Daughter suspected to have dyslexia

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Attended my daughters’ Parent Consultation this week and her teacher told me that she has spotted signs that she may have dyslexia. She’s in Year 4 (9 yrs old) and is doing really well in all her subjects but does sometimes need extra time to complete tasks, gets her spellings muddled (confuses d’s for b’s etc) and her handwriting could be neater on lined paper.
The school ran a test and it produced a “moderate” risk of her having dyslexia.
We were initially confused as she is doing so well at school and is happy, but having done lots of reading over the past couple of days, there are signs which now make sense. She is very good at maths and extremely creative, but hates any kind of timed activity. She knows the answer but always likes to take her own time.
I'm still waiting for SendCo at school to reply as we’ve been advised to get her assessed externally and the woman is sending us some links to local providers.
In addition, we are hoping she will be able to take 11+ and achieve a place at the local grammar. We want to support her as much as we can so hoping someone on here has some experience. Any advice from other SEN parents? Thank you in advance.

My DS was severely dyslexic, unfortunately there was no Ed Psychologist in post with our LA at the time, we paid for a private assessment (£420) about 13 years ago. My son has done really well, he only left school with one GCSE pass, but he works now in a niche area of tech that really interests him and is doing great.

I don’t have much experience I’m afraid - my daughter has just been diagnosed aged 7 although I’d seen the signs for a while. I think it’s really positive that the school have noticed this and been proactive - it was me doing all the chasing in my DD’s case. Whether she can cope with the 11 plus depends on how she is generally and how she is doing in school I guess- she sounds pretty high achieving but you say she struggles with performing under time pressure? Dyslexia has nothing to do with IQ of course and my dyslexic DD is extremely smart but I definitely won’t be putting her through the 11 plus as it would be miserable for her , she too hates time pressure and I think feels under enough stress academically because of the blockers she has in reading and spelling which are frustrating and upsetting for her - we are instead doing a dual approach of supporting her academics as much as possible with 1:1 tuition from a level 5 dyslexia specialist teacher, which has been really helpful for her, and supporting her outside interests in the things she excels at to try to build her confidence. I think part of a dyslexic DD is coming to terms with they might not have the academic path you dreamt of for them. They will still do great in life but the path might look different and they might struggle to showcase their strength in the context of exams.

Current thinking puts all the D’s together.

Dyskexia, Dyspraxia, ADHD, ASD and Dyscalcula.

Just for context.

Ds diagnosed dyslexic at 6, then dyspraxic and then at 30, ADHD.

My DS is severely dyslexic and identified very early in school, we paid for a private assessment which supported the school with teaching strategies for his type of dyslexia and enabled him access to extra time and support in exams.

He had to work hard to overcome the reading difficulties, but he went on to Uni and graduated with a 1st.

My sister got diagnosed as an adult which makes me want to say it’s a great thing your daughter knows now. DSis described it as liberating finding out she ‘wasn’t stupid’. I’d never really realised she felt that way, although I knew she wasn’t as academic and hated reading. For her it’s less about spelling or writing but more about processing. She finds reading unenjoyable because of the amount of effort to process it all and she can’t retain what she has read very well. Also difficulties when someone delivers information to her like at a hospital appointment, she really needs time to ask questions and repetition to be able to take in what’s being said. DSis is also a talented artist and creative like your DD.

Your DD sounds similar to my DC. Not diagnosed until year 5 as very capable academically so masked well. Diagnosis was useful (had to pay privately as LA don't as policy). Sat the 11+ and did well, enjoying grammar (school are supportive).

*toooldforbrat *
How fantastic, well done to your DS for not letting it hold him back. You must be so proud!

I have 2 DC’s, they are both dyslexic in very different ways, both went to grammar school and did really well. It’s not a measure if IQ although my DC do struggle with essay type subjects.

I did a few courses and leaning hard & soft spelling sounds helped especially when helping with spellings. There’s a great spelling app called Squeebles that allows you to speak the word and then spell/type it. One DC has just started using it again to help with A Level Biology spellings.

Dyslexia isn’t limited to spellings, it’s comprehension, working memory, the ability to be concise, organised and so much more.

*Crinkleybottomburger *what sort of courses did you do please?

There are some amazing charities out there with a wealth of information. Helen Arkell is in Surrey, has a list of assessors and has some fantastic resources for parents (and courses).

my child was privately assessed at 7.5years at a cost of £500 (last year). It is unlikely you will get the school or Lea to pay these days. Her diagnosis is for life and gives some helpful suggestions around her weaknesses and strengths. Her processing is slow but she is a clever cookie!

There are some amazing books about it too. Just make sure you bang on about it to school and secondary school and ensure they put reasonable adjustments in place for her.

