To worry about DD 9 not being able to read....it's a long one!

[Helena2000]

They know. I tell them all the time. I have so many meetings about her with the school. They are lovely as individuals, and they all love DD, but they tell me they've got no resources and they are under staffed because they've had their budgets cut by the government, so they can'tgive her what she needs.
I tried to get her referred for assessment but the local authority said she doesn't meet the criteria because the criteria has been tightened because referrals have increased whilst their education budget has been cut.
School did a dyslexia screen last year and the results said she doesn't have dyslexia.
School tell me to teach her at home, but DD wants to switch off when she gets home and gets frustrated when I try to do reading with her, so then it becomes counter productive.
I just go round and round in circles.

Perhaps contact who I used (NW based) and see if she can recommend anyone localish to you that does full screening.

Somewhere like this in London

thecdc.london/psychoeducational-assessment/

This place does full screening too if you read the blurb

www.dyslexiatestcentre.co.uk

have you taken her for an eye test?
hearing test?

that could explain the tiredness.

not saying that this is all there is to the issue, but if the eyes or hearing don't work properly everything is a lot more hard work.

OP - I am the reading and phonics lead at our school and I have a postgrad in dyslexia and literacy support. Please DM me if you would like any advice.

@Helena2000

My dd couldn't read and I did my research and changed tack as explained in my posts.

Flash cards 100 hfw.
Joined reading chest.
Peter and Jane books.
Dumped phonics because for many children its a barrier and over complicates reading.
This was over covid and I had a stuttering stumbling reader on a low ort level for her age and I sent her back tk school on am age appropriate band, reading smoothly.

There is lots of comments about phonics on your thread including a good article on it.

Children need flexibility? Trying different things??

If you want to stick to phonics.....

*we had reading eggs and she did toe at school.

Over covid she did about 10 moms a day.
. She begged me to stop toe by toe

The foundations of what got her reading where flash cards, fast and quick and fun.
Reading chest, Peter and Jane.
Ditching phonics.

Unfortunately I don't think sticking her in front of a computer with endless apps will work.

You need to look at her holistically. How does she feel shout reading and books? Her self esteem, you need to work on rhe whole child.

Can you do fun things with her like completing puzzles and she needs to read the instructions or bake cakes and she has to read the recipe? Almost teach her by stealth. Otherwise, a private assessment might be in order.

OP you need to look up the 37 signs of dyslexia - it’s the dyslexia association.

I'm dealing with dyslexia, processing disorder, working memory problems, or a combination of all

Dyslexia isn’t just a lot reading and spelling, slow processing and working memory, time keeping are all part of dyslexia.

There are schools that only take dyslexic children - if you are both degree educated could you consider this as an option?

On a side note - you need to teach her touch typing. Fingers learn to spell and she doesn’t have to use any brain power - I liken it to driving once you know how to drive there’s no thought process.

Also, if she’s not getting anywhere with phonics - try sight reading - you need visual aids.

Look up phonics and sounds - there’s a list of the first 100 words - put 5 up and she has to touch x you can also play this as a game - run and get me look

There is also another program - which I’ll post - you choose 3 worlds she knows and 2 she doesn’t and she has 1 min to read thought the words - I works wonders. Same words 1 min practice - 1 min to test - 3/5 times a week. Let me find it for you.

https://www.dyslexia.com/about-dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/test-for-dyslexia-37-signs/

you need 10 my son hit 30

https://www.typingclub.com/

Does she want to read? I was a reading refuser at 8. I didn't want to learn as I wanted to have stories read to me. In this case you need to work out how to encourage/bribe/unlock the desire to read.

If she wants to read but is struggling then definitely start with all the assessments and actions above.

http://www.johnandgwyn.co.uk/literacy.html

Precision teaching

Dyslexia isn’t just a lot reading and spelling, slow processing and working memory, time keeping are all part of dyslexia.

This and I do wonder if the maths issues are mental arithmetic issues - I'm good at maths but struggled with spelling words out and mental maths because of poor working memory.

I do think you are very sensible to get an assessment despite how expensive given she is Y5- there's only two years before secondary so it's very likely she'll need support and awareness there.

Also agree you can't do everything at once and when reading is on track likely also find there are spelling issues and then there's maths as well.

Dancing bear comes with flash cards you do at start of lessons- with letters and diagraphs made it painfully clear that while my DC "knew" most there was a delay which was massively hindering their reading - it took a lot of practise to automate and get very fast - same with maths and number bonds and timetables - they are instant now something I'm still not (despite doing A-level maths) - that came with an unbelievable amount of practise - we used https://www.themathsfactor.com/ but there are other programs out there.

Primary boards here when mine were this age were full of experienced teachers and other parents who gave great advice.

Please don't feel guilty about what's passed, you didn't know what you didn't know and it makes sense to trust your child's school, after all they're the education experts or should be. The school are being ridiculous saying it doesn't matter knowing the why, for several reasons, for her to understand herself, for them to understand how to teach her. If they won't suit their teaching method to what she needs that's their failing. It's pretty poor a school saying it won't change anything no matter what the issue is.

Your plan of action sounds great. A good educational psychologist should be able to point you in the direction of what assessments they think are most appropriate if you outline her issues to them. You may have to travel, it will be worth it for the right specialist. The point about not recognising a word on the next page is an interesting one, and could be an important point. The same with the issues with phonics. It's all evidence of what's going on inside her head.

My DS used to not recognise words, he had the same issue with counting, couldn't seem to recognise the numbers. He loved to swing and I would push him for 30 minutes while we counted together. Sometimes movement helps learning, he's relaxed on the swing too, maybe that made him more receptive. When reading would add sounds to words from letters that weren't there. His spelling was so bad his teacher couldn't mark his work and 20 minutes after writing it he couldn't remember what he'd written. Having got him through it twice now, with counting then reading and now working on writing I still don't know what the issue is. It feels like he can only learn in very specific ways, but I'd be lying if I said I understood why he's had these struggles and how I've been able to resolve them. He's Autistic, but nothing else diagnosed so far.

These are a series of decodable readers you could try, they're designed for children with dyslexia. If you click on a set and then scroll down they have free PDFs you can print off or read on a tablet. https://www.speldsa.org.au/SPELD-SA-Phonic-Readers-New-Series

These are an inexpensive tool that could help. https://www.thedyslexiashop.co.uk/products/crossbow-duo-coloured-reading-rulers

It can feel really overwhelming when you start down this road with possible SEN and all these new ideas and an array of options and decisions that you might feel you don't know enough to make. It does get easier. Be kind to yourself, it's a tough and long process and you need to pace yourself so you can keep going at it and not get burnt out.

You sound like a lovely parent who has done everything right so far. I know the importance of phonics but if its not working for her i would give learning words by sight a go at times and see if she finds it any easier. I know its considered a not great technique but it does work for some people. If she did find it easier you could bring phonics back in for the words she has already memorised so she starts to understand how they are made up. Good luck finding an assessment.

Also, can she break a word you say down into syllables? Can she make the sounds in a word u say? If not id forget about the reading for a while and practise those skills.

My dd is very dyslexic and dyscalculic - poor working memory, slow processing, issues with sequencing etc. Dancing bears worked for us (mind numbingly boring but it worked). For maths try Plus 1 https://www.123learning.co.uk/plus-1-book It has a similar method to ToebyToe and Dancing Bears - lots of repetition- but does work. (My dd is now in her final year at a good uni doing a degree involving a lot of reading - there is hope!)