as she is not able after a long day to tolerate more work, and I am not prepared to push this if the same strategies are not followed in school.

What do I do now? Meetings are not helping!

OP posts:

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user789653241 · 28/01/2017 12:55

Have no experience of dyslexia.
If you know what should be done, and school isn't helping after many meetings, why don't you take it in your own hands and help her at home?
Doing a bit of extra work at home is reasonable with yr3 child, imo. It doesn't need to be long, and just don't do it if she is too tired that day. But doing short session regularly(maybe in the morning when she's refreshed?) would help in the long run, imo.

Didiplanthis · 28/01/2017 22:06

Similar happening with my 7 yr old dd. Lots of talk no action. Things put in place but forgotten about / discarded after week or so. If she's like mine she has to work so very hard all day to achieve what her peers do with far less effort that she really is too fatigued to do more regularly - it's not the same as as 'normal' yr 3 who can just do bit more at home. It's like swimming against the tide for them at school. We have put in 1 hour of relaxed fun tutoring a week where she can just go over stuff she has found hard - not to push her ahead but to give her a 1:1 fun session at her pace of much more visual learning. It's really helped and she loves it.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 28/01/2017 22:19

I know the school should be doing something, but do you think she would tolerate 10mins a day or 10 mins 5 days a week?

tiredmumneedssleep · 28/01/2017 23:15

The school thinks DD6 has dyslexia traits but said too early to do anything as well. I started her on Dancing Bears and Apples and Pears with daily 30 minutes practice after school. It's been tough but has made a huge difference. We reduced the time we spent daily as she improved. Some days less, some days more. Good luck.

kilmuir · 28/01/2017 23:26

Dyslexia support Uk is a useful Facebook page if you are on that

MrsWhiteWash · 29/01/2017 00:14

I started her on Dancing Bears and Apples and Pears with daily 30 minutes practice after school.

^^ These are very good - but I found before school better if possible as they re not as tired from the day.

Hasn't solved DD1 but has made major improvements.

Been really effective with our younger children. Did find it very hard work.

Megatherium · 29/01/2017 00:18

What made a big difference for my dyslexic ds was finding a specialist tutor out of school. Initially he went to her twice a week and we practised once a day using flash cards for letter blends, then we moved to once a week. She improved his reading and writing, but perhaps most importantly raised his confidence in himself.

MrsWhiteWash · 29/01/2017 00:18

We got put off testing in primary - various reasons later it was she was doing okay. Secondary school are now looking to asses.

Help offered in school - sporadic often cancelled and sometime less than useless. Support got much better in yr5 - though we were already doing the same stuff at home by that point but I suspect looming SATS were playing a role in that.

user1484226561 · 29/01/2017 00:19

and know exactly what would help. if you know exactly waht would help, do it with her yourself at home then.

kilmuir · 29/01/2017 07:39

What a stupid comment user.
I have a dyslexic son. Yes, I do help him at home but his school have to do their bit.
Dyslexia isn't just reading and writing. It's how they learn and school should be putting things in place to enable this

mrz · 29/01/2017 08:09

"we practised once a day using flash cards for letter blends" sorry but if this is what a "specialist dyslexia tutor" they are very outdated and making things so much harder for your child. Teaching letter blends adds huge extra demands on a child's working memory which is often weak in a "dyslexic" child or adult. !

Megatherium · 29/01/2017 08:28

mrz, it was some time ago and done in conjunction with a number of other strategies. Whatever you think of the technique, it was successful.

Sleeperandthespindle · 29/01/2017 08:32

Thanks for the 'use'ful comments. It's really important for the school to support as any strategies likely to help need to be in place throughout the day. It's not just a case of me teaching her - if it were that simple, I'd have done it, obviously!

She reads very well (now, it wasn't an easy start) and does lots of reading at home. I also support all her homework (focusing on her strengths). She no longer does school spelling tests (a stupid battle that I 'won' on her behalf) so I want to spend the time we would have spent on that working consistency with what school are doing. But they're not doing anything.

OP posts:

mrz · 29/01/2017 08:36

What do you want the school to do ...could you sit down with the teacher and SENCo to discuss strategies you know will work for your child? Would they complete a home school diary?

mrz · 29/01/2017 08:38

I'm assuming this century Meg ...if so flash cards and letter blends are poor methods adding unnecessary levels of difficulty but keeping a tutor employed for longer

user789653241 · 29/01/2017 08:39

I really don't like the posters who says thanks for useful comments.
It's really disrespecting somebody who maybe clueless, but only want to help.(like me!)

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 29/01/2017 08:55

I don't think it was your comment irvine. It was another poster's, although I can see why you feel it was rude.

I was going to recommend Apples And Pears as other posters did but I would do 10-15 mins rather than half an hour, especially if she is tired. If you have the time where you wouldn't normally be doing spelling then it should fit into that.

mrz · 29/01/2017 09:01

I would normally recommend Apples and Pears and Bear Necessities (both very effective) but the OP has said they know exactly what to do to support her which is why I've asked what they want the school to do.

I'm generally opposed to withdrawal from class unless it's SaLT or OT interventions

Megatherium · 29/01/2017 09:51

You're assuming wrong, mrz. And, like I say, it worked.

mrz · 29/01/2017 09:55

Obviously you are very happy with the outcomes and paying more than necessary for it.

Angelh09 · 29/01/2017 10:07

Our school registered dd for an app called Skoolbo, it's like a game but has been a great help in re-in forcing common words etc. Games are targeted to dds level and doesn't feel too much like extra work. Manages 3 x20 mins per week.

user1484226561 · 29/01/2017 10:31

mrz different things work for different children, you can't make a blanket statement that such and such an approach doesn't work. Dyslexia in not one specific condition, there is no typical child or typical approach, its just an umbrella term for a huge range of neurological difficulties which impact on perception and expression.

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user1484226561 · 29/01/2017 10:33

It's not just a case of me teaching her - if it were that simple, I'd have done it, obviously!

why not?

working consistency with what school are doing. But they're not doing anything

what is it specifically that you want the school to do?

mrz · 29/01/2017 13:14

I didn't say it wouldn't work user eventually just that it adds substantially to the working memory load and makes the whole process longer (good if you're getting paid to deliver the intervention bad if you're a struggling learner)

mrz · 29/01/2017 13:17

" Dyslexia in not one specific condition" do you have a definition of dyslexia because the "experts" don't have one that's universally agreed. What is agreed is that the problem is an phonological processing difficulty and while people talk about coloured overlays and visual problems reversals etc there is absolutely no evidence for it.

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