Dyslexia? Dd (6th form) really struggling with written essays

[Plifner]

Her sentences are garbled, she puts in random words. Her history teacher has told her that she definitely has some sort of issue She's in the 6th form. Could she be dyslexic? It's heartbreaking, she works really hard.

Many many people are wrongly diagnosed as dyslexic at university to access a free laptop.

Is there a link to the research to support this statement?

Well thank you, research proving I am a malingerer scrounging for a laptop it will make me feel so much better. Many dyslexics do fail in education, but not all, some survive but only thrive at university.

OP, your DD may well be dyslexic, it is worth getting it checked. I would suggest not by the school but by a third party organisation.

This may not be the norm (we await the research) but it is possible as the anecdotal evidence on this thread suggests.

mrs your diagnostic skills astound me. The professor of educational psychology who diagnosed me with APD in the second year of my degree will bow to your superior knowledge.

Just because it is not usual does not mean it does not happen.

OP I recently had a student diagnosed with a processing disorder at 17. She's had the same trouble as your DD (but had managed to mask it really well) so I spoke to mum and got her to ask for a referral to a specialist.

She was awarded extra time in A2 exams and did really well.

"Access to a free lap top"
We had to provide a recent ed. psych report, (within the last two years) this is despite the fact that he's had numerous assessments by previous ed. psychs/SENCOs over the years all saying the same thing, round here the cheapest was £650 and my DS was only refunded £150 and that wasnt until the end of the 1st term after he'd started, we could easily of bought a new lap top for £650. Unsurprisingly as experts will tell you a processing problem is not curable and there was little change from the first one done when he was 8yrs old.
He like you Bito is thriving at university.

No bitofacow I'm not diagnosing just reading your posts and your changing facts

mrz just want to add that my DS's was poorly supported at school apart from using a lap top and 30% extra time in exams, all other recommendations made by the SENCO/ed psych were ignored because it meant his couldn't care less teachers would have had to actually support and help him. But he still did well in history.

mrz your posts aren't particularly helpful. And are you suggesting students fake dyslexia to get a 'free laptop'

Dd has a laptop so she won't need another one!

I'm not suggesting it I'm stating it as a well documented fact.

Dd was given extra time for gcses and also did very well in the coursework component (a) and also loved the topics for history gcse. She actually got an a in the mock so was slightly disappointed with an a!

OK well even if it's true it's not relevant here - dd already has a laptop and isn't at university

hapoygardening I am glad to hear that your son did so well. What other a levels did he take?

With slow processing speed it's unlikely she could achieve A at GCSE level

Utter fucking bollocks

I got 7As

I managed 2 degrees and got to postgraduate level before I got My free laptop

MotherFuckingChaonsaw how did you revise? Were exams really hard?

I'm waiting to see the "well documented fact" that students "fake" dyslexia to get a laptop. I was a mature student at uni between 2006-2009 I didn't see a single person using a lap top for any exams, and no one mentioned dyslexia or even faking dyslexia to get one. Also as Plifner said most kids I know now a days have one before they get to uni, and secondly as Ive already said most universities insist on an up to date ed. psych report, an SENCO assessment is not sufficient to get the support needed, they all said at their open days as DS1 last ed. psych report would have been just over three years old when he started at uni, get it done before he comes in September and we'll refund the cost later but it turns out they're not exactly refunding the total cost. One would also hope that a fully qualified ed psych could also spot someone "faking" dyslexia.

Politics and RS. He struggled all his school life, he's been completely misunderstood over the years by all but two or three teachers, and he's totally under achieved he has 11 passes C and above at GCSE but he really should have done better (apart from math getting a C which was a small miracle, he was finally diagnosed with severe dyscalculia as well on this ed. psych report). Apparently the "massive discrepancy between a very high level of intelligence and virtually non existent processing, terrible working memory" is very rare indeed. Every ed. psych he's met seem to find it very exciting.
You have to fit a box in education (in both sectors) he can't fit it not because he doesn't want too, because unlike DS2 who can't and wouldn't even if he could, he desperately wants too, he does have lots of strengths, he is super creative, imaginative and highly articulate but he can't process information onto paper or remember or even the simplest instructions e.g. Homework etc. This seems to be a disaster at school/college but not so much at uni as they seem more supportive.

