over reaction to dyslexia -any advise welcome

[bejeezus]

my dd is in year 1. She is very bright and enthusiastic about school and learning new things. She has struggled with reading and 'sounds' and is not interested in practicing. Today her teacher told me they are quite sure she is dyslexic. She is already getting extra help in class and is taken out of class. They said she will get more help. They said she has problems with symbol recognition. She has apparently developed good coping skills.

Ridiculously, I cried. I feel inexplicably really upset about it. I dont know why really. I dont want her to struggle and loose interest in education but I was never determined that she would be a lawyer or a doctor or anything.

I need to read about dyslexia but wondered if any of you have any experience/ advice;

what DOES it ACTUALLY mean for her life?

are there personality traits associated with dyslexia?

is it a given that she will not do well academically?

is it stigmatised? do your kids get picked on for being dyslexic?

in some ways, I feel a bit relieved-it is explains quite a lot

[NaomiCole]

Bit harsh of the school to lable her straight away! Is her teacher a specialist in this area? I've an 8yr old in my class who I was convinced was dyslexic (as was his mother) and he was sent for all the screening tests - all came back saying he isn't, just has a few of the tendancies. :-)

Can I recommend the book "The Gift of Dyslexia" by Ronald Davis - an excellent read, encouraging and uplifting whilst informative and useful.

Chin up chuck - at least she has a mummy that loves her and will do anything she can to help her, she's a lucky girl :-)

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

sorry should read
"...assessment isn't necessary to get extra time..."

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

Indigo he'll probably be doing the Common Entrance at 12 so I was thinking about an assessment when he is about 9 so we still have time to iron out any issues. I note what you say that an assessment isn't necessary but I think we will probably get one to make sure we have picked up all his issues.

Once we have done the main retained reflexes work we will do a specific handwriting programme with the OT so his writing may improve.

We will also take him to a BO once the reflexes have been integrated as the OT showed us that one of his eyes does jerk and flick when tracking movement but that may stop when the reflexes are integrated.

[horsemadmom]

Hi,
In a nutshell, a regular optometrist looks at common visual defects. A behavioural optometrist analyses the way the eyes communicate with the brain. So, my DD's initial assessment consisted of:
A normal eye test followed by
Wearing special goggles which measured her eye movements separately as she read. They look to see how many times her eyes get stuck, digress and if she can move smoothly to the next line of text. This was done several times in different ways and her eye movements were plotted simultaneously on a computer screen. They also check for Irlen's and colour blindness.
She had previously been diagnosed as long sighted in her left eye. The B.O. found that her left eye was actually flickering and it got worse with fatigue (like a pinball between bumpers). Her brain was intermittently seeing two distinct images. Limited visual convergence and an over reliance on the 'well behaved' eye was making it very difficult for her to see words on a page and made her sensitive to visual noise. She wore a patch on the 'good' eye and specs with a prism to pull the problem eye into line. Then, the dyslexia tutor took over and worked on the skills her brain should have acquired when she was smaller. Visual patterns etc. DD had decided by this point to write with her right hand most of the time as it wasn't so smeary- still does everything else with her left. The B.O. sees her every 6 months now and readjusts her prescription. At the last visit he increased it for the first time in 3 years. DD was quite upset but he explained that she's now doing so much reading (a novel a fortnight) that she needs some extra help to support her eyes.

[CQrrrnee]

'the work I am doing is highly appropriate for his needs (though they think it is unusual to find a tutor outside Dyslexia Action taking such a multi-sensory approach)'
I've worked for D.A. - I don't know what they mean by that. I know plenty of dyslexia tutors/specialist SPLD teachers that use a multi-sensory approach which is very similar to the programme used by Dyslexia Action. In fact I don't know any that don't.

[IndigoBell]

Chaz - an assessment now won't get you extra time in exams when he is 15! He'll need a recent assessment (not more than 2 years old) for that.

And in fact if his writing is slow he can get extra time just on that, without an EP report. If his writing speed is less than something he automatically qualifies for extra time.

Could his improvement not be done to addressing his retained reflexes? Or have you not started that yet?

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

bejeezus I have been working with DS1 as have his school since he was 6 without an assessment. He also had retained reflexes so we are getting those addressed. It is difficult to know how much of his improvement is due to the interventions and how much is down to him maturing but he has really come on. If his problems persist into the next year I will consider an assessment especially as he may benefit from extra time in exams as he gets older as his writing is a bit slow and laboured.

horsemadmom the OT said that DS1 (R handed) could have very easily been left handed and that his body hadn't quite made up its mind.

