possible dyslexia in 18 year old

[sowhatshallido]

My 18 year old dd told me her college tutor thinks she might have dyslexia and is going to talk to her about it today..
I know she has found essays etc difficult and swapped from 'academic' course to btec advanced diploma in sport after as year at 6 form. She is finding the essay part on this course hard too. She thinks she is 'thick' (she is bright) but this is the first i have heard about it, and it is a shock to be honest.
What would make them think that, and what would the next step be, and if she is dyslexic, what then?
Any help appreciated.!

2 of my dd's are dyslexic, one mildly, one very severly. With the mild one you would never know, she is also gifted and that compensates to some degree, and she has evolved strategies to cope. The other dd finds writing really hard, and everything takes several times longer. Both were privately diagnosed when about 9, although schools usually screen now and can do some sort of identification testing, not sure of details. Important thing to remember is that if your dd is dyslexic she has always been, it isn't something new for her and doesn't change her - knowledge is power, and I know both my dd's felt liberated by their diagnosis, no more thinking they were "thick" for not getting things. Lots of support at school depending on degree of issues, from extra time for exams, one to one support, translators etc. Usually when going to Uni they will ask for a report (can be from school) just so they know what sort of support will be needed. Both these dd's went to good universities (actually went to same Russell group one), older one didn't need any help, younger has dictaphones, special customised laptop (one that speaks to her among other things) etc etc. As a mum I found I really had to be there a lot more for these 2, mainly in terms of organising, morale boosting, and going in to sort out issues when they arose, and it hasn't stopped yet, I'm killing time on here now while waiting to proof read an s.a for younger dd, small price for happy dd. Good luck, I'm sure if the teacher is right and it is confirmed it can only help your dd understand how she works, and give her the confidence to tackle the academic bits and not be so hard on herself.

thanks for that!
I know that its a good thing - they must have seen she is struggling and are trying to help.
She said to me not to tell her dad - not sure why - I said to her when she told me that it was a good thing that the tutor has said that, because it could help her, she agreed.
Well, i guess i will find out.

I have dyslexia and I'm at university.

Your DD will need to get an assessment by an educational psychologist to confirm a dyslexia diagnosis - her tutor won't be qualified to actually diagnose. She'll need a full diagnosis and report to get support on her BTEC.

There is a lot of support at HE level - I get Disabled Student's Allowance which pays for a dictaphone, PC, internet access, specialist software. I have been offered use of a note-taker in lectures but I felt too self-conscious to do that so I prefer working from my dictaphone.

I also got support with essays from the study skills unit, the tutor would read through my essays and help me plan revision and coursework.

I find it hard to plan my time as well so I always request extenuating circumstances for essay deadlines - it's automatically provided for any student on DSA and means I get an extra couple of weeks for my deadlines.

Make sure she applies for DSA when she applies for funding for the BTEC. It takes a few months to get the application assessed so it's best to start applying as soon as she's able to.

She told me last night that there is someone coming into college to assess her today - either she has known about this for some time and not told me, or its not a 'proper' person. Although the college is actually next door to the 'childrens centre' in the town, and this does have Educational Psychologist on the team to my knowledge.
She seems really embarrassed by this and doesnt want anyone to know - doesnt want me to tell her dad even (I have, but told her to tell him), and definitely not talk about it in front of her siblings
ragingdragon - can you relate to her feeling embarrassed about it?

I have to admit that I don't tell many people about my dyslexia - just people who need to know, like my tutor. I suppose it's because I've heard some comments in the past about it being a 'made up condition' or being used as an excuse (not directed at me, but it made me feel embarrassed anyway).

It would probably help a little bit if I was more open about it - e.g. sometimes I ask coursemates for a copy of their notes as I find it hard to get everything down, and I don't tell them that I get extra time to complete essays because I'm worried they'll see it as unfair. They would probably be more understanding if they knew but I'm quite a private person so I'd rather keep it to myself.

"Your DD will need to get an assessment by an educational psychologist to confirm a dyslexia diagnosis - her tutor won't be qualified to actually diagnose. She'll need a full diagnosis and report to get support on her BTEC."

No, in a post 16 college, support should be available on the basis of specialist teachers' assessments.

Specialist teachers, with a practising certificate, are also qualified to assess students for DSA.

The college may very well have such a person on the staff.

The important thing, really, is how much difficulty the student experiences as a result of the Specific Learning Difficulty, and what can be done to compensate for the problems.

This is a great time to get diagnosed. Whoever she gets the diagnosis from, with luck it should - even if she doesn't come out with dyslexia - tell you a lot about how she thinks and works, and where her strengths and weaknesses are. In fact, the most useful diagnosis report I had was from someone who was qualified, but wasn't an Ed Psych.

It's a really good thing to have, because once you know where the problems ar it's easier to find strategies around them.

I can relate to her feeling embarrassed as I also felt that I was getting some kind of 'unfair advantage', a bit like raging maybe. But actually, my last diagnosis was really good for making me stop thinking that, as the person who did the tests took time to explain how there really were problems there and I shouldn't feel ashamed to accept I am a bit different from most people and struggle with some things a bit more. I've got a lot better at just saying 'I'm dyslexic and such-and-such is really hard for me, so I need you to do such-and-such to make it easier'.

I think when someone first suggests you might have a learning disability, you feel almost like a fraud, because you think 'well, maybe I am just thick'. But actually - as with your daughter - people can usually tell if you're bright and if there's something more to it!

Hope she gets the support she needs.

