Dyslexia?! School failed my son

[looneylou201]

Hi everyone
My son has SEN and has been through many assessments and given an EHCP.
Upon reading paperwork he scored a D on the dyslexia index ( moderate dyslexia)
Upon further investigation they scored him a B ( signs of dyslexia) again nothing has been done!
He is behind in every area of learning they've got in black& white that he is likely dyslexic and nothing sorted.
I am furious that they have not mentioned this to me and the fact that he has no provision in place for dyslexia and the school have known since November 2020!!
AIBU to go ballistic at the school!

YABU to go in to the school and go ‘ballistic’!!

Are you sure no strategies have been tried in the meantime? How old is dc?

How old is your dc? Have you seen his education plan that should have been put together by the teachers and the SENCO? What have they said they will do to address the dyslexia?

YWBU to go ballistic, but YANBU to talk to them about getting support in place urgently. It’s possible that they may have informal support in place which you’re not aware of - that was the case when my son was diagnosed.

If he's been given an EHCP, does that address his needs?
How old is he?
Yabu to go ballistic
Yanbu to go in calmly, and discuss which bits of the EHCP are working, and what needs amending.

The chances of his having been assessed as dyslexic are slim. He's just been identified as at risk of having having dyslexia. You are likely to need to fund a full assessment yourself. That doesn't mean they can't put modifications in place to get him learning to the best of his ability.

How old is he?
My DS(13) is severely dyslexic and it’s been difficult to get the support he needs in a mainstream school.

Upon reading paperwork he scored a D on the dyslexia index ( moderate dyslexia)
Upon further investigation they scored him a B ( signs of dyslexia)

What paperwork? Who assessed him?

YABU to go ‘ballistic’ at anyone.

Dyslexia is rarely diagnosed before about age 8, and even then there aren’t many tools or strategies suggested unless it’s severe. You are much less likely to get what you want if you go ballistic either. Take a deep breath and go for the polite-but-firm approach.

If the dyslexia is mild, it's unlikely the school will do anything. DS was diagnosed when he was in year 4. He was allowed extra time for his year end assessments but nothing else was done. Secondary school were slightly better in year 7 & 8 but then covid hit and all we have now is extra time for exams.

Which type of dyslexia does your son have? My DS has phonological dyslexic (can't work out the sounds in words i.e. if you ask him to say the word snail without the n he wouldn't be able to do it). We used a book called Toe by Toe with him at home and it really helped.

I wouldn't bother with ballistic... sadly I doubt there is much school are going to do without alot if pushing. The fact that you have a diagnosis and an ehcp is progress alot of kids could do with making.

As someone with a newly diagnosed 12yr old - so second year secondary - I think you just have to work out what the kid needs and push for that. Do t waste your energy on fighting the past. You can always add in that it is time this was dealt with give the diagnosis was x years ago if you need to butni wouldn't bother wasting energy of it. You will need all your time/energy to get things right going forward!

Wa he assessed by an Educational Psychiatrist when he was assessed for his EHCP? If so then the Ed Psych should have identified any underlying specific learning difficulties and suggested strategies. It is not the school’s responsibility to provide a diagnosis of dyslexia. Are you happy with the EHCP?

My DD has been assessed as having "strong dyslexic traits" and support has been put in place for her, but tbh, it's mainly just extra phonics/reading and I'm not sure how much it helps. I would assume that the funding for some proper, tailored intervention is pretty much non-existent in state schools unfortunately. PP is also right in that if you want a formal diagnosis then you will most likely need to fund the test yourselves.

It's unacceptable that the school did not make you aware of this, but if your child has a EHCP then surely you were across that? Was the possible dyslexia not mentioned on there? That's pretty strange.

DD is yr 5 now, and I've found the older she gets the bigger the gap between her and her peers, and the less effective any school interventions become. We have now accessed private tutoring for DD and she's come on massively, her tutour is bloody magic!

Don't go ballistic, have a chat, find out what's being done and what you can do and go from there. Good luck.

Why on earth is your first thought to go 'ballistic' at school teachers??

Is it possible his SEN may overlap with dyslexic traits? Specific screening tests may be therefore inconclusive. Strategies may already be in place which would support both,

@Mountaingoat12

Dyslexia is rarely diagnosed before about age 8, and even then there aren’t many tools or strategies suggested unless it’s severe. You are much less likely to get what you want if you go ballistic either. Take a deep breath and go for the polite-but-firm approach.