[electra44]

//www.visionandlearning.co.uk/behavioural-optometry-explained.html

[bejeezus]

thanks for all your replies- its really helpful.. I have indeed panicked and felt like I NEEDED to have this assessment done to help my dd..but if tuition could be as useful until she gets older, I might be more inclined to wait for the free one from the school. Its awful to feel that the help my dd can get depends on my finances

another question for you what is the difference between a behavioural optometrist and a regular optometrist? she was sent to the optometrist in reception and does have glassesblimey, I forget what they said was wrong with her vision-I do remember that we saw 2 different optometrists on 2 visits and they gave conflicting views

[sarahfreck]

You make it sound like "trying things" takes months and months. It doesn't usually in my experience. Mostly within a single session (and of course I do assessment/evaluative tasks during the first session) I have picked up on some fairly core issues (and start to work on these whilst keeping an eye out for other issues that may be more subtle). And what I do is definitely not "one-size fits all". I actually think it is very good practice to be continually monitoring your tutoring, observing and evaluating the child's responses and adjusting your teaching accordingly and I do it whatever I am teaching.

I think Electra is correct when she says that test results are not always conclusively relied upon in a younger child. I'm not knocking assessments per-se. They can indeed be really helpful and useful and I have at times foulgt to try and get a child assessed ( usually when school were refusing to refer and saying there was nothing wrong!), but if, as Electra says, you only have one set of £400 to spare, for a child under 7, I would advocate paying for some interventions rather than an expensive assessment.

I am teaching a year 2 child at present. His parents have also sought advice from Dyslexia Action. They have advised that there is not much point paying for a full formal assessment at this stage because the work I am doing is highly appropriate for his needs (though they think it is unusual to find a tutor outside Dyslexia Action taking such a multi-sensory approach) and he is obviously progressing. They think an assessment at 7.5 might be appropriate, but to see how things go in the meantime!

[electra44]

Please note that education professionals - Sarah, BoffinMum and Maverick are advocating support and patience rather than rushing into things too early.

[electra44]

I think the point is that while neuro-development is immature in a child, the information you get from testing might not be accurate- but it might of course -. When I took my child to Oxford Uni, they told me beforehand results could not be relied upon that young. Payment was a semi-voluntary donation. There was no incentive for them to tell me they could help if perhaps they could not. Their advice after testing was the same as SarahFreck's (an I guess the course Maverick describes is much the same)and to return a year later.

There is more incentive for an ed psych to assess early if
a) there is a possibility they can indeed help and
b) there is a 400 pound fee for trying

In our anxiety we test early. We desperately want to fix things for our child when with current knowledge of neurodevelopment,the better avenue might be to offer excellent teaching and wait a few months. I wish it were otherwise. Waiting a little while and supporting isn't the same as not testing, though if an experienced teacher thinks vision might be a problem then an early visit to a behavioural optometrist might be good.

[maverick]

Well, I certainly don't waste time doing any of the following:

www.dyslexics.org.uk/resources_and_further_18.htm

[BoffinMum]

I wouldn't worry too much yet. I would ask for a (free) Local Authority Educational Psychologist assessment to take place just after her 7th birthday. Also get a (free) NHS eye test and (free) NHS glasses, as correcting any very minor eyesight issues can be very helpful for children with dyslexia, even if they wouldn't normally be considered to require correction. In terms of educational support, any time spent going through workbooks from WHSmith with phonics-type activities will be helpful, as will developing extra-curricular interests for self-esteem, so put her down for things like Brownies, music and sport activities. Also over time, things may well improve as she matures. My last piece of advice would be to avoid the dyslexia 'industry' as you could easily find yourself spending thousands to little effect. A bit of 1:1 or 1:2 tuition every week from a reputable charitable organisation might be helpful, but otherwise don't feel you have to shell out.

[LRDTheFeministNutcase]

Well of course you don't need to 'try' things if you're doing a one-size-fits-all, maverick! I'm sure it's great for what it does, though - but a bit beside the point, surely?

