Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Education

Join the discussion on our Education forum.

Private Dyslexia Assessment

55 replies

ZanyFawn · 14/10/2025 22:03

Hi,

My 10yo DD is really struggling at school with reading and writing.

I first noticed it in year 2 and have spoken to all her teachers since then about the possibility of her being dyslexic. They’ve all said she isnt.

She was graded as not being where she needs to be for Reading/Writing and maths in year 2 & 3. I got her a tutor just over a year ago and she’s not only caught up with maths, she’s now doing year 6 work. Her end of year 4 report showed her as ok for maths and reading, but behind with writing.

She was finally signed off as a free reader towards the end of last year, but she struggles massively. She mixes words up, skips them, adds words and spends a lot of time de-coding bigger words. I don’t think she’s absorbing what she’s reading because she’s spending so long just trying to read the sentences.

She asked her current year 5 teacher to put her down a level in comprehension as she was only scoring 50-60% in tests, which her teacher has agreed to do. She says that she feels embarrassed because aside from a few kids with obvious/severe needs, everyone in her class is doing the harder work.

At home, she has meltdowns with her homework and finds it overwhelming. I’ve explained this to her previous teachers as she’s clearly masking this when at school.

She is generally a worrier and can be very anxious. She’s super hard on herself when she can’t understand the work and can’t cope with not getting things 100% correct.

Day to day she is very well behaved, polite and kind. She’s super creative and loves arts and crafts. Her teachers say the most lovely things about her behaviour, manners and effort in parent consultations so I know she is absolutely trying her best.

I can’t understand why the teachers keep dismissing any kind of learning disability when she’s clearly struggling so much. I feel fobbed off and am at the point now where I don’t feel I can let it go on anymore.

Has anyone been in a similar situation where a private diagnosis has uncovered a learning disability missed by school?

OP posts:
spanieleyes · 17/10/2025 13:04

Many schools, and even counties, won’t fund dyslexia assessments and they don’t have to. They do have to provide “ reasonable adjustments” to meet need- whether there is a diagnosis in place or not. So, even without a diagnosis, if your child is struggling, there should be support in place.

flawlessflipper · 17/10/2025 15:06

Request another meeting with the SENCO. You don’t need to wait for the report. The school should be providing support now. Push them to do that. If the SENCO ignores you or brushes you off, go higher.

Izzycam · 17/10/2025 16:25

She did get a lot of help at uni - hardware, software, scribe etc but I think she would have benefited from some counselling as well

ZanyFawn · 23/10/2025 09:44

She had her assessment and the EP has confirmed that she is dyslexic. Hopefully once the report comes through, the school will support her🤞

Thanks everyone for the advice and recommendations x

OP posts:
ClawsandEffect · 24/10/2025 00:17

ZanyFawn · 23/10/2025 09:44

She had her assessment and the EP has confirmed that she is dyslexic. Hopefully once the report comes through, the school will support her🤞

Thanks everyone for the advice and recommendations x

Dyslexia is regarded as a disability under the 2010 act in the UK. So in theory they should.

Most schools have to be dragged to the support kicking and screaming though, sadly.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread