Possible dyslexia and reaction of SenCo, confused and annoyed. WWYD?

[VinoEsmeralda]

I'm not the best in converting thoughts/conversations to paper but will try to give a neutral picture of current situation.

DD is in Yr2 and last year her teacher (NQT who is v young and IMO lacks empathy and is rather cocky, am not alone in thinking this but has made improvements this year) referred her to the SenCo but couldnt tell me why just that he thought she was not making much progress. She started of as a confident happy girl but very quickly lost confidence.

Possible thoughts of dyslexia but no intervention or extra 1-1 support was offered, other then the usual strategies with low ability groups, as DD was so young ( July baby) and it might level itself out which we were happy with as both are DC are immature or slow starters academically.

Fast forward to October last year, Senco felt she was making sufficient progress and no need for further meetings. Both me and DH disagreed and it was agreed we would meet again in March.

She has made more progress and her confidence has grown a lot. I have pushed hard to get her in a teddy talk time group and we have been doing lots of (fun) work at home. We read every day, use Nessy and generally try to link this to subjects taught at school. SenCo said she was pleased and I again disagreed, teacher agreed with me this time and said he spent a fair bit of time with her and the amount of input she had she should be at a higher level and SenCo said there was likely to be a mild form of dyslexia and now comes the part that really annoyes me.

She will not get any extra support as the level is not severe enough, said dont bother to get her tested as school is aware of the situation and ensure good handover to make transition between classes easier for her. Possibly get her tested so when she goes to secondary she has 'the label' and teachers will have an understanding. She would try and ensure she wouldnt slip through the net but couldnt say what these were.

I just dont get it! So dissapointed, have we shot ourselves in the feet but doing so much to get her to this level? She still struggles with number bonds up to 10, is on New Way reading scheme on the green band.

What are your thought? Would really appreciate feedback if I am overreacting or (as I am currently planning) to take this further.

Apolgies for long post!

The school should be supporting her (and it's difficult to tell from your post if this is what is happening in class) but 1-1 is unlikely even if you have her tested and obtain a label.

I am afraid that is quite typical for schools not to give additional support for dyslexia unless the child is woefully behind. I have made private provision (£50 per week) for an apprpriately qualified tutor for my dd. If you can afford it I would pay for an Ed pysch assessment. Do you have a local branch if Dyslexia Action, they provide good advice

Thanks for your reply mrz, was hoping you were around. From what I can see there is no support other then she misses 2 assemblies a week and in that time she gets extra phonics sessions ( letters and sound programm phase 3/4).

Kids are in ability groups ( 4 classes split for maths and literacy, rest is all class teaching) and she is in a mixed class ( yr1/2).

In what way should the school be supporting her, Mrz?

Having said that I have been like a broken record at my dd's school and the school have responded with certain interventions to help dd as part of a group - typing software, Barrington Stoke dictionaries etc etc

HMC- thanks for your replies, v helpful. Yes there is a local Dyslexia Action and we are able to go down the tutoring road and have her assessed. What tutoring does your DD get? As she is both weak in numeracy and literacy but dont want to overload her. We read with/to her everyday and do 5-10 spellings a week and normally I will do numberbonds with her in the car and this is going well. She is used to the routine now as before she would have lots of tantrums if we would only mention the word homework.

I'm not a fan of ability grouping and research shows it disadvantages pupils, but I would be providing additional phonics (not Letters & Sounds - probably Bear Necessities) daily outside lesson time but I would also be working with parents to try to identify the cause of the problem so that could be addressed.
www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/feb/09/dividing-pupils-ability-entrench-disadvantage

I recommend Indigo's website www.dyslexiaadvice.co.uk/index.html

Can I ask why dyslexia specifically is suspected?

I completely forgot to put in my 1st post that they initially mentioned difficulty with her processing memory and short attention span which are both still an issue.

Cornsilksity- it was her teacher who mentioned this and SenCo said possible but in the same breath said she is making progress..

Mrz thanks for those two links. Article makes interesting reading and will have a closer look at dyslexiaadvice.co.uk shortly.
I think what bothers me most is that I find it hard to approach her teacher and his inability to try and identify the lack of addressing or getting to the bottom of the issue.

How have the difficulties been identified?
What do you think?

Last year (YR1)the sen teacher did some tests with her and the low processing memory example she gave was that she had to look at 3/4 numbers and write them down in the correct order and she struggled with 4 or more. Phonics knowledge was in low ability but she recognised the phonemes and digraphs.

I am not aware of any tests lately and the dyslexia was just mentioned, not based on anything other then her written work. I have asked that they look at testing her again which they said they would.

