DS7 can read ok but spelling is awful. Dyslexia?

[Amphisbaena]

He is bright, interested in everything, writes with lovely ideas and vocab, but has dreadful handwriting and spelling. I thought that dyslexics struggled with reading too, or is this not always the case? TIA for any comments.

Teenage DD has severe dyslexia. Lovely handwriting but dreadful spelling together with many of the other traits. Definitely worth getting assessed as it in theory leads to other support and assistance in the classroom and exams.

The Sound Foundations programmes are a good phonics programme that only takes about 10 mins a day.

www.soundfoundationsbooks.co.uk/

DS2 went through a "can't do it / its too hard" phase because he hated making mistakes. I started to make a point of highlighting everytime I got something wrong myself and mentioned to his teachers too. He has got less sensitive about getting things wrong now because he's realised its not just him who makes mistakes.

I have agreed with his teacher that he doesn't have to do the same number of spellings as the rest of the class when they learn them. He does 5 instead of 10 and they do focus more on the most frequently used words.

A small whiteboard is useful for practising spellings as mistakes are very easy to rub out so don't sit there for everyone to see.

I used to tell DS2 off for bumping into things and standing too close to the TV - then I got his eyes tested .

Your DS is young enough that a structured programme can make a difference, it has with DS1 who was struggling with reading to the same extent as DS2 when he was in Yr2.