Suspect five year old DS is dyslexic/dyspraxic

[Tribblewithoutacause]

I've just been to parents evening, and have been told that ds most likely won't meet his reading and writing targets for reception year.

The things that the teacher says about how he learns and reasons really resonates with me. There is a very strong family history of dyspraxia and dyslexia, so I'm not unfamiliar with them and how they present.

Speaking to his teacher she says that school wouldn't do any referrals until he is seven.

So what do I do? I don't want to wait two years whilst he struggles more and more, and becomes disheartened with his learning. He's such a bright happy boy, and he loves learning. I don't want that enthusiasm destroyed.

Does anyone have any advice?

The difference between him and his peers is likely to become more apparent over the next few years. While it may be true that dyslexia is difficult to accurately assess before 7 , dyspraxia can be assessed earlier and early intervention with OT make a difference to his confidence. You can approach your gp for a referral for this , probably to a developmental paediatrician then OT , but do do soon as there may well be a lengthy waiting period. Go armed with a list concerns and traits.

One thing that helps dyslexia is repetition repetition repetition. So do that at home all the time. He needs every little stage repeated until he gets it. Also loads of stories read by you as the usually are quite bright and it will build his language and comprehension. Agree about OT now as he can get help with that. The sooner the better.

Agree with the others, dyspraxia DCD can be assessed for now. Think about all the aspects of his life and what he can and cannot do eg. Eating, dressing, washing himself, use of the toilet, recreation, school work, social interactions. I would get the referral done now in case there is a waiting list.

For the dyslexia, follow your ds's lead. Don't push him if it's too difficult. Five years is still very young. Concentrate on enjoying books and reading to him as much as possible.

I regret pushing my DS last year, believing that practise would help. It didn't, in fact it put too much pressure on him. He needs a different method to learn to read.

Do encourage crafts, games, Duplo, cooking. Learning through play.

My middle child is dyspraxic- he had quite a lot of OT input from Y2 onwards but there's a shortage of paediatric OTs in our area so had been waiting for a while before that

At his initial session we were told he would probably never be able to write longhand but although his writing now looks like a drunk spider has crawled through an ink pot and onto the page it is just about legible...

However what helped most was learning to type - it transformed what he was able to get down on the page

Neither of my boys could read at all in reception- it only started to click halfway through Y1. But once they started they caught up really quickly. Children's development isn't uniform and it can be so demoralising being told you're not reaching targets which aren't developmentally appropriate for you at this stage ...

You can ask your GP for an OT referral and do lots of play dough, Lego etc etc at home

As far as reading goes, read interesting stories to him - he's probably got zero interest in the kinds of books he's currently capable of reading so you need to keep alive the idea that reading is fun and interesting

Good luck

Thank you all, I'm going to book a GP appointment and ask for a referral.