At what age is dyslexia flagged up?

[cosmobrown]

no experience with dyslexia, but wondering on behalf of a friend. Her ds (age 6 in jan) is struggling at school apparently.

6 or 7 as a minimum, but she'll probably need to go private for a proper diagnosis.

Not until year 3, or ideally year 4 to be sure. Some children just take longer than others to 'get' reading and wriitng.

Usually around 7. Concerns may be raised earlier but can be confused with development within normal range ie. Reversals. Has he been tested for hearing and eyesight? Have other Splds such as dyspraxia or auditory processing disorder been ruled out?

yes, she was only called into school very recently. I suggested an Ed psych report, as I've read about them on here!!! Don't know what they actually tell you though!!!

Many of the things that are commonly thought of indications of dyslexia are normal development for young children (and many aren't actual indicators of dyslexia - reversals being the most often cited).
Your friend doesn't need a diagnosis what's important is that the school gave identified a possible problem and hopefully will act on this. An Ed Psych could identify specific issues to work on but Ed Psych time is like gold dust and schools are often forced to prioritise who is seen first.
I disagree that going private is needed for a "proper" diagnosis (I've read some really terrible private assessments that weren't informative )

She needs some information from the school as to what the problems are. There are interventions that can help whether or not a child has dyslexia i.e. if they are taking a bit longer to get the hang of reading. You don't need an EP report to start them.

DS may be dyslexic. We've been told 7 as a minimum for assessment but I've also heard horror stories of long waiting lists for ed. psych. appointments so she'd have a wait for an assessment.

The school should still be trying to help her in the meantime though.

There are dyslexia screening programmes available from the age of 4

Thanks everyone. I'm sure her school will have procedures in place to help them. At least he is still young, and can be helped. I reckon he's just biding his time until he can be bothered to knuckle down to school work!!!

We paid privately for an ed psych assessment for dd and they wouldn't do it u til she was 7yo.

I thought my daughter was dyslexic when she started primary school at 4 years, 8 months. The school wouldn't have it and convinced me she couldnt be tested until 7 or 8. There followed 2.5 years of struggle - losing confidence because she could not read or write.

Finally diagnosed at age 7, years behind and no confidence. i would go for early diagnosis if at all possible.

I have a 9 year old who is dyslexic and we identified privately through a learning specialist on recommendation of her Year 3 teacher. She had just moved schools at the beginning of the summer term Year 2.

The irony is that she failed her Year 1 phonics check but her old school considered her 'above average' for reading. She passed the Year 2 phonics check because the new school intervened and we did phonics work with her at home.

If we hadn't moved I schools I don't think we would have picked it up at all. don't think the system rewards schools for being 'good' at identifying learning issues.

DS1 was originally diagnosed with a high risk of dyslexic tendencies at 7yo. Aged 8, he went from reading Biff & Chip to The Hobbit in 6 months. Handwriting still appalling though.
Just before he turned 9 he was diagnosed with Tourette's. Bad handwriting (dysgraphia) is very common with TS.

I think his initial dyslexia diagnosis "hid" his real issues. He was late to reading, but it come on like a switch had been flicked. I think his early assessment was wrong, but did help to keep him in the system and later provide evidence for his following diagnosis.

You dont need a definite diagnosis to get help. Ds never had one and ended up with extra time for exams etc. He got lots of help at primary basically because it was obvious that his spelling and writing was a long way behind the rest of him IYSWIM.