Dyslexia assement : very expensive, is there any point if its mild but child is slow at exam?

[SnowdayYay]

It's so expensive, is there any point in this?
I'm guessing what I'm buying ( if she has it) is extra time in exams?

Have you spoken to the SENCO?

@FloatingBean.
Unfortunately our Senco is literally a coordinator and doesn't know anything about sen.

However the teacher did and she put in help.

But it's going forward I need help for her.

The term dyslexia wasn’t used for my DS, instead specific learning difficulties was used for years.

Ask the SENCO if they can supply a laptop, if not ask if you can supply one if that’s an option for you. Look at teaching your DD to touch type.

DS can produce far more work when using a laptop as he can concentrate on his ideas rather than the laborious task of handwriting.

Because it wasn’t recognised as a thing so long ago. The Dyslexia Early Screening assessment was only published in 1996.

You will need to speak to the teacher or the SENCO if you want DD to use a laptop in school.

Because provision isn’t based on diagnosis necessarily. It’s also based on need.

That specific screening tool wasn’t developed until 1996 but it was certainly a recognised condition before then.

To be fair as a primary Senco, I’m obviously thinking about SATs. Would they be allowed in an English exam?

@Targetbag

My dd is already an amazing typist.

It's fhe school that's are problem for many different reasons and the school she's going too also has dreadful reputation for helping dc with dyslexia so I want to do all I can to help

I had my DD assessed and diagnosed with dyslexia in year 5. Partly because it was becoming obvious there was a mismatch between what she was achieving at school and how bright she was but mainly because we were both getting upset at teachers telling us there was nothing the matter with her and she just needed to try harder. Once we had the assessment the school trotted out the line about dyslexia being so common they use dyslexia friendly teaching anyway and not to expect anything to change, but it helped her self-esteem and when she started with a dyslexia tutor it enabled them to know what approach was needed. She had extra time in exams from the start at secondary school, then it was easy for it to be put in place for GCSEs and A levels as she had a long record of it being her usual way of working. A formal diagnosis is needed to obtain disabled students allowance once at university too, this is invaluable. So longer term it has been well worth it.

We paid £600 8 years ago. Definitely worth it in my mind.

'Not too bad' but definitely very dyslexic covers DD.
Because she's very bright, articulate and could read well ahead of her age school were flummoxed. It needed an Ed Psych to diagnose and was a huge help. She was also dx with dyspraxia at the same time.

In secondary she has pretty much flown under the SEN radar, but has a key worker (who she doesn't see) and always has had allowances in terms of extra time in assessments and coloured paper.

She's year 9 now, but a record of extra time being given is needed so that she gets extra time in her GCSEs.

Yes, some pupils can have the spell and grammar check enabled.

For English

Have you asked GP for nhs referral for dyslexia diagnosis rather than paying?

Also as 2nd part, you need to insist to Senco that in school testing is done. Is an Ed psych referral required? Ask Senco.

I paid around £380 for DDs dyslexia assessment. It was good as it flagged areas that she struggles in and helped with understanding her better, and then could help more.

She gets 25% extra time in exams but could also have a scribe or someone to read text to her, think she cud use a laptop too. She doesn’t need these.

In terms of school, my experience is they are only interested in helping if behind. Again DD isn’t so she’s had minimal support, a little around spellings. She does have some resonable adjustments but I think she’d have these anyways. I’ve found the goal of the school is to keep her as independent as possible within the classroom if that makes sense.1

@Soontobe60

Both my brother and I were diagnosed in primary school and had learning support from 8years untill 16 when we left secondary school. Scottish education system if that makes any difference.

@SnowdayYay this is something I feel so passionate about I've just trogged up 2 flights of stairs to reply to you (I'm only logged in on my desktop).

Do it OP, get the assessment done. We were in the same position. Our DD despite being very bright was clearly having difficulty her brother and sister didn't have with reading etc. The school had limited resources to test an admitted the standard checks they did for dyslexia were a bit 'one size fits all'.

We paid for a private test - it took a couple of hours and cost about £450 from memory but it has been worth it's weight in gold. We got a detailed written report to pass on to the school (primary at that point) and instantly our DD got extra support, coloured paper and extra time in exams.

Because all this had been in place at primary DD's support was passed onto secondary where she got extra exam time, coloured paper in lessons, extra English support, a laptop, a reader and a scribe in some exams. She is now at college and the same support package is still in place as it will be if she goes to uni.

