Asked by school to consult educational psychologist

[Gogglemint]

They tested dd (8) for dyspraxia and dyslexia, and she appears to have dyslexia (in 8th percentile for some of the tests) but there is no way we can afford one. They gave us a list of about 10 that we could contact, but they are all private. They seem to want us to get this done ASAP so that we can get procedures in place to help her.

Can you get this through your GP, or find funding to help? I feel like I am failing her if I don't pursue this, but don't know how we can.

Any help gratefully received.

Assuming you are at a state school they should have a local Ed Phy. Waiting list can be awful, but school should offer support while your waiting.
Very often formal detailed diagnosis make very little difference.

I shelled out for an Ed Phy report for DD1 because school wouldn't acknowledge she needed help.
However, in your case school have recognised there is a problem and they need to act.

I'd repost this in SN there are some wise posters who know the schools obligations far better than I do.

Thank you so much! Will re-post in sn, thank you!

GP can refer to Child development centre however when we tried the cons paed there said it was extremely rare to get an ed psych referral that way. She said all she could do was recommend to the school that they refer for an ed psych as the LEA has the funding to do so no the PCT. At least that was the position in our area.

What do they think they will gain by an EP assessment?

Frankly, they need to get off their arses and put something in place straight away. They have identified a problem. If they say your child has dyslexia or dyslexic tendencies, then your dc will probably benefit from a very structured course of phonics teaching. If your dc sees a private EP and the EP agrees that your child is dyslexic, the chances are that this is what they will recommend. Only you'll be £400 poorer. Really, you don't need to wait to see an EP before the school starts to do something - your child needs to be taught properly and the sooner the better. (And I say this as someone who was once an EP).

We had a private EP report done to confirm that ds was dyslexic. For us it was very helpful, confirmation that he was indeed clever and that although his reading/writing was apparently average there was a problem. It was a total waste of time as far as school was concerned though, and we had to get help elsewhere.

I've had an EP done for my child. It forced the school to give him extra help and it also helped me to understand his weaknesses. You will also need to produce it to get extra time in exams.

A report at 8 won't help you get extra time in GCSEs

As others have said, you really don't need an EP report. If school know there's a problem they need to help.

I would not advise spending money you don't have on an EP report.

I would tell school you can't afford it, and ask them what they're going to do to help her.

My DS felt relieved by the report as it confirmed that he is dyslexic and explained to him why he struggles. It got him extra time in an entrance exam too.

EP reports are only valid for the purpose of getting extra time in exams for about 2 years.

I'm puzzled by a school that feels it is able to test your dd for dyspraxia and dyslexia, yet isn't able to then put strategies in place to support her, nor 'procedures in place to help her'. By this, do they mean IEPs or beginning statutory assessment or what ? (Which should be done by the school). Have they given you a reason why they can't refer her to the school's EP if they feel they need advice from an EP ?

EPs don't test for dyspraxia though, neither do schools.

Is there are a reason why they don't want referrals to NHS services?

It's a private school, but we are on a full bursary (sub 16k income), so it is the school's procedure to give you private ones because it is a drop in the ocean to most parents.

The children have exams at the end of each year, and spelling tests each week (which is the problem at the mo as he confidence has hit the floor and tunnelled under it due to letter reversal). Her IQ is very good, which is saving her at the moment, but everything else is between the 8th and 23rd percentile, so she obviously struggles.

I'll go into school tomorrow (or today even, have just looked at the clock!) and have a word with them. Thank you all!

Private schools often expect parents to cough up the cash for any additional expenses incurred by sen, or spld in most cases. So the assessment might just be start of it. If it is confirmed that your child needs additional support, are you sure they are going to put it in place? Or are they going to put it in place once you pay them for it? No idea what would happen as a bursary student.

Out of interest (and kinda in response to another thread...) did your dc get a place solely based on iq? A bursary? And if so, what was the iq?(and faintly curious which school lol) feel free to pm or tell me to bog off, but it might help a few posters who have been pondering about private schools and iq.

If its a private school then you won't get the LEA to pay unless something like autism is suspected and it's done through the GP. Our LEA didn't want to know once I told them ds was at Pre-prep.

Dyspraxia can be assessed via the NHS. I know because I have just had my DS referred to a paediatrian for it. Sounds like you will have to get a private EP report though.

The EP report won't help with spelling tests or letter reversals.

It'll be a piece of paper saying your DD has dyslexia (which you and school already know)

And it'll make a whole bunch of recommendations - all of which you can get for free by reading MN threads on dyslexia. (there have been many)

I'm concerned school might want you to pay for an LSA to work with your DS 1:1.

Perhaps look on the fees part of your school website to see if they normally charge for that.

The school should provide the EP.

mumeeee, not in a private school. not unless they provide it and send you the bill to pay for it, anyway.

