Going to talk to DS's teacher. She thinks he's just not very bright, I think he's dyslexic. Help me present my case.

[LynetteScavo]

I've already been in to see her twice this year (apart from parents evenings)regarding his reading and writing and have always been fobbed off.

But this weekend, when DH asked DS to finish reading to the end of the chapter and they both nearly ended up in tears, I thought something has to be done.

DS starts off reading really well, but becomes very tired, very quickly. I think this is because he is exhausted from the sheer effort it has taken his to read one or two pages.

His writing is very, very slow. It's as if he can't get the information from his brain, down his arm and on to paper. His teacher last year understood this, his teacher this year seems to think he is slow because he wants his writing to be perfect.(He has good fine motor skills, so his writing is very neat)

He scored 5 on the Bangor test, carried out by a friend of the family, but when I showed the report to his teacher she wouldn't even look at it.

He doesn't reverse letters. This is why his teacher thinks he is definitely not dyslexic.

I recently bought some coloured reading rulers, and the blue one seems to really help. I will mention this to his teacher, but suspect she will think it a load of bunkum.

He got a 2c last year in the SATs (I was pleasantly surprised he didn't get the 1a he was predicted at the parents evening a couple of months before), but he now hasn't met his targets.

If he answers a comprehension question verbally,(after having the text read to him) he gives text book answers, but if he has to write the answer he will try to get away with a couple of words.

After the last meeting with his teacher, she was going to raise my concerns with the SEN teacher in school, who happens to be my DS1's Y6 class teacher from last year. DS1 is bright, and this teacher seemed to think he was stunningly bright. I suspect the school think I have too high expectations of DS2, after having a bright DS1. I know DS2 will never be "academic" like DS1, but I don't think he should be exhausted so quickly after reading/writing a short amount either. I think his exhaustion is due to a processing difficulty. When I mentioned this to his teacher she thought I was talking about autism. DS2 is the least autistic person on the planet.

I have an average DD in Y1, and while her reading and writing leave a lot to be desired, I don't worry about her, as she is able concentrate on reading and writing for as long as she wants to, without the sheer exhaustion DS2 experiences.

I would have a private dyslexic assessment if I could afford it, and am saving up, but I'm about telling the school I can't afford it. And if I could would the school take any notice of it?

I don't think a formal diagnoses, even through the school would change the way he is taught? Would it?

Sorry this is so long, and I'm grateful for any comments.

Is he Yr3?

He sounds somewhat like my ds1, who is in Yr 4 and (due to my pushing his school) has recently been diagnosed as having mild dyslexic tendencies. I persuaded them to do it by going in with a list of signs of dyslexia which I found online (not this one but very similar - see the section on primary school age children, including non-language indicators).

The test (which I think was this one) showed he had average abilities in reading, writing and spelling but much higher abilities in other areas (e.g. reasoning using shapes). The mismatch in abilities indicates dyslexia. I think the school thought he just was average, they didn't realise how clever he was (he is also very shy and doesn't contribute much in class). I suspect that if he had been very behind they would have been quicker to act. In their defence, they had already started him on a programme designed to help his spelling because he had only gone up 1 sub-level in a year between the end of Years 2 and 3.

TBH the diagnosis hasn't affected the way they teach him much, although it has made them more sympathetic and they do sometimes scribe for him at school. It has made him feel better about himself. I think he thought he wasn't very clever because he found learning to read, write and spell difficult.

Not sure if that helps, but I think if I were you I would push them for a test. They should be able to do one.

BTW I meant to say, my ds doesn't reverse letters. He is also very slow to write. It's as if the effort of writing and trying to spell the words makes him forget what he was going to write! He still often forgets to use capital letters and full stops as well.

My dd is dyslexic - she is 8.10, has a spelling age of 6.10 and a reading age of 10.5. It's amazing (and an immense relief) that her reading age is in advance of her chronological age - but this very definitely hasn't always been so (also I pay £50 per week for a private tutor - so that has undoubtedly helped). Her teachers generally start off by underestimating her and her abilities, but mid way through the school year cotton on to the fact that she is a sharp cookie. I have paid for a private Ed psych assessment and she is on the 99% percentile for cognitive ability....but her written English makes her look illiterate and most people would assume she was 'thick'. Reading new words can still fox her because she struggles to break them down phonically (I swear most of her reading is attributable to a memory bank of words rather than decoding). Until recently she found reading exhausting and she still finds the school day ennervating. She has difficulty with personal organisation and remembering things.... does this sound like your ds? From what you describe he does seem to exhibit dyslexic traits

DD age 12 is dyslexic, on her ed psyc report she has the reading age of a 16 year old but never reads because it is exhausting...
No spelling or writing issues, her main difficulties are with sequential memory.

We have the report but do the school really understand -I'm not sure but it is a legal document and they have to adhere to it's recommendations .

HTH

As a post script - she does reverse at times - but less and less as time goes on. It's rather ignorant of the teacher to think this is the definite diagnosis for dyslexia. You could become a friend of the BDA on facebook and post on their for advice?

I meant definitive rather than definite

Ask questions...
Why dies she not think dyslexia is a possibility?
What signs would she expect to see if he was dyslexic?
What does she think the underlying problem is?

Don't think of it as 'making a case'. This will just get her on the defensive.

Hth.

Hi, first thing to rule out is eyesight problems; get a sight test. (DD is dyslexic but also found out she needs glasses and lack of reading stamina was a key indicator).