DD is just as smart as her siblings, it's just she has trouble processing information like words/letters and this support helps her achieve her true potential - She passed all her GCSE's with mainly 8s and 9s and the lowest was a 6 in English. Ironically whilst finding English touch, she is a wizz at maths.

Don't forget dyslexia isn't just about getting words mixed up, it can also be about processing and organisation skills. Our DD learns in a very different way to her siblings - i.e. not through reading/writing alone, but by practical discussion.

It has been invaluable and I would whole-heartedly recommend it. I really think if we hadn't paid for the assessment DD wold have struggled to get where she is today.

Please feel free to PM me if you want to know where we had the assessment done or anything else :)

See if your LA has a dyslexia/specific learning difficulties specialist teacher. If so your child can be referred and they can make recommendations to the school. DS had one who really fought his corner and pushed the school into providing more support.

If you get the comprehensive report done then many schools do accept this.

As someone with dyslexia it's also really important for your DD to understand coping mechanisms, to understand that she's not stupid if she doesn't get something first time it's just that it needs breaking down a different way for her to learn.
There are also some things which can help like coloured overlays for some children. The school can also get funding to get her specialist equipment including laptop/ipad etc.

I didn't get extra lessons as was mild but did get extra time in exams and had a teacher who understood in primary so would break things down for me. It's very easy to get a block and forget simple words and be completely stuck on them. It's about teaching her coping mechanisms to slow things down etc.

I understand its expensive but actually it means you can fight your DDs corner a lot stronger.
Having dyslexia also doesn't mean your bottom of the class - I was mostly top sets in schools except English. 10 GCSEs, 4 A levels a undergraduate and postgraduate degree. For me it was key in understanding how I learnt and working for my strengths.

I am going to go back and read the full thread, so apologies if I am repeating anything anyone has said.

You're talking about extra time and a dyslexia diagnosis, and the two are different things. At the moment, under JCQ rules, there are very specific criteria for speed of processing which must be met to get extra time. Just a diagnosis alone is not enough.

If you are thinking about GCSEs and A-levels, then there must be evidence within the last two years- so if you go down this road now, you could end up paying for private assessments again in Secondary school.

You are unlikely to get an ECHP for dyslexia, unless it is very severe. And without an ECHP, you cannot really "make" the school allow her to use a laptop. Providing your own laptop for her to use in school may be a better use of your money, however.

Maybe, your best bet would be to look for a different school, then?

I don't know what was introduced in 1996, but you absolutely, definitely, certainly could get a diagnosis before then. I have one from before 1996 - and got my SPAG marks discounted in my GCSE'S in 1995.
The British Dyslexic Institute was founded in the 70s I believe.

I didn’t say you couldn’t get a diagnosis before then, in fact if you read my post again I specifically said it was a recognised condition before 1996. The specific screening tool the poster I quoted mentioned was published in 1996.

I've got two dyslexic children. Assessment 1 cost £300 in 2019 and assessment 2 cost £500 last autumn. Both assessments resulted in detailed reports about the DCs' strengths, difficulties and strategies to support them.

DS2 appears to be nicely above average... the detailed assessment revealed a very polarised profile with areas of significant difficulty masked by coping strategies from his strengths, e.g. he'll use his strong visualisation skills to compensate for working memory with a slightly slower process than directly using working memory. To reach an average outcome often costs a lot of time, effort and roundabout thinking. It's hard for him to demonstrate his true potential.

Annoyingly school have proven to be very resistant to implementing low effort adjustments that are of no cost to them- daft stuff like letting them use the laptops that we purchased for them, and sticking with their ludicrous "pen licence" policy.

DS1's secondary is better and having that information readily avaliable for transition has been helpful after manually sending on the documents that they dumped in DS1's bag at the end of y6

Critically, knowing why they have specific difficulties, and that it's the brain's wiring, not laziness, inadequacy or lack of intelligence has done a lot for both DCs' self esteem. That is worth a lot.

@Postapocalypticcowgirl.
Do you or your dc have dyslexia.

We did look at other schools but she was struggling so much and there were other issues we didn't know what to do then covid hit and things changed after and now she's been better supported but things like the lap top frustrate me.
I wouldn't move her in year 5.
All I can do is try and set her up as best I can for secondary