Educational Psychologist- recommendations please

[Redvan]

SENCO at my DS school suspects he has learning difficulties, which has been masked till now.

I now need to arrange as assessment to get a formal diagnosis and an actionalmplan in place.

In don't know where to start. I had so many questions after our first meeting with the SENCO but she's been on sick leave and his teacher isn't much help.

Can someone please suggest names so I can start the process.

The screening suggested dyslexia ( severe); He doesn't participate in class and is constantly in his own world.

If you want an assessment and are confident it is Dyslexia I would go for an assessment with a specialist teacher, you can find more information on this here: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/how-is-dyslexia-diagnosed You can go through BDA but they charge a large arrangement fee.

If you are not sure its Dyslexia and want a wider assessment then you would be better off with an Educational Psychologist assessment.

You want someone local who can meet in person, ideally at your house or in a location where the child will be comfortable. They might also observe them in school but might not.

Cost, availability and how flexible they can be will vary so contact a few.

Sometimes one assessment will suggest another, for my eldest we went EP then OT then 18 months later had a Dyslexia assessment with a specialist teacher, 3 years later he is being assessed for ADHD. If they have complex needs it's not always possible to work out everything in one assessment and some things become more marked and problematic as they get older, particularly in secondary.