To think he’s dyslexic? Private test?

[Infinity234]

My son is 7 and in year 2. He is my third child, the other two are 16 and 17. I have noticed from the time he started reading at school that he seemed to struggle compared to his older siblings. Their dad is dyslexic. Our eldest has gone to college and had an exam access assessment and has been found to need 25% extra time in exams and an aqua reading ruler.

The 7yo always has to ask me when writing which way round a b or a d is as he gets them mixed up. He can sometimes think lower case f is t and vice versa when reading. He sometimes guesses the word based on the first two or three letters. Misses off ing, ed, s off the end of words when reading. He really struggles to understand the concept of rhyming, often thinking it’s the sound at the beginning of the word that should sound the same rather than at the end. He also doesn’t seem to get full stops, he quite often doesn’t pause when reading and carries on the rest of the line.

I have spoken to the class teacher and the SENCO who both don’t think there is much of an issue. He has just moved up to white book band books, but was unsure about this as he felt he sometimes struggled on gold. In his end of term reports throughout this year he has been ‘working towards’ for everything apart from spoken language which is ‘on track’.

When I have mentioned possible dyslexia the school have told me that is something I would have to pursue privately. Are all schools like this? If I have to pay £600-700 for a diagnosis so be it, but we aren’t on a great income so if I didn’t have to I’d rather not. He hasn’t settled well at the school and has asked to move many times. If I could get him help elsewhere I would consider it.

State schools do have dyslexia assessments - have to push really hard as it has to be paid for out of their budget unless they have a member of staff interested.
Also if diagnosed there will not be enough staff to implement the programme. Keep pushing.

All children should be screened for dyslexia in school (is a basic screening) in year 2 or 3. You do need to pay private for a proper test - it takes about 4 hours and I paid around £400. Unfortunately it’s one of those things that you just have to pay for. I’m on lots of forums and don’t know anyone who managed to get school to pay for it

I’ve been told by school that they would definitely not assess him for dyslexia 😣🤷🏼‍♀️

Dyslexia assessor here - very unlikely to get through school. www.patoss-dyslexia.org/Tutor-Index-Landing. This assessor database should be helpful. Ensure that the assessor has an assessment practising certificate. Full diagnostic assessments are recommended for 8+ if you decide to go down this route.

That’s fine if I have to. I got talking to a lady in the street earlier who told me she used to be a teacher and told me to keep pushing at school so I wasn’t sure if it was just his school being awkward.

Thank you, the link isn’t working 😣

I also suspect dyscalculia is that a separate assessment? 🙈

Our primary school seems to say no to testing for dyslexia on the basis that they are a dyslexia friendly school and already put in place for all children the strategies that would help a dyslexic pupil.

I've no idea if that is actually a sensible approach.

Our school pay, I was surprised, I didn’t have to fight for it but it’s very clear there’s some underlying issue. Reading/ writing/ spelling are 3 years behind in a child who is other wise very bright and knowledgeable. Told the assessment should take most of the day

I checked back and I paid £300 but that was two years ago now .

Our school said they suspected our son was dyslexic.
They don’t assess in school, neither does the school I work in.
We had to pay £550, but went to a psychologist as I wanted them to look at the possibility of other additions need too.
Money well spent as my son now understands why he was struggling and school put intervention in to help him.

Don't waste money on a private test. It can't be confirmed until he's 8 anyway. Ask school to do an assessment. That will give you an indication and he can get support within school off the back of that. They may not accept the private test results. Then the test will be repeated when he is 8 and a definite diagnosis given ( or not).

We paid for DS2 to have an assessment with an Educational Psychologist, many years ago now, we paid £420, our private health insurance paid half of the cost, so if you have that cover in place ask the question.

We had to pay, as our LA did not have an Ed Psych in post, the post was vacant for months, do not rely on school to do the assessment.

The things you list in para 2, are indicative of dyslexia. However, lots of children do this. There is no 1 "test" to identify dyslexia. It's a battery of tests and observations. The more evidence an assessor/identifer has, the better. Typically the assessment will involve speaking to teachers and parents about learning styles etc, observation of independent pieces of writing, dyslexia screener and assessments, a phonological awareness/processing assessment, spelling test results. They may also use a vocab assessment as a comparison.

My advice (as Senco):
-7 is quite young to be identified
-a parent with dyslexia is a strong link
-if you can, get the school to assess for d
-schools have to accept the RESULT of a private assessment but not necessarily the recommendations
-school assessments are more in depth than private assessments
-even if he isn't dyslexic, he may still be able to get support

www.patoss-dyslexia.org. If you go on the main website click on tutor/assessor listing

A private assessment will be two and a half hours plus so would be much more detailed than what a school would be able to provide.

We are on the list to be privately tested (can't happen till she is 8) as all local schools do these days is a screening test which can be hit and miss as it doesn't take into account intelligence of the child. All children are screened in Y3 so we will see what that says but we have also booked for next summer (the assessor is already booked up till May next year) a full diagnostic assessment at a cost of £500.

Yep we had to pay private

Had a look at https://www.wordwasp.com/
I used the books word hornet and word wasp my kids. U only need to buy the book (even second hand) then work through it at home. They do a booke called Toe by Toe too

If you go private make sure the professial will go to tribunal with you. There are lots of lovely ladies who will do assessments but find going to tribunal 'too stressful' and the local authority know this. Contact IPSEA for advice before parting with money.

School dyslexia tests aren't great, they didn't pick up my children's dyslexia.
Whilst it's ok for the people here saying their kids school is dyslexia friendly therefore their kids don't need proper assessment, it would certainly help in Secondary School and if additional time is needed at GCSE.
I paid £350 ish a couple of years. If you live in Bucks, Beds, Northamptonshire way I can recommend the assessor we used. She is on the approved dyslexia assessor but she's cheaper if you book direct rather than through BDA.

My school will not assess for dyslexia no matter how hard you push. However, we will identify difficulties and provide support. You do not need a diagnosis to have support in place nor to have access arrangements in external examinations. If you meet the criteria for access arrangements you are eligible with or without a diagnosis.

Useful advice. Some schools don't have resources or staffing. On average, I would spend 8 hrs identifying a child as dyslexic.

Some LA's are moving away from dyslexia diagnosis.

I'm in Essex and the teacher flagged that DD7, also year 2 has similar dyslexic tendancies as your son but they now call them "literacy difficulties" and, as PP have said, all school teachers should be trained to support these children.

Our school has offered the basic screening, but they are pretty on board and supportive and my DD also has dyspraxia which makes it trickier for her.

If the school won't test, I would certainly push to see what additional support they are offering.