[jugglingwiththreeshoes]

My DD has been taking part in some research at Cambridge Uni over the last 5 years or so, looking at her auditory processing skills - very interesting, but I wish they'd tell me what they've found out specifically about her. I think there may have been some mention that we could ask for those results, but I wasn't sure. Hopefully she will be carrying on with her involvement in this research project, so perhaps I'll have the opportunity to find out more about DD this way.

[Justfeckingdoit]

Hi, not read the whole thread buti I am mildly dsylexic and got the best a level results in my county (you can apply to ensure that marks are not taken off got poor spelling), I won a place at Oxbridge and I am a board director of a reasonably big company.

Perhaps if I lived pre-spell check I might have been compromised...luckily spellcheck has saved me.

So, no, it need not inhibit a career at all!

[electra44]

And while I understand Horsemadmom's thoughts about trying things, the things SarahFreck and Maverick describe are considered best teaching practice for young children so will be of benefit anyway to any child who needs to catch up.

[electra44]

If you have only one set of 400 pound fees to spare, I'd say Sarah Freck's advice is professional and sound. It is best to begin intervention as early as possible targeting the areas in the way Sarah suggests which are likely to beneficial. At six, you child is still developing and the scores on the ed psych's assessment are likely to be more reliable after the age of 7 when her maturity grows.

Behavioural optometry is good (my child has it) but it might include retained reflex therapy, which many find helpful, but which is scientifically unproven as a therapy and part of the condition it helps, neuroscientists tend to say is due to immaturity of the central nervous system. It's the same with the optometry part the eye / brain is one of the later parts of the CNS to mature. This is not to dismiss Behavioural optometry - my child has glasses and they have helped but she was 8 on receiving them.

It depends a bit on how much money and time you can spare. It is easy to rush into expensive treatments out of concern for your child and then to have to repeat them. My child was seen at Oxford University when she was 6, but the results were inconclusive because of her age. the root of the problems was discovered through testing at 8.

Good luck

[maverick]

I don't have to 'try things'. I do a free assessment, initially, which tells me exactly where the person (any age) needs to start in the programme.

The programme I use, the Sound Reading System, has been described as 'remarkable' by the Dyslexia-SpLD Trust (umbrella group) for all age groups, for reading, spelling and comprehension. It's fast too -I've rarely needed to give more than 30 hours of tuition in all the years I've doing it.

//www.soundreadingsystem.co.uk

[lionheart]

I am going to move in this direction too bejeezus. My DN had the tests last year and it cost around £400 but includes the testing (a mixture of different things), the report and follow up suggestions (she doesn't have dyslexia). The report was then sent to the school so they could target specific areas where she struggled. She's doing much better now.

I have contacted my local DA and have a list of contacts.

Did the school give you any indication of how long she would have to wait?

[horsemadmom]

Anybody else with an ambidextrous one as well?

[horsemadmom]

BTW, I read an interesting report from Cambridge which I'll try to find and link about auto immune diseases and dyslexia. DD ticked that box. Anybody else?

[horsemadmom]

I would, and did, go for the assessment and behavioural optometry. It is very expensive but the amount of time and professional expertise involved makes it seem a bargain. What struck me about Sarahfreck's post was the trail and error nature of the tutoring without a comprehensive diagnosis. Our recommended dyslexia tutor had all of DD's reports in advance and DD was able to begin with EXACTLY the core skills she lacked and made lightning fast progress. The tutor didn't need to 'try' things.
Ditto the behavioural (note- not a regular) optometrist. Without correcting her vision, no amount of tutoring would have helped because she was seeing two distinct images that her brain couldn't match up. She couldn't scan a line of text or look at the board and back to her paper without getting lost and attempts at reading were done with the book held at arms length to the left of her.
DD went from laboriously sounding out every word (c-a-t) to reading fluently, from block patterns to acing her 7+ exams in 6 months! 3 years on, she can hit a tennis ball (a miracle), read 50 pages for pleasure, take her glasses off when not doing work and she feels like she can achieve anything.

[maverick]

I also tutor 'dyslexics' without needing an assessment first -most assessments from private or LEA ed. psychs that I've read (and I've got files of the things) aren't worth the paper they are written on.

If you've got a struggling reader, use your hard earned cash to pay for tutoring from an experienced tutor who uses a systematic synthetic phonics intervention programme.

Should I have my child assessed?
www.dyslexics.org.uk/should_I_have.htm