Reversing letters is abit of a red herring for Dyslexia diagnosis: ask for a specific dyslexia screening test: the school should have one. (Where are you OP? If in Hants/Surrey/W Sussex I can let you know what's around locally for advice)

Ask the doctor to refer to the educational phycologist. I am seeing one in May after the school SN teacher at the school told me my dd has a learning delay and i am labelling her as dyslexic.

www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about-dyslexia/parents/getting-help-for-your-child.html

Hi again, also bypass the teacher and ask to see the SEN teacher (SENCO). If your area is like mine an appt with the Ed Pysch will rarer than hen's teeth! If you poss can go private and get a specialist EP report. (Google Helen Arkell Centre if you are in the south). It cost me about £300 but worth every penny to get teachers to take my DD needs seriously (and I am a really experienced primary teacher myself, and still no-one was listening!)

I went to the doctors and got an appointment within 4 weeks, It must depend what area your in. Im in Gateshead if that helps

And christine says - also have ears checked. My daughter had a build up of wax and had hers syringed which helped a bit.

'Parents need to ask themselves if it really is a good idea to spend a great deal of time, effort, and often, money, to get their child professionally labeled as 'dyslexic' when there is no genuine science behind its identification. More importantly, obtaining the label certainly does not guarantee that your child will, as a consequence, receive expert 'in school' tuition with a high quality, synthetic phonics intervention programme to remediate his/her reading difficulties'

www.dyslexics.org.uk/should_I_have.htm

at Maverick

'obtaining the label' and the 25% extra time many dyslexics subsequently become entitled to in exams might make a huge difference to many, many students.

In a two hour exam, that gives an extra half an hour: a godsend to those with slower than average processing speeds.

maverick is right. A diagnosis of 'dyslexia' is not particularly useful. What you need to know is what is actually causing your child's problems and it certainly isn't a vague, catch all 'condition' called 'dyslexia' which means so many different things to different people that the term is, in effect, meaningless.

Press for identification of the precise cause of your child's difficulties; don't be fobbed off with 'dyslexia'.

Im not labelling my daughter. She is going into the juniors in Sept and can barely read or write. Her teacher told me she was lazy on her last parents evening. I dont really want her labelled as 'Lazy' when she obviously has some learning difficulties be in dyslexia or something else. Thats for the experts to tell me

She has had a learning delay for the past 3 years according to the SN teacher who is not saying she has signs of dyslexia.

*who is now

As a SENCO I totally agree with maverick and maizie. Dyslexia is an umbrella term and is pretty useless the root of the problem is identified won't help in any meaningful way. Having an extra 25% in exams doesn't get to the source of the difficulty.

OP it sounds like my situation, ds1 (yr 6) is exceptionally bright, which has led me to think that my expectations for ds2 (yr 3) are too high. he was a 2b for writing and 2a for reading at the end of yr2 - which was very generous I thought! level 3 for both maths and science.

His spelling is terrible and from what I can make out has a very short working memory. He frequently says 'saw' for 'was' when reading etc, and is terrible for getting 'before and after', 'tomorrow and yesterday' confused .

He is on the Additional Literacy Support scheme at the moment, although I've yet to see much improvement.

Like your son, reading a page wears him out and he can't write more than a couple of words before he wants to finish.

Lots of people have suggested an Ed Physc, but we can't afford one, so we're still helping him practice reading and phonics when we can.

So no help, but I'm interested in what other people suggest.

Class teachers are not usually dyslexia specialists, so she may not know much at all about it. However, if there is a big discrepancy between his literacy and maths / science levels, then that would be an initial indicator of a problem.

A diagnosis of dyslexia won't in itself help him, but a diagnostic assessment should highlight the areas he needs support with and then with targeted specialist teaching, he should make good progress.

I would go in and speak with the SENCO (who may also not be a dyslexia specialist) and discuss your concerns and why they are concerns, and ask about a proper full assessment of where he has difficulties.

FWIW, those computer program assessments aren't nearly as good as a proper specialist - rather simplistic.

Yes, Maverick and Maizie are right!

My first suggestion would be to have a thorough eye check because visual memory/perception/discrimination difficulties could account for the fatigue

Activities to develop visual memory skills:

Recall object features ? let the pupils look at an object and talk about its features. Then take the object away and ask them to recall some of its features.
Recall picture details ? let the pupils look at a picture and talk about the details. Then take the picture away and ask them to recall some of the details.
Complete the shape ? show the pupils a shape and then give them an incomplete drawing of the same shape. Ask the pupils to complete the shape from memory.
Complete the picture ? show the pupils a simple picture and then give them an incomplete drawing of the same picture. Ask them to complete the picture from memory.
What's missing? ? show the pupils two similar pictures and ask them identify what is missing from one of the pictures.
Kim's game ? place some everyday objects on a table. Show them to the pupils for about a minute, then cover them and see how many each can recall. This can also be played by taking one object away and asking the pupils to identify the object that is missing.
Pelmanism ? shapes, objects, animals, etc.
Cause and effect ? pictorial visual memory sequence.
Recall and sequence 1 ? a series of three to four coloured shapes.
Recall and sequence 2 ? a series of three to four pictures (eg. everyday situations, life sequences).
Recall and sequence 3 ? a series of four pictures (telling a story).
What happens next? ? complete pictorical action sequences related to everyday situations.
Recall and sequence 4 ? a series of three to four words in a sentence.
Recall and sequence 5 ? the alphabet, using magnetic letters.
Recall and sequence 6 ? the days of the week using magnetic words.
Recall and sequence 7 ? magnetic numbers.
Word bingo

Can I please butt in and ask who sells the coloured overlays? I saw one on MN ages ago but lost the link :(

DSD (13) never been diagnosed officially with dyslexia (no way in hell can we afford a private test) - but she's still massively struggling and now since starting secondary she's been getting frequent migraines. No cause has been found (had blood tests, her glasses are changed when needed etc) so I'm thinking it's worth a try.

Sorry for hijack OP - and good luck with your dd