Dyslexia advice needed please

[Ipsevenenabibas]

Hello! Thanks for reading I was wondering if you could kindly advise! So the background is:- my 9 year old has dyslexia. Diagnosed via formal assessment through school and it's very obvious they are dyslexic as struggles tremendously with reading and spellings. Anyway a couple of months ago my 12 year old child's school did an assessment (not a formal diagnosis) which suggest they have some signs of dyslexia. In primary school they had focused reading and extra help with reading and spellings. I thought this was due to the impact of covid and did at the time ask if they were worried about dyslexia but they wouldn't say. Anyway I do feel awful for not noticing but clearly there's an issue but it's not an obvious one (to me) like it was with my second. So the question I would like some help with answering is it worth getting a formal diagnosis. I have asked school if this is something they do and they won't. Privately it would cost £882. Now I am happy to pay for it, if it's actually worthwhile. The reason I'm hesitant is it is a lot of money and the school have said a formal diagnosis does not automatically mean they will extra time in exams etc and they have to apply for it and it's very difficult to get. So what do you think? If he has mild dyslexia would it benefit him to get the diagnosis? Would the school struggle to apply for extra time when it comes to GCSE's? Any help/thoughts are welcome. Thank you.

Bump!

It may not help in practical terms, but a diagnosis can be transformative for confidence and personal understanding of needs. I would always say it is a long term investment. A good report will give specific advice to your child's needs.

If you can afford it (now or through saving up), you should go for it.

I would recommend getting a formal diagnosis. This will give you a much better basis when applying for extra support, and the school will have much less ground to refuse.
Also, the diagnosis is for life. Your DC will be able to ask for support at uni, workplace, even driving lessons.

Thank you both for your replies. I think I will get it done. I would be interested to hear from anybody who knows the likelihood of adjustments for exams. The sendco I was speaking to made it sound extremely difficult even if there is a diagnosis. Does anybody have an insight? Thank you.

The diagnosis will not automatically get your child extra time/access arrangements in exams but it will help. AA’s are compiled through evidence so if teachers notice they struggle, they will keep the SENco informed so that when the time comes they have a clear picture of what your child needs. That could be extra time, writing on a laptop, using an e-reader so that questions are read out, coloured overlays, rest breaks, movement breaks, music etc.

The main thing is the school knows they have learning needs and can help them day to day with this if necessary.
Hope this helps.

Hi I work as a dyslexia assessor. For an application for extra time the following will need to be in place:

1. Evidence that extra time is the student's 'normal way of working' and that it is necessary for them. This means they will need to have been given opportunities to have extra time through classroom tests and mock exams . The school will need to have evidence showing how this extra time makes a difference, for instance, work examples showing the additional information they were able to add or other improvements they made. The school will need comments or observations from teaching staff explaining why the child needs extra time and how they use it.

2. Two below average standardised scores (84 or less) relating to speed of working or one below and one low average (85-89) from year 9 onwards.

The dyslexia assessment can help get the 'ball rolling' in terms of the child being given the opportunity to trial extra time and see if it helps them. It is certainly not impossible to get extra time awarded, but it is a process that takes time and schools need to be organised and on board. As you will know from your other child, the report will give useful strategies and resource suggestions for developing their learning. The more info you can give for instance, what particular areas/subjects are challenging for them, the more precise the assessor can be in terms of their recommendations.

In terms of price - £882 seems very steep - was that an educational psychologist or specialist teacher assessor? I am in an expensive part of the country and assessments from specialist teacher assessors tend to be the £500 - £600 mark. Hope that helps.

Hi thanks for the indepth response. Yes it was the bda educational psychologist price. The sense I get is the school isn't massively on board probably because if he does have dyslexia it's mild so I can't see them saying he would need extra time. Plus the response I've had from the sendco at the school made me feel like they would be reluctant and that it's a massive chore for them. I think I'll get the test done but whether it helps my son when it comes to exams is another thing. I am not hopeful!

