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WEBCHAT GUIDELINES: 1. One question per member plus one follow-up. 2. Keep your question brief. 3. Don't moan if your question doesn't get answered. 4. Do be civil/polite. 5. If one topic or question threatens to overwhelm the webchat, MNHQ will usually ask for people to stop repeating the same question or point.

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MNHQ

Webchat about Dyslexia with Karen Mace from British Dyslexia Association - Wednesday 3 October, 9pm

112 replies

RachelMumsnet · 01/10/2018 17:16

Dyslexia Awareness Week runs from Monday 1st to Sunday 7 October and we’ve organised a webchat with Karen Mace, Head of Assessments and Professional Level Training at the British Dyslexia Association on Wednesday 3 October between 9 and 10pm.

Kate Mace is a qualified specialist teacher and assessor for dyslexia. She has 25-years teaching experience, including four years as a deputy headteacher and seven years as a special educational needs co-ordinator.

Dyslexia Awareness Week will run from today until Sunday 7 October and this year the focus is on 21st century dyslexia. The week, organised by the British Dyslexia Association, will include activities in classrooms, workplaces and online (using the hashtag #21stcenturydyslexia), competitions and much more. Helen Boden, CEO of the British Dyslexia Association said: “For too long, dyslexia has been seen as a negative associated only with difficulties reading and writing. For this year’s Dyslexia Awareness Week, we are focusing on 21st century dyslexia. We will be holding events, training and competitions looking at the massive advances in understanding of dyslexia, including the benefits it brings, and technology to support those identified as dyslexic.”

If you’d like to join the discussion, or have questions you’d like to put to Karen, please join us here - or if you're unable to join us at this time, post questions for Karen in advance on this thread.

OP posts:

LARLARLAND · 03/10/2018 08:11

I would also like to know what advice you have for university applicants with SpLDs? Please say something other than ‘do tell the universities about your disability’ because this seems to be the only advice I ever see. For some reason my DN didn’t disclose his dyslexia and still achieved a place at a top university. I worry about DS though. Are universities really on board with the Equality Act? Is there any evidence prospective candidates are being discriminated against? Are students being given contextual offers?
Thank you.

Cherryburn · 03/10/2018 08:29

Hi Karen

Can I also ask about maths and dyslexia? Specifically at A Level. Is there any research or do you have any advice on teaching/learning strategies?

borntobequiet · 03/10/2018 10:04

Cherry I would be surprised if there is any such research. I could possibly give you a few tips, feel free to PM me.

WithTwoGiantBoys · 03/10/2018 11:52

My 9 year old son is incredibly bright (ed psych assessed him as 97th percentile for maths and verbal iq) but struggles to write and spell thanks to his dyslexia. Children like him are being unfairly held back by the SPAG allocation of marks at GCSE - either they attempt the exam without the technological aids that allow them to demonstrate their ability, or they use the technology and are automatically penalised up to 20% of the marks. What can we do to make sure these children are able to demonstrate their abilities fairly?

Thistly · 03/10/2018 12:45

Thanks for coming on to discuss dyslexia.
I am in the process of organising a dyslexia assessment for my daughter in yr 9. She has a list of problems which are associated with dyslexia, and I realise that only an assessment which demonstrates the spiky profile with poor processing speeds will give her a diagnosis. My concern is that she may be high functioning enough not to get the diagnosis, so what then? She struggles so much with written work and works so hard, despite being very bright verbally and socially. Are there any other possibilities for support including extra time in exams (which make her physically ill)?

