99% sure my 6 year old is dyslexic so when and what on earth do i do about it because no one seems to care :-(

[NotInTheMood]

reasons for thinking this are he has language and speech delay and is currently seeing SALT, he has difficulties with past and present tense,no sense of time, poor sequencing, rhyming and disorganisation skills, often loses things, puts shoes on the wrong feet, his jumper back to front etc Poor listening and short term memory on top of poor handwriting and reading and is below average in class.

He has an IEP already but up until now I was led to believe his speech was the cause of his delayed learning. He has now turned 6 and is in year 1 and made good progress in reception with extra help and small group work. He is no longer having extra help in small groups as he did in reception they are saying they now give those children with IEP's extra help in class.I was shocked by this as i was informed before the summer holiday small group work would continue similar to reception by his reception teacher. Not sure if this is a cut back since the new government as the year 1 teacher tried to justify that extra help in class is actually better then being taken out of class

Ive mentioned dyslexia and they do think its a possibilty. However im not confident in whether the school will test for it teachers attitude appaers to be its just another label and he still needs to learn.SALT are walking closely with him and have not mentioned their opinions or advised on the matter in fact theyve hadly kept in contact with me. Everyone seems to be sitting very much on the fence.

So I want to know where I stand is this going to be a struggle and will I need to fight for diagnoses? If so what age should I start the ball rolling and how do I go about it is it better to go through the school or docter? If he is diagnosed will this change anything in terms of the support he is being given at school? I mean will it mean he will extra help which +more expense for the school. And lastly any advice or experience, books, websites etc. We do not not have alot of money but I want to ensure my utmost that my son gets the help and support he needs and is rightly entitled to.I feel very much deflated right now

[NotInTheMood]

sorry really bad at typing

[maverick]

I'd invest your time and effort in making sure he's receiving daily 1-1 (preferably) or small group intervention work of the correct type -which is intensive systematic synthetic phonics.

A dyslexia assessment, whether through the school or privately, will not get him what he needs (see above) -merely provide him with a dodgey (unscientific) label.

For more information see 'Should I have my child assessed?'
www.dyslexics.org.uk/should_I_have.htm

HTH

[mummyshreddingnora]

if you do get a diagnosis - or believe that strongly, there is a book ' the gift of dyslexia' which I think is brilliant - may help you

[ClenchedBottom]

A diagnosis is unlikely to make a big difference to how he is treated at school - actually, at a good school, a diagnosis wouldn't make any difference because they would already be putting support in, in response to his needs.
The focus should be on what they are doing to meet his needs - is work at the right level? Is he accessing work in class ok? Is there flexibility around how he records his work? And, really important, is he receiving proper structured intervention starting from where he is now iyswim?

[Timebends]

I agree with the above poster that a good school will be using a multi sensory approach which is likely to support him best. However, a diagnosis and professional report which pinpoints his strengths and weaknesses - and he certainly will have areas of strength as well as areas of weakness - will help to direct teachers towards his best learning styles and target the help appropriately. it also helps if you know his relative strengths so that you have positives to focus on too. I think this makes a big difference. The best reports make practical recommendations for teaching strategies too.

[jiggles01]

NotInTheMood you are describing my son to a T -He has Specific language impairment -SLI.
Has the SALT not mentioned this ?
You should try and get private reports done
though these are expensive.

You will need these to show what help he needs,as the school seem a little reluctant (?) in giving him help
It sounds like you will need to proove it and as said show his strengths and weaknesses,which in turn will get you on the road of the extra help he needs.
Good luck

[finjade]

My sons school have just expressed concerns over my son.He remembers words one day and forgets the next puts words back to front.He is also exhausted after school.I made an appointment at the dyslexia institute my son is 5 so they cant assess him till he is 7 but they are going to give him an overlay test [£50] he will get different coloured overlays to put on his books at school i have already tried a ruler overlay with him and he said it helped him see the words more clearly.Luckily the school are willing to work with me on this and do what they can to accomadate him and they wish the dyslexia institute to communicate with them.The dyslexia institute also recommended [toe by toe] book from amazon i am yet to order this. But i hope these are the first steps to helping my son.A diagnosis when he is 7 will cost [£260] i dont know whether we will benefit from this whether he will get extra help at school like 1:1 but ive just found out this week so i have alot more researching to do i hope you are sucessful with whatever route you decide to take.