I agree with ragingdragon on process. I work in HE and work with many students with dyslexia - statistics show that 20% of students have dyslexia, and it often comes up at university as with increased reading and writing, problems are identified. There is alot of support, institutions need to have it in place, and your daughter will find many different strategies, software that can help her that she will probably have loaded onto her computer, and also have access to about 20 hours a year extra tuition with a dyslexia specialist.
Her assessment report will give her a good understanding of dyslexia, and how she learns and processes - she will find that she is probably in a higher band of thinking in many areas, and finds it difficult to process in others. Her report will also give important information to her tutors on what they can do to help her e.g. coloured overlays to help with reading; extra time for assessments and exams; handing out printed notes; use of dictaphone etc.
goodluck ......

wow - lovely to see all the responses.

She had a 'pre' diagnosis or something from the learning support people at college yesterday. To see if they would put her forward for a proper one I think.
(its weird just hearing about what happened from her, because now she is 18 they have not involved me at all, and it is all 'in her court' as such!)

She said that the lady she saw did various little tests, and asked questions, said that she seemed to have problems with 'verbal' and 'reading' areas,(doesnt have a problem with being actually able to read - apart from having to re-read sentences to make sense of the meaning I think, and possibly other stuff, but its hard to get a full picture out of a teen!), and she was going to get some sort of colour test done because dd says if its black text on a white background it blurs.

You know, looking back, I have known for years that when she reads she finds it hard to concentrate, and gets headaches when reading - but never thought a lot about it!

I am really happy they are looking into possible issues, but the lady did say apparently that she would have to speak to her colleague, to see if they would refer her for full testing, because 'it was only in one area'. (does this sound odd - i thought it was something that could just be in one area - why would this mean she didnt get assessed??)

She asked her what help she might want - and dd said not a notetaker (although she struggles here) because it would be embarrassing, but she is going to get someone to meet with on a one to one who can help her with stuff like planning her work and structuring things i think.

That sounds about right - the full test costs the college around £400 to do, so they usually do some pre-tests to see if it indicates a possibility of dyslexia.
The colour background sounds right - often people with dyslexia find it easier to read/focus with colour overlays.
It might mean that with dyslexia she will need longer to read - so not a problem with reading as such, it might just be longer to process everything.
She can always have the full test herself if she is worried, but it seems like they have everything in control
Your dd could get a tape recorder to tape notes. When i organise note takers for my students i make sure they sit away from student, only meet when arranged to, so that the student doesnt feel like they have someone sitting right with them (embarresment etc).
This is a very positive step, as it will help both your dd and her tutors make sure her learning experience is equal.
keep us posted, and if you want any help reading the diagnosis etc i would be happy to try and help.

I don't think it sounds odd - I suspect the lady just meant the pre-test wasn't telling her enough to be sure, and she could only find obvious problems in one area. Obviously I don't know what test she used, but often people run little tests which are pretty blunt instruments - they're good to do, because a full assessment is expensive, but they can't really say much.

I'd be tempted to get your DD to ask her to elaborate a bit if you decide not to get the full test, though.

It's probable, if your DD is 18, she will have developed all sorts of coping strategies already to help her with her difficulties, so her problems may not show up quite so much as they would have done when she was younger. But they'll still be tiring her out - I bet it's really tiring to read if the letters blur on the paper! - so it'll be good if she can get some help.

I can see where your DD is coming from with the note-taker. Whoever does her assessment ought to give her a really clear sense of whether or not this would be the best thing, and what other things might be done instead.

But your DD does need to think about what help she might need later on. A DSA may fund some of it if she goes to university next year. It could be very simple things, like providing her tinted paper to print on (pale yellow is often good).

Actually, thinking about it, I used to get past the problem of note-takers by asking my teachers for copies of their lecture notes when I was at university. If she has teachers who teach from a lesson plan or notes, they might be prepared to do this?

I found a few people were very resistant (and rude!) in a kind of 'oh, how cheeky to ask for my notes! Do your own!' kind of way. But most of them realized it was a good way to help me out and can be done discreetly so you don't have to look differently from everyone else. One of my lecturers just put his notes up on the net for everyone after lectures, which was great as I could use them and so could everyone else - it actually increased attendance at his lectures because people liked it! I digress, but I'm trying to think of ways that might help without being embarrassing.

Many kids who are thought to be dyslexia sometimes are scoptopic. This means they are light sensitive. Myself and my children are. We are all bright but have struggled to do exams and remember details for exams. This condition is really common but only has been reconised over the past 15yrs approx.
Google: Irlen syndrom, or scoptopic sensitivity. It is genetic and can be overcome easily.
My son just took a maths mock. He wasfirst placed in the wrong place in the hall under all the lights. He got 6%. He then took the next maths in the darker corridor and got an A. You can also wear coloured glasses or have coloured overlays to help. It helps with not just reading but also processing information. If you proccess better you remember it better. Have a google especially on the Irlen.com site your daughter might reconise the problem. If she needs a test you can have one at the opticians if you ask for the clolour test. It should be about £25. If you need any other info let me know XX

camptownraces in order to apply for DSA only an Ed Psych Report will be accepted as "evidence of dyslexia.

OP your DD's college should be able to arrange for an Ed Psych report to be carried out through the Access to Learning Fund (which means it costs you nothing, or a very small fee). Once a diagnosis is made she can apply for DSA and she should then get all the support she needs. Her college should have an Equality/Disability Support service.

There is no reason why she should be disadvantaged if she has dyslexia.

Sweetandtenderhooligan - that is really interesting, thank you. I'm just in the process of applying for DSA for my dyslexic DD. She came back from 6th Form college today with the SEN Teachers assessment saying the college were unsure whether Student Finance would accept it. They said she may need to have another (post 16) Ed psych report for which we would have to pay privately - I will have to investigate the Access to Learning fund.

OP I can only reiterate what other posters have said - DD is 18 too but was diagnosed at about 8 or 9 - it was a great confidence boost to her at the time to realise she wasn't 'thick' and it was just that her mind worked in a different way.