Thanks

EndOfDiscOne · 03/10/2018 14:21

Not a question but @MNHQ I hope you're going to give Dyspraxia Awareness Week the following week the same level of support and coverage (I can dream - we just get ignored in the dys-thingees too).

rebelworld · 03/10/2018 16:10

What is the difference between a child with dyslexia and a child who’s ‘just’ a poor reader? How do you know where to draw the line beteeen the two?

rebelworld · 03/10/2018 16:13

Following on from that question, what resources or interventions could you give a dyslexic child that you wouldn’t give a ‘poor reader;’ is there anything out there that’s ‘added value’ for a dyslexic child?

turkeyboots · 03/10/2018 16:53

What would you recommend I do with DS? Dyslexia runs in the family and I can see him struggling with the exact things I did. But as a 8 year old boy, I'm told not to worry and he'll grow out of it. He was screened by the Senco and passed that. But screening seemed very basic, and I'm unconvinced that they recognized his issues.

UnderMajorDomoMinor · 03/10/2018 18:01

I love your work. I know you work with people as role models. It’d be great to draw more of these from a wide range of work places. I was never going to be an actress or sports person but I do a good senior public sector job - when I was younger I would have thought this work was out of reach to a dyslexic like me.

Tracytoby · 03/10/2018 18:39

My 10 year old has recently been screened by the school (after years of me lobbying) and I am seeking a formal assessment via the BDA and paying for this. I have asked the school to complete their sections on the form to enable a formal assessment. What are the legal obligations for the school to act upon this formal assessment? My 10 year old is in primary moving to secondary next year. Also Are any legal obligations on the institutions the same? Grateful for advice on how formal assessment interacts with the educational system.

AdultHumanFemale · 03/10/2018 20:30

DD1 (aged 8) was assessed by an independent EdPsych this year as having dyslexia and dyscalculia following a basic screening by school's SENCO; working memory and processing being massively flagged. She has developed intense math anxiety on account of her dyscalculia. Otherwise she fits the 'creative dyslexic' type so frequently spoken of, and her writing, on a sentence and text level, has been commended.
My question is, will we ever be able to make a difference to her retention of spelling of high frequency words, number bonds and times tables? We have done hours of Nessy every week over the last few years (which she enjoys, and which has had some impact -thanks, school, for the subscription!), as well as lots of practise of said spellings, number bonds and times tables. She's beginning to feel deflated and disspirited. Or should we just seek out technology to help her, accepting that she may never be able to retain this kind of information? I just want her to be happy.

stripyeyes · 03/10/2018 20:41

Hi
My daughter age 8 (year 4) was diagnosed as dyslexic over the summer. School are on board with following recommendations made but can't really do much 1:1 work. How crucial do you think a private tutor is at this stage?
Thanks

blue25 · 03/10/2018 20:44

Why do you think a dyslexia diagnosis is helpful for children? We have a whole range of pupils being 'diagnosed' with dyslexia, but they all have very different needs. This makes the label or diagnosis meaningless for us. Each child needs their own individualised plan for e.g. Phonics, spelling, memory. Lumping all these children with the same diagnosis is at best useless and at worst harmful, as others will make incorrect assumptions about the child based on the label e.g. they can't read.

hellokittymania · 03/10/2018 20:58

If anybody is reading this right now, can you please tell me the link that I need to click on to join us.

MNHQ

RachelMumsnet · 03/10/2018 20:59

Thanks to everyone for joining us tonight and to those who have already posted up questions. There's already a huge amount for Karen to get through and she's kindly prepared some answers in advance which we'll upload throughout the chat.

As there are a lot of questions about dyscalculia, Karen has agreed to come back for another webchat to talk specifically about this condition. We'll keep you posted on when this will be happening.

A warm welcome to Mumsnet Karen. Thanks for agreeing to join us tonight. Over to you ...

OP posts:

KarenMace · 03/10/2018 21:03

Hello, have we started?

KarenMace · 03/10/2018 21:05

Hello everyone, lovely to be here tonight and I will answer as many of your questions as I can.

