Is Dyslexia and Dysgraphia classed as your child having special needs?

[loveandlight]

Sorry to seem so dense guys but I was wondering if Dyslexia & Dysgraphia is classed as having special needs?

Also is it possible for your child to grow out of it?

Reason I ask is about five years ago my DS had lots of probs at school and so I had his IQ level tested by an Ed Pyschologist which, amongst other things, stated he had a borderline score on the Bangor Dyslexia Test and a marked degree of Dysgraphia.

The report at the time also said despite my DS's "high level of general intelligence and regular schooling at the time, he is markedly under achieving in certain basic scholastic subjects and notably in spelling and handwriting. This underachievement would appear to arise from a degree of specific learning difficulty/dyslexia and the results of further diagnostic tests would support this"

Strange thing is I haven't noticed any problems with his handwriting or spelling these past few years although he absolutely detests handwriting. I teach DS at home and have been doing so for the past four years. (Not out of choice but out of need although he will now be going to secondary school in the next couple of months).

He has been going to a school for maths and english one morning a week for a long time now and his english teacher has not mentioned any problems at all with him having Dyslexia and Dysgraphia. She has just said he is slow to get started and he takes a while to finish and he will need to speed up in an exam. The work he produces though is of a high standard. I never spoke to her about this as I figured if she hadn't picked up on it then it can't be a problem for him.

Is it possible to outgrow these kinds of problems?

The Ed Psychologist who assessed him five years ago is considered an authority in his field so I'm sure he didn't make it all up.

I'm confused and don't know whether I should mention it all to his new school?

[PeachyLaPeche]

You need to distinguish between MN and LEA SN first

Within the LEA system, absolutely- their SN description includes SEN and that causes confusion on herre.

Otherwise- dysgraphia would come under SEN on MN, dyspraxia however can vary in its effects and fall under either dependant on severity (eg the dyspraxic kid I know who doesnt talk). Also, the information useful for eitehr floats between the threads so its often best to keep an eye on both bits really.

_

Second part of the question LOL

I would be right in there now tbh

He needs extra time in his exams, as is routinely provided fro kids with SEN, not to 'speed up' at the possible loss of some marks!

Some teachers are great with SEN and can spot it a mile off,many though are not and I find its best to assume that we need to pass the info along.

Can you grow out of them? Some peolpe say so, and I guess if co-ordination issues were a result of say brain immaturity or similar then yes.More likely I would guess, especially with a very capable child such as your son, is that they learn skills to overcome their needs. taht's great and should be actively encouraged, but an exam isn;t the place for it- it puts them at a relative disadvantage overall I think.

I woudln't go charging in here putting teachers back up, a simple way top approach it would be a note asking @With regards to exams etc, do I need to send in the paperwork from the Ed Psych, or cn the school just ut the wheels in otion for the extra time allowance etc?'

very nn confrontational, but establishes that A) you ahev the Ed Psych paperwork, and B) you know what oyur desired outcome is

[loveandlight]

Thanks for all your replies. I have learnt a lot from your replies and I'm grateful for that.

I'm not at all worried about the Ed Psy report being seen to be less 'robust' than a LA one as the Ed Psy used to work for the LA for many years until he decided to work for himself. He is so experienced and such an authority in his field that I would be proud to have him on my side in the event of a dispute.

DS school had agreed to have a report done themselves but went back on their word so we had to save up for a year to pay for one to be done ourselves. That turned out to be a very good decision as it also gave me the confidence to Home Ed DS when the school laughed at the report when they got it and DS problems at school got worse and I ended up having to home school him as he had a nervous breakdown due to problems at the school.

I agree that he must have found his own way of coping.

What does MN mean?

[loveandlight]

I think I need to go back to school as I've just realised MN means medical needs. Sorry guys.

[PeachyLaPeche]

PMSL

MN means mumsnet

[loveandlight]