You can be diagnosed from 6. There are actually plenty of strategies, bit baffled that you think there aren't 🤔

Has he been diagnosed with anything else?

You'll need to get him assessed by a BDA assessor, it will probably cost around £550. If he is assessed as dyslexic the report will include recommendations of how he can be supported by school.

@GirlInACountrySong

Why on earth is your first thought to go 'ballistic' at school teachers??

I know that mumsnet loves teachers, but there seem to be two different types of teacher out there and if you have only ever had good experiences with excellent teachers it can be really hard to imagine that there are some very lazy teachers out there, who have no idea what they are doing, and are doing the very bare minimum that they can get away with. I am really supportive of the teaching profession generally, but honestly, in the past few months, my dd has been treated appallingly by her school, the SENCO couldn’t give a toss about what’s happening And is in no rush to sort an education out for her and we have had no communication from her class teacher since October. I appreciate going ballistic is not the way to treat anyone, but I can well believe how someone ends up feeling that this is what they want to do. To many children with SEN are being failed By the system and parents are having to fight far too much to get their children any support to enable them to reach their academic potential. As far as my dc is concerned we wouldn’t be needing the massive amounts of intervention we need now if smaller interventions had been put in place years ago and unsurprisingly that does make me really cross with school and the staff she has dealt with over the years. Op, try to focus on the future and getting the support your dc needs now for the future. If has an EHC, what is on it and are the school following that? It is my understanding that an EHC is a legal document, so if the school are not following it, they need challenging and the actions need putting in place for your son.

My dds school told me they don't test/assess fir dyslexia because it wouldn't change anything. Much is already adapted to be accessible to dyslexic children anyway.

Her teacher basically, know theres something "wrong" have her on any intervention going, use phrases like dyslexic traits and " her brain is just wired that way" ( her memory is also pretty bad)

They never come out and say she's dyslexic.

I would be very surprised if it ever came back she wasn't though.

So yeah you will have to test yourself unfortunately. The school won't cover it as it won't make a difference to how they teach your child.

So he had moderate signs, which was downgraded second assessment to few signs. And that’s parcelled up with other SEN. So could it be that they have made the same provision to cover all of his varied needs?

How are finding this out? You’ve read in the EHCP? (I think from your DLA thread that you’ve only just got that) Were you aware of the Nov 2020 assessment?

I think you need to ask questions, rather than go ballistic.

This is exactly like my child he is behind in every area he's 8 years old and been behind since reception when they started noticing traits of Asd and adhd and nothing is changing he's not been diagnosed with anything he is on sen but not got EHCP he's still can't do his work even though he's doing year one work and he's in year three feels like we've been going round in circles trying to get support for him

IME mainstream schools offer very little support for dyslexia outside the stuff they are legally required to do ie additional time in exams. However as your child has a EHCP you are in a much stronger position. I’d advise contacting the head teacher and telling them that are you concerned that they are not fulfilling their responsibilities around your child’s learning and arrange a meeting where they can go through the outcomes on the ehcp and how they are meeting them. They can’t opt out of supporting your child though they may need to ask the local authority for additional funding. You can also contact your ehcp coordinator and express your concerns to them. They may advise an emergency annual review with the school. YANBU to be frustrated with the school though.

If he has an ehcp and this dyslexia not receiving interventions on the echp then it is the LA who are in the wrong as rhey clearly haven't conducted the needs assessment correctly.

As a PP has said, Toe by Toe is a really good scheme - you can get the book and work through it home if the school can't or won't provide it (the book costs, and it's time-heavy in that you want to be doing 15 mins a day or at any rate, at least 3x a week - that's a lot of TA time).

IME even a term of Toe by Toe can make a big difference to the reading skills if a child showing dyslexic traits. It can be a bit dry but it is effective.

Find out what the school is doing, and what they have in place, and suggest Toe by Toe if it's not on their radar.

What do you mean they didn’t mention any of this to you? They can’t have obtained an ehcp and a formal diagnosis for dyslexia completely without your knowledge.

It’s unlikely that they have done literally nothing to support your son. How old is he, and what does the ehcp say they should be doing that they are not?