Dyslexia Assessment

[Copper]

My 10 yr old ds has just been to the Dyslexia Institute at Staines - after years of 'is he/isn't he' on my part and of 'he's ok, he's just a bit below average' from his school.

He turns out to be definitely dyslexic (D on a scale A = not dyslexic to F = most serious dyslexia) - and exceptionally intelligent! When we explained the results to him, it was like water in a desert and all the seeds flowering at once. You could just see him feel better about himself.

Apparently one in a hundred children would have his IQ, and only 1 in a hundred with that IQ would have his level of dyslexia. Am I right in making that a 1 in a 1000 chance that his teachers would have taught a child like him before?

His intelligence has pulled up his reading/spelling so that he appears just below average - whereas if his intelligence were average, his reading/spelling would be bumping along the bottom.

Looking back he was such a bright happy cheerful boy in the infants - and so (sporadically)miserable angry and frustrated from the age of about 7 - why didn't I act earlier?

ks
thanks ks - how are you getting on yourselves? What happens next?

Im dyslexic. Ive never been formally assessed at an institute but whilst at university the Maths department were doing some reseaech and using undergrads as cheap subjects. One of the researchers said I showed strong signs of dyslexia. I felt happy that I could explain my inability to spell , remember numbers etc but as I say I was at university so never took it any further.

I have 2 boys and have read that a mum like me is more likely to have a dyslexic son than if I was "normal". My oldest son reads really well but ONLY if he reads school books. His vocab is huge. Writing terrible, no inclination to write or even draw unless in school. He is laft handed.

I feel he may be dyslexic. What do I do ? How do you get in touch with assessment institutes?

His school thinks that because he is at the top of his class in terms of the reading scheme there isn`t a problem.

As you can see from the beginning of the thread, my son has dyslexia. We decided to try the DDAT programmme, and are 8 weeks into it. Costs a lot so no holidays for the foreseeable future. However, we thought that if it does tackle the causes rather than the symptoms it was worth doing. This is the web site www.ddat.co.uk/.

We have just had the first check up and found that the measurements of his balance had improved significantly - still got a few more moths of exercises though.

Thanks for info KS. My son is 6 in November. I`ll have a look at the websites. I hope it all goes well for your children. Thanks for the advice.

Interesting - just to mention it, not to annoy anyone (I am a teacher and I do have a dsylexic boy in my class), but I have spoke to my mum ob this issue (who is an infact head and is v. experienced and the Ed. Pssch. at her school) and they have both said they have not known a child come back from an assessment with with Dyslexia Institute or the other one (BDA?)who has not been told they have some form of dsylexia! But I am prepared to be proved wrong as no doubt knowing Mumsnet I will!

Hello. I was a primary school teacher in both state and independent schools for 15 years and then took a Diploma in Specific Learning Difficultis for one year. Since then I have taught in Specialist Learning Support Departments fo five years. I totally understand the feeling that there is so much on offer and where to go. This ,I offer, is what I would do. Do not go anyhere other than a Educational Psychologist first of all - and find a good one. Ring round the schools in your area - both independent and state- that have a good reputation in dealing with children requiring learning support and find out who they use. Ring those Ed. Psychs.and talk to them - pick their brains and find out when they start testing. You are very likely going to have to wait six months or so for the good ones anyway. Just my view on the matter.

Not at all offended - was a teacher once myself (8 yrs before DS1 born). I truely know that we (Teachers) dont know everthing.

Weve taken Ds1 to bristol zoo today and he went round the place reading the signs! first time hes read anything outside the reading scheme.

KS - If you can get yourself qualified I think that would be a jolly good thing. You could definatley trust your advisor if it was you.

Most courses do require QTS but the Hornsby Diploma does not. This is a well-recognised course but it will not enable you to teach in state schools afterwards but you could do private work. I have friends who have done EFL and attended that course. It would be a tremendous help with your own son but I still think you need to find a good Ed. Psych. as I mentioned in my previous message today.THe Hornsby is on 02072231144 or you can find them on the web.

ks - the opticians can't pick up eye tracking problems etc. Developmental orthorptists (or whatever they are called) are better for this sort of problems. It's not really the stuff opticians do- I'm not sure many are up to date with the eye tracking problems. One thing you can try at home cheaply!! is using different coloured overlays (acetate) and seeing if any help him read. Sometimes it makes the letters stand still.

My son has visual problems- mainly he tends to see double (fairly common in autistics). Yet he has been given a clean bill of health from the opticians. He always has to shut one eye to see things closer than about a metre though.

We've found that red/pink lenses appear to be quite helpful for him.

ks- further to tracking down a ed psych etc- I would highly recommend BIBIC (see my message in special needs). I have a feeling they may only work with dyslexia in conjunction with behavioural problems- but I could be wrong. It might be worth checking them out anyway- I think the dyslexic assessment usually only lasts for one day (again could be wrong) rather than the 3 days we did.

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Hope someone can help me here, our daughter aged nearly 8 has had problems with her eyesight, left eye, and is having problems with fluency in her reading. I spoke to the teacher today who has said that if there is no improvement with the fluency then she will ask the school phsycologist to see our daughter, as she wonders if she may have what is called "word blindness". Our daughter can understand fully the context of the book she is reading and always has done, but can get very confused with some words, usually short ones.

Has anyone heard of "word blindness" or have any helpful advice on how to overcome the fluency problem?

Any help gratefully received.

Hi, I have a dyslexic son (aged 9) and I was confirmed dyslexic when I was 10. We've had my son assessed by Ed Psych as well. We're trying a series of co-ordination exercises - 2-10 mins every day through the INPP (Chester). It seems to be working as his co-ordination, eyes and reading have all improved. If anyone else is interested then check out their website. They're not cheap but have an approach with deals with the whole child, rather than one specific area. My son's confidence is improving and that's half the battle!.

From my personal experience, dyslexia is different for every single person so you need to keep trying things until you find what works for your children rather than what the supposed 'experts' say. The other aspect that often gets overlooked is that dyslexia can affect how children deal with emotions themselves and with others, this is an area which is not addressed very well by a lot of academics. The other thing I will finish off by saying is to read the 'Gift of Dyslexia' - fab book and a real eye opener!

P. x

why are people digging up old threads tonight. This is 7 years old!! I think the OP son has probably left school by now!

The Dyslexic Institute assesses the child using internationally recognized assessments by certified educational psychologists - indeed the same assessments my LEA uses - the only difference is you have to wait 18mths for an LEA educational psychologist assessment.
18mths is a long time in a child's school life