They don't pay for it in state schools either IME

they pay for the ep if you wait long enough to get to the top of the list... maybe. if you actually want anything done, then you're better off biting the bullet and scraping the cash together...

i'd be speaking to doc and asking for referral to developmeantl paed and ot for assessment re dyspraxia as well.

but i'd def be clarifying exactly with school what their intentions are wrt the future. this could be an excuse to get rid if you can't pay. esp for a bursary child, i would be imagining that there were a queue of bright kids without sn that they would rather replace with if it's going to cost them more than the bursary...

Missy they do pay in state schools here.

Mumeeee Not in Manchester it seems. I think the LEA should pay.

The EP report does more than just say that your child is crap at spelling and reading. It tells you what their actual spelling and reading age are, but apart from that it gives a really good picture of the specific difficulties the child is facing. Every dyslexic person is different and there is a whole lot more to dyslexia than having problems reading and spelling. For example, the EP will measure processing speed, verbal comprehension, perceptial reasoning (e.g., spatial awareness, visual organisation and identifying links between objects), and working memory index, whether there are difficulties learning sequences, e.g., times tables, months of the year. Dyslexics have an uneven profile of cognitive skills and for me it has been useful to know exactly where these weaknesses are.

As a dyslexia teacher, I'd want to know which tests the school has used already to show your child has dyslexia and dyspraxia- and why they need further confirmation.

Dyspraxia assessment is via a paediatrician in the NHS. You can get a specialist teacher's assessment instead of an ed psych's for about half the cost (I do these) but it won't test IQ.

The LEA does not pay for private assessments. In state schools the ed psychs may do an assessment but the ones I have seen are quite limited compared to ones done privately.

More to the point your DD will need the right kind of teaching so you need to ask the school what they are going to provide.

Hi everyone, sorry, have had a manic week!

Just to clarify, school are not going to kick us out simply for having a dyslexic child! They are fully behind her, which is excellent.

There has been rumour of bursary provision for an EP, which would be amazing. It is only rumour, but would be wonderful if available.

Scraping money together really is not possible at the moment, we will have to wait until she goes up to the secondary, as it will take us that long to save up the cash. We will have to cobble together any knowledge we can for free, and go from there.

Have booked in at gp's for 3 weeks time for a referral for a dyspraxia assessment, as that is looking quite necessary (terrible co-ordination in team sports leading to injuries in games each week, still unable to do buttons in y3 etc). There has been no talk of 1:1 teaching, and any learner support the school does do is done in small groups at lunchtime at no extra expense, so that should be good. I have only heard of 1:1's in our area for severe behavioural difficulties, not learning difficulties (have a friend with a child who has worse dyslexia than dd, and she does not need the provision). She is very bright and works incredibly hard to make sure she counteracts any spelling difficulties, so can't see it being a problem. School have been working really hard with her on presentation already, alongside checking work and spellings, which is great, but when provisionally tested for dyspraxia they said she can't have it because her presentation is so good!

Madwoman - it is a selective school, so the children are given places based on the admissions tests, and then if the family needs financial help the school then assesses you. The financial assessment is very extensive and they do double check everything (they will verify exactly how much you have left on your mortgage, your ability to re-mortgage, any bonuses, child maintenance, child benefit, how much you should pay for a week's groceries, how much your petrol and parking should be each week etc), but this is the case for all fee paying schools. If you are open with them then they are very open with you too, which gave me great peace of mind. Academic scholarships would be based on the outcome of a separate scholarship exam, but they tend to be for 11+ or 13+ entrance exams. I do not know of any school that gives out financial provision (or places) solely based on IQ-they need to see how the child applies it to problems, how they interact with other children, how they answer questions when stretched by teachers etc. Each school tends to have a certain "type" of child, and we have many children at school with siblings at another simply because different schools suited each child.

Hi glad i came upon your thread and you are recent ...some i looked at were dated 2004! I have ds3(7.8 yrs) and have had serious concerns for him for well over a year or more.
concerns cannot read ..literatlty he can do a few 3 letter words but will make up his own while "reading" a book..ie he will see a word beging with W and guess its ..what,where ,why,or when without understanding the word...he struggles with reception books unless he has had it a month and then he will read it from pure memory due to corrective work from myself.

Like someone else's child earlier(sorry can't remember who..too many post's!) he get's his numbers wrong ..still ,..14../41 and so on...2 x table=6..8..10..12..20.30....

Writting is illegable which i suppose to be expected if he cant R or W

Has dx hypermobility and hypertonia and speech delay which is all we have had (lax) referrals and apps for..but having looked into this ...they can all be connected. Up to now it has been a wait and see approach.

He does get help at school (some 1-1 on reading and phonetics) and has a lovely senco and have finally got app with pead in a few weeks to push for OT and a ed pysc referral to get official dx of SOMETHING!!!!

Was interested in some comments that said pead can dx but would still like ed pysc to do the full test(maybe i just want to feel good when his IQ goes off the scale!!)

Would be grateful for any advice/comfort to get my lovely little ds all the help he needs(and me!)

BTW knows the wash programs i use on w/ m and d/w and cooker controls Friday is bins..and can remember his p/w for computor games ..ie anything he has to "DO" ??? as aposed to memorise .Is this ringing any bells with any one!!!!!