I have done this, but it’s for an ehcp. I’m not sure it’s necessary for extra time etc in exams as school submit the paperwork and evidence for that.

there are special schools for dyslexia, so depending on how severe it is, you may want to consider an ehcp

Sorry also @tulipsunday in your opinion, do people with mild dyslexia (in general) need extra time? Thanks

You can see the current rules for exam access arrangements for GCSEs here. Although they are updated every year so they may not be the same by the time DC sits GCSEs. A diagnosis isn’t required in order for someone to be eligible for extra time, and a diagnosis alone doesn’t qualify someone for extra time.

Having said that, I think an EP assessment is a good idea if you can afford it. It will help everyone to understand DC’s needs better and the support they require.

When my daughter had a dyslexia assessment the assessor also ran tests on processing speed and IQ. They were able to point to her impairments in processing scores which contrasted with a high IQ score. The report therefore recommended extra time in exams which the school made use of as evidence that extra time was needed. They would likely then need to gather their own evidence but it was the starting point to make them pay attention to it. Therefore, it may be useful to you if the assessment reveals low processing scores which would result in a recommendation for extra time in exams so that the school take it seriously and start their own investigations and monitoring to identify the evidence of need.

I wonder if some schools don’t like the hassle of administrating extra time in exams so are reluctant to investigate it!

If the assessment doesn’t reveal likely eligibility for extra time then at least you know. The assessor will likely make other recommendations that could be implemented if they think they will be beneficial, depending what they discover from the assessment so it could still be beneficial for this. As another poster said, a diagnosis is for life, so the report could continue to be useful to your DC in the future.

Brilliant thank you all. I will get the assessment.

My DD was diagnosed at the end of Year 12 via a BDA ed psychologist.

She passed the Year 7 and 9 'extra time needed' tests that they did at school and flunked the one in year 12. She did it again and failed that too so got extra time.

I decided to get her assessed because of her needing extra time - was there something going on? Yes! It now means that going to uni a load of support will be available to her from the start.

The report gave ideas on how to help at school, home, uni and working in the future so well with getting done.

Go to a specialist dyslexia assessor rather than an ed psych who often don’t do the phonological battery that I would expect.
re extra time. Your SENCO isn’t wrong - JCQ have tightened up again and you need extensive teacher feedback before testing even occurs to attest that the pupil does exhibit signs of slow processing. Once feedback is gained then testing can occur and that is done in house. I use a wide range of tests. It is fascinating but really interesting. Sometimes I have a list of concerns from staff and the pupil goes like the wind and there are no signs of processing or working memory issues at all. The candidate needs two below average scores or one below and one very low average score in two separate areas of processing. It may be that your child may just need a laptop or a rest break or a coloured overlay rather than more time.
get a dyslexia assessment and that will tell you and help to push for them to start the ET process if the criteria are met.

Get the assessment. Our daughter was assessed and it meant extra time in her exams and also all her exam sheets were printed on yellow paper (her colour to stop the words bouncing) She did very well.in both her GCSE's and a levels. Her secondary school teachers were very supportive though and amazing with her, as were her primary teachers.
Check for her being dyspraxic and discalculic too as these all to hand in hand. Daughter is dyscalcic too

Personally, I would go to a good EP assessment. A good EP will look at phonological aspects/testing. A good EP assessment will be more comprehensive than a dyslexia assessor’s assessment. A good EP will at a wider picture than a dyslexia assessor can.

I haven't read all the replies so sorry if this is a bit repetitive. I work with adult learners in a College. Many of these adults either failed or didn't take their GCSEs for some reason. My role as a teaching assistant includes helping with the exam access arrangements. We have to show that access arrangements in exams reflect the student's "normal way of working". If I worked with your son in class and could vouch that he normally had extra time and maybe I sometimes read words to him or helped him write, we could probably get him a extra time and a reader and scribe if needed, without a diagnosis. However I would never say no to extra evidence to back up my claim!