If she gets a diagnosis then she’ll get extra time in exams which will really help when she’s doing GCSE’s. It will be the difference in marks for sure.

A friend of mine didn’t want to get her DC assessed when school suggested her DD could have dyslexia, didn’t want the ‘label’ and I thought how stupid is that. When she does her GCSE’s half an hour extra time will be so helpful and will mean she won’t have the opportunity to get the best grade possible for her. Such a shame for the child but hey ho.

One of my DC has dyslexia the other doesn’t and is now struggling time wise at GCSE and an extra half an hour would be ideal for her.

My DD is dyslexic. She's in year 5. She's caught up on her reading in terms of reading age, after some behavioural optometry stuff that helped with poor eye convergence. But struggles with dense prose, better with broken up text style. Her spelling is crackers but kind of improving, she has been using a programme called Nessy (she hates it because it's babyish for her now) and is learning touch typing on BBC dancemat. She loves writing. She loves audiobooks. Her maths is passable but she struggles to remember which method to use and with timetables. She's got classroom scaffolding to help like tables mats. Our ethos on 11+ was to only do it if she was exceeding expectations in her school report, which she is not. However we're dreading secondary school as our choices are lacking and not what we'd want. Happy to try to answer any questions.

@FrodoTheBlueWhippet - was delighted for him, he went to Uni determined to prove his ability and all the doubters who directed him away from Uni , he worked incredibly hard.

@EquinoxQueen be aware that a post 16 diagnosis is required to get the same additional support at Uni. So another £500+ to pay to be told the same thing, but it opens a lot of additional support such as laptops, software support, Uni support etc. ( this was 4 years ago so may have changed now)

Yes, DD1 was initially diagnosed with dyslexia, then dyscalculia and referred for and ASD assessment while at primary school, and later received a diagnosis of autism a few years later once she got to the end of the waiting list and had started secondary school. It all made sense and I was relieved her school had made the referrals on our behalf.

DD2 sounds more like your DD; brilliant at Maths and doing well generally, 'just' struggling with writing and spelling. We've decided not to pursue any assessments despite primary school flagging likely dyslexia.

A word of caution, which was impressed upon me by DD1's EP: really pay attention as your DD gets a little older and the curriculum intensifies and expectations grow. Children with learning differences, especially the executive function, working memory and processing issues inherent in dyslexia, often experience the pressure of SATs and / or additional entrance exams especially acutely, and are likely to find the transition to secondary school much more challenging. This was definitely the case with DD1 who, having been absolutely fine in primary, found secondary school sooo difficult and has ended up with a flexi-schooling arrangement to relieve anxiety and stress.

Youngest daughter had a diagnosis that falls under dyslexia.
She has always done well and her reading and spelling is excellent.
She actually has dysgraphia and ADHD

How dyslexia affects a child and how they learn to cope with it is different for every child.

Mixing letters up like b and d or writing backwards oftern happens in year 3 and 4.

Youngest has her masters and holds down a very good job.
It is not aways doom and gloom and she may only need more time for exams to think and plan rather than to do.

Every child is unique and for some it is a processing blip.

Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty.
A PP said you will automatically get 1/2hr extra in an exam. That’s not true. You only get extra time if it is demonstrated as been needed. A diagnosis of dyslexia as such doesn’t get you anything special in school - it’s the particular issue that gets you extra support. Eg if you are below ARE in spelling you might get extra support in spelling (but you don’t need a diagnosis of dyslexia for that). If you are struggling with reading you will get extra support in that. It doesn’t matter what the diagnosis is. Slow processing might get you extra time if schools can demonstrate that it is needed and has been ordinarily used at school, that slow processing might be a result of dyslexia but it’s the slow processing that actually gets the extra time. Dyslexia is not a magic label/guarantee to get extra time.

Many children with Dyslexia do get an extra 25% of time as it’s classed as a reasonable adjustment and it’s protected under the equality act.

You’re right it’s not guaranteed, however having a diagnosis will certainly strengthen the argument for extra time. If someone is diagnosed with it then it stands to reason they will have a more difficult time in an exam than the average person.

School has to apply for any additional time in readiness for any exam and demonstrate that need and what support is provided in class to be replicated in the exam. It is not automatic and there is a cut-off date to apply.

No advice but sounds just like my Y4 daughter, school have suspected since Y2, did the school assessment but it didn’t show anything, things haven’t improved at all, parents evening her teachers strongly recommended the private assessment which we’ve now booked for July.
Strongly suspect my husband is dyslexic and nothing’s held him back, he’s the same as our daughter re spelling struggles, has an excellent job in finance using his maths strengths.