Wow hapoygardening he sounds so similar to dd she is also doing rs and wishes shed done politics (biology).

He found RS quite difficult. They did Buddhism which is very complicated lots of concepts not obviously linked in the beginning I think, but they had an excellent teacher who taught in a way he sort of understood but in the 2nd year she left at Xmas and they couldn't find anyone else to teach it, so they had no proper teacher for the rest of the year so he lost interest and never fully got his head round it.
The other problem is that if you have severe processing problems you have to work so much harder than everyone else to achieve even a reasonable result, so you get mentally exhausted very quickly. This causes your performance to be very erratic, (teachers don't like erratic), how you do in a lesson/exam can depend on what you've been doing earlier in the day, so for example he does significantly worse if it's the second exam of the day or he's sitting in the last lesson before lunch having already sat in 4 already or immediately after a math lesson because his brain is totally exhausted and he also easily looses motivation to work hard because everything is such a bloody struggle hence why you need to love the subject. Then you add in the usual teenage stuff, and he can't filter out certain noises and he's hypersensitive to others moods and it's amazing he passed anything. Frankly I think he deserves a free laptop.
On a positive note he's so much happier and more confident at uni.

I am so glad to hear that he's enjoying uni. Dd is desperate to go to uni, her predictions aren't stellar but I am hoping with lots of work on the essay side of things that she'll improve. She'd love a B in history, predicted a C at the moment which she's determined to improve. Everything is a struggle and she does tend to look around and think how much easier others seem to have it.

And it easier, it must be awful to see others doing something so fundamental without any apparent problem. The first ed. psych report (when he was 8) predicted my DS was a high risk for developing MH problems, as he got older because he must be enourmously frustrated all the time, he certainly had periods where he's felt very angry with the world, me and his teachers which has frightened him because he's a caring kind person. Again this is significantly better now he's at uni he feels appreciated I think. Choosing the right uni is important we looked at 4, the one he's at has very friendly staff (that's important for him), seemed very organised, interested in the students, (that's very important for him), we attended a few talk they were well presented and structured, (again important), did historical subjects that interested him, (that's a must) and had a reputation for having a good learning support dept and provided lots of support.
For years my DS assumed that as other could write so easily and he couldn't then he must be stupid, in his mind there couldn't be any other explanation. Constantly complaining teachers "he really knows his subject but he's too lazy/can't be bothered" to write a proper essay/do his prep of course didn't help. The last ed. psych report somehow changed this slightly, perhaps it was the way it was explained or he was just simply older and more able to explain what his problems are, but for the first time he realised he is very bright just unable to process.
The best analogy I ever heard was Porsche engine, lawn mower gear box.

I have taught many dyslexic pupils who have achieved A-C in English and As elsewhere. Good punctuation, revision, drive, parental and teacher support are the key to success.

Dyslexics who are very bright often mask it well enough in primary and secondary and the true extent of their ability only becomes apparent at Uni.
If you are getting Cs you can slip under the radar at secondary.

When happy reports teachers are saying "he seems bright so he must be lazy" it makes my blood run cold. That is what I was told 30 years ago. Written work not matching attitude and spoken ability is one of the biggest flags for bright dyslexics, not proof, but an indication something needs to be investigated.

Nowadays I am glad I am dyslexic, my mind works differently to others, I know it and understand it and use it to my advantage. My main issue is patronising imbeciles who assume I am faking it for sympathy. Or a laptop.

happygardening would you mind telling me where he is? I'd love to know as it sounds lovely. You could pm me if you'd rather not say here.

Sorry OP forgot about you!
The really important thing for you DD is she works out what is best for her not her friends, or everyone else, or what her teacher tells her, or what i say. When you work out how your mind works you adapt.
She may be a lot stronger at working orally - can she explain ideas to you to help her revise?
I struggle massively with detail and dates - lots of post its - lots of 5 min fact blasts.
I have a short attention span ( think hamster) so work in frequent 20 minute bursts.
I love mind maps and hate linear notes.
My exam technique involves allowing myself 2 minute timeouts every 30 mins.

It is worth investing time now so she can revise in a focused way. I would suggest spending 4 hours every evening reading notes might not be the best way.

Thank you bitofacow she loves loves mind maps but I think she panics and does looong revision sessions with no breaks. I keep telling her to do shorter sessions but she doesn't