KarenMace · 03/10/2018 21:06

@WithTwoGiantBoys

Yes I agree – the SPAG element at both KS2 and GCSE is discriminatory against those with dyslexia as is the need to remember entire poems in the English GCSE. The BDA are campaigning to get this changed, there was a petition doing the round on Facebook recently about this. It might be worth following our BDA Facebook page to see this sort of thing? I recently submitted a tender to sit on the review panel for KS2 SATS to ensure the tests are fair to those with dyslexia so we are doing what we can to support.

KarenMace · 03/10/2018 21:07

@Thistly

Thanks for coming on to discuss dyslexia. I am in the process of organising a dyslexia assessment for my daughter in yr 9. She has a list of problems which are associated with dyslexia, and I realise that only an assessment which demonstrates the spiky profile with poor processing speeds will give her a diagnosis. My concern is that she may be high functioning enough not to get the diagnosis, so what then? She struggles so much with written work and works so hard, despite being very bright verbally and socially. Are there any other possibilities for support including extra time in exams (which make her physically ill)?

Thanks

It is unlikely that your daughter’s needs would fall through a full assessment because there are several tests to complete in a range of areas. It should show her to be bright through the visual and verbal underlying ability tests but those score won’t match up with her other scores. Support takes a range of forms such as assistive technology, extra time, use of a reader or a scribe.

MyFavouriteWasteOfTime · 03/10/2018 21:07

What is being done to educate employers to help adults in the workplace?

Do you think it is possible to learn enough strategies to reverse a diagnosis?

Do you think the high number of pedants on online forums are contributing to the problem of lacking awareness and support? Is there away to help people post without the SPAG police having a field day?

KarenMace · 03/10/2018 21:07

@rebelworld

What is the difference between a child with dyslexia and a child who’s ‘just’ a poor reader? How do you know where to draw the line beteeen the two?

A dyslexia diagnosis is not just about poor reading and spelling, it is about weak phonological awareness, processing speed, difficulties with working memory and automisation. A full assessment is extremely through and looks across a range of tests to tease out the strengths and difficulties. A child who is just a poor reader would probably also have poor underlying ability and therefore would be classed as low ability. The difference between that and dyslexia is a range of difficulties across the above areas but also a discrepancy between underlying ability and scores in reading, writing and spelling.

KarenMace · 03/10/2018 21:08

@borntobequiet

I teach Maths, and have long had an interest in the impact of dyslexia on Maths learning (as distinct from and different from dyscalculia). I believe that for some individuals the impact on Maths is greater than on English reading and writing, as is generally understood. Has there been any serious research in this area? (I also believe that this aspect is widely ignored and misunderstood in schools because most SEN teachers/SENCOS do not come from a Maths background.)

Dyslexia does have an impact on maths in many ways. The vast majority of learners with dyslexia have reading difficulties. This becomes more prominent as they move through the education system.

Mathematics has a language of its own and pupils have to learn the vocabulary of this new language. For example, the terms ‘prime factors’ and ‘denominators’ are very specific to maths and the terms ‘take away’ or ‘difference’ may be used in different contexts in every day conversations as opposed to maths contexts. Maths uses many symbols, symbols are linked to language which means memory is required and visual difficulties can occur such seeing an + as a x or vice versa.

Difficulties with verbal memory and working memory mean learners with dyslexia have difficulty holding onto mathematical questions given verbally.

There has been much research in this area and a full diagnostic assessment would usually point out how to support a learner with dyslexia across the full range of subjects.

KarenMace · 03/10/2018 21:08

@turkeyboots

Screening skims to surface and gives an overview of ‘likelihood’ of dyslexia however a full assessment is the only way to know for sure. You know your child best and it is genetic…. You don’t grow out of dyslexia either but you might learn to cope better.

KarenMace · 03/10/2018 21:09

@rebelworld

Yes absolutely. The best programmes of support for a learner with dyslexia are programmes that are multi-sensory, structured and cumulative. Research shows this is how learners with dyslexia learn best. Good examples are Alpha to Omega, Beat Dyslexia and Nessy. All of these would also support a learner who was low ability and struggling with reading and spelling.

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