To think that some parents like to label their children as dyslexic/dyscalculic/dyspraxic or as kinaesthetic learners....

[MrsSchadenfreude]

...rather than accept the fact that their child might not be particularly bright/academic, and by so doing this detracts from children who genuinely are eg dyslexic?

The OP was not dismissing those children with genuine special needs - I think people have reacted too harshly.

Forgive my ignorance but what is dyspraxia?

dyspraxia

My DS has been on and off the special needs register through primary and now back on in year 7 of primary. At primary they said he had a specific learning difficulty but now they are assessing him for dyslexia. The main reason he has got extra help over the years because there is a big discrepancy between his spelling and grammar and his comprehension skills. He is doing brilliantly academically.

I did see a programme recently say that they now can diagnose dyslexic using Magnetic imaging scans. The part of the left hand side of the brain that is used for word recognition doesn't work in dylexics and the use the right hand side instead, which is why many dyslexics can learn to read well using phonics.
My DH would have been diagnosed dyslexic nowadays, but due to trends in the 60s he was taught look and say and did not learn to read until he was taught phonics when he was 10. He is an electronics engineer and also very clever.

Well, my not-particularly-bright, but generally in the average range in most subjects, DS1 definitely does have dyscalculia and has been diagnosed by the EdPsych. Now in Year 7, he's been on school action plus for years and makes very slow progress with maths. He needs all the extra help he can get with maths as without basic maths skills he will struggle to lead a normal life. Personally, I think there are probably many more children who may have dyslexia or dyscalculia than are labelled, as their parents have not the knowledge, ability or intitiative required to navigate SEN support in getting the child the label and the extra support, rather than the other way round.

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For her to be on School Action Plus there should be involvement from external agencies. Has she been referred to anyone?

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Yes. If they are moving her to school action plus then it should mean a referral to someone. Sounds like they can't quite make up their minds who...

And you should have an IEP.

I'm interested in how another parent could possibly know whether a child has a "genuine" problem or not, or indeed whether the support they have got is privately paid for, or accessed after a long battle (or indeed non existent). I guess there might be parents with children that disappoint them for one reason or another who might cover that with a fake label, but personally I have yet to come across one. I do know some adults who claim they are dyslexic (not formally diagnosed) when I am pretty sure that their problems are caused by other issues, like never learning how to structure their thoughts, or being phobic of IT, but these are simply other problems, and still need addressing. All the dyslexics I know have worked hard to overcome their difficulties, and either chosen careers where writing isn't the key skill, or compensate by working very hard.

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At the junior school I work at, they have three types of 'intervention' for special needs (they call them 'waves')

Wave 3 is mainly the small groups or individual programmes such as TRACKS, toe by toe etc, Wave 2 is mainly support of various kinds in the classroom from a TA; these two waves are largely for children on the SEN register with a statement or on School action or class action

But wave 1 is the things that the teachers do in the classroom all the time which benefit all the children, not just those with SEN, things like ensuring there are as few sensory distractions as possible, and various types of differentiation, which includes recognising the different normal learning styles - visual, auditory and kinaesthenic, and making sure that all of them are provided for in the lesson.

What I'm trying to say in this probably unnecessarily long post is that they don't see kinaesthetic learners as having a special need simply because that is their preferred learning style -it's just as 'valid' as any other way of learning, it's just that it isn't a way that has traditionally been catered for in the classroom.

Good luck in the meeting alittleone2. I hope this is the start of some progress for your dd.

You should have an IEP now BTW.

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Alittleone2, sorry you've had such a struggle with things. Just wanted to say that if you don't feel you are getting anywhere after the next school meeting then another route to outside help is via the GP. They can refer you to a paediatrician.

alittleone, sorry to hear about your problems. Agree with other posters, you should have an IEP, and more help for your dd. I think I'd go down both routes, get a paediatricians review, because their reports will make the school sit up a bit. ALso, speak to the school nurse, school senco, or even the HV, anyone who can chase up some leads at the school to get things moving there. I think she really needs to be assessed by the Ed Psy and an IEP drawn up, and you shouldn't have to wait that long for that.

alittleone2.

A few thought (and hugs too, I know how depressing this can all be).

By learning difficulties they amy be referring to SLD? Specific Learning Difficulties- of which Dyslexia is indeed one. DS1 falls under the disability team / Ed Psych team at present for his ASD, but his dyslexia means he ahs been referred to the SLD team as well.

Also, there are avenues of help out there but you have to be in the know. BIBIC (www.bibic.org.uk) run a good therapy program for children with dyslexia (no diagnosis required), and ic anr ecommend them from my own experiences. Theyc an be pricey but if you ask they have lots of places they can go to for help with funding, we got both boys assessments paid for ages and now i just pay a small sum each month.

HTH.

Chops has said exactly what I wanted to say but was too incoherent to do so at 3am this morning !

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the problem is that if they don't have a 'label' it can be dfficult to access services, althought it is all wrong that the system workds like that.

And ime, it is pratically impossible to get support for your child without a lot of stamping your feet and demanding.

hats off to you for looking out for your dsd.

alittleone, you might find bibic work well with your DH then- they don't lebel or diagnose, they just identify specific issues and find ways toa ddress them. often goes down well with the dad's I find

My DS (6) has recently been diagnosed as having dyspraxia / sensory integration dysfunction.

This followed a series of tests and assessments which started in June.

I can assure any sceptics that far from looking for excuses for his behaviour all these years, we've had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the paediatrician.

The last thing we wanted was to have a child with any sort of disability or learnining difficulty. Like anyone else, we hoped for a perfectly healthy child.

We were waiting for DS to "grow out" of his problematic behaviours and never sought special treatment from his school - even as we struggled to make all the "Supernanny" style techniques work for us.

We have had so much snobbery and sneering over the years from many people whose children behave more as expected. We feel deemed bad parents by because our child is sometimes hyper.

My poor child has suffered terribly due to these sorts of judgements and it has been really hard at times.

It's early days, but now we know that there is genuinely something wrong with him, we can work together as a family to give him the support and consideration he needs.

Whether or not the finger-wagging, judgemental, "perfect parents" out there agree with his labelling.

To the OP, I do think there are parents who would prefer it if their kids had a recognised learning disability, personally I feel pretty happy that very very few could possibly get through all of the tasks required to prove SN.

I think it's sad though, because it wastes the time of all those involved in assessment, when they could be spending more time on kids with genuine problems.

Some people label their kids correctly - sometimes this is helpful to the child and sometimes not

Some people label their kids incorrectly - sometimes this is helpful to the child and sometimes not

Some people fight any labelling to the benefit of their child

Some people fight any labelling to the detriment of their child

Anyone who has a child with learning difficulties is struggling to do their best and it is not easy. I find the OP comes over as a bit judgemental here.

I didn't label my child, the ed psych did. He isn't very quick at language based tasks, and his handwriting and drawing skills are awful. But in other areas he is a reasonly able child.

Thanks to the appropraite help that he has been given he has made massive progress.

parents saying that their child is dyslexic (whatever) is going to do fuck all for getting them on the SEN reg.

God alone knows having an actual medical dx doesn't always get the child extra help without one hell of a battle.

Schools don't just go, 'OK mys X so Ryan has dyslexia, well give him and easy ride in school and lots of extra help'

It just doesn't work like that