My personal feeling is that she is very young and immature (as was my DC1 who is now in topsets for maths and literacy but a September born)Also she has a weak inexperienced teacher and unfortunately how the school currently works is that for KS1 they have the same teacher for year 1 and 2. Next year teachers are much stronger whichever one she wil go to. She is v inquisitive and otherwise switched on, if that makes sense?

I have two children with some form of dyslexia, but only one has been officially tested. The second who has less severe symptoms hasn't but in secondary is on the SEN register because I requested it, she has a help card (as she has issues fully understanding instructions), gets extra time at present and will be tested for extra time for GCSEs later. At present it is not worth paying for a full test, although we may get her eyes tested.
It's better that needs are met than tests performed in my opinion.

Pretty much the only thing school can do to help is extra phonics.

That is why they're not bothered about assessing her for dyslexia. That label won't tell school anything more than they know now.

It's up to you to help with her processing speed, memory etc. school really, really can't.

Just today I found sn iPhone app called 'dyslexia quest' which, for £1.50 tests memory, processing speed and phonological awareness.

My DD scored 40% in processing speed!!!!!!! Which is absolutely amazing because last time I tested her with a similar type of program she scored 12% ans her processing speed had already improved out of sight by then. I'm absolutely sure if I'd tested her processing speed in Y2 she would have been 1% or less.

Her phonological awareness (ie things like 'what's plot minus p') is now up to 18%!!!!! Which again is absolutely amazing. Last time she was tested she was 1%

We have hot there by doing an enormous amount of things with her. Diet, multivitamins, vision therapy, auditory training and neuro development therapy. All stuff which school can't do - but you can.

As mrz mentioned, all the things I have used and would recommend are on my website.

The problem with dyslexia is it looks like its an educational problem, and should be therefore helped by school, but it's not. It's a medical problem. And it can only be helped by you.

I've got a pupil at the moment who has been identified as having auditory processing difficulties and DCD. His mum sees this as a school issue and refuses to take him to the OT sessions we have arranged and insists she wants in her words "a label" (not sure why she won't accept those as labels but she wants us to say dyslexia ) The school nurse who is lead professional at the TAC doesn't seem to regard either condition as medical rather than educational and while both impact on his ability to learn they can't be corrected by a teacher ...

OP - In my experience it is very difficult to get the Senco/school at primary to do anything. My DD was diagnosed as dyslexic (processing and working memory) at the age of 7 by an Ed Psych. We arranged this via Dyslexia Action and she went there one afternoon a week for around 3 years. At the time she was at a private school. She joined a state school in year 4. The school refused to even take calls from her teacher at DA. They tried to stop me taking her out of school one afternoon a week for DA and I got threatening phone calls from the LEA about "unauthorised absence" but they saw sense eventually (long story).

At first the school realised she was way behind and they made her an IEP which said things like she needed to look at the teacher and the whiteboard more i.e. saying her problem was behavioural which infuriated me, as she is an extremely polite and compliant child. I went down the complaints route but got nowhere. I was eventually told there was no funding and they were only able to help kids who were 6 months or more behind. The only time the school ever admitted she had dyslexia was when they were falling over themselves to get a copy of her Ed Psych report (that they had refused to look at before) so she would get extra time in SATS (although they eventually boycotted them).

In year 6 when she was a high level 5 for everything, the Head tried to convince me that this was due to the great teaching at the school - I was furious and told him where to go.

Don't leave it until secondary. In her comp she is in the top band and set (she got NO special consideration for the test which shows how well she has overcome her difficulties); she notices quite a few children she thinks are dyslexic, and also noticed that a lot of them are in the lower sets or regarded as "thick" because of poor writing or reading skills. If she hadn't had specialist teaching she would likely be in the same position. There is a very supportive Senco at her secondary, who arranges for her to use a laptop in some lessons etc. Most (not all) of the other teachers are sympathetic and supportive. She will always have difficulties with academic work but we try hard to think of ways to overcome them.

I tend to agree that "labelling" in itself is not helpful, but it it did pinpoint what her specific difficulties were and therefore strategies to overcome them. It also explains to her teachers that they is a reason why she spells words wrong or her work looks messy sometimes, it is not due to being lazy or careless.

I tend to agree that "labelling" in itself is not helpful, but it it did pinpoint what her specific difficulties were and therefore strategies to overcome them. It also explains to her teachers that they is a reason why she spells words wrong or her work looks messy sometimes, it is not due to being lazy or careless.
an excuse for them to overlook it perhaps ...rather than work to improve it.

How can a diagnosis of dyslexia be an excuse to overlook the difficulties caused by it? I really find that comment ridiculous. Do you really think she should be spending hours each week memorising words and then forgetting them the next? She works bloody hard on her presentation but sometimes her written work looks a bit messy. She can't spell very well, she will never be able to spell very well. My DH can't spell and he has an MA. I have worked for very senior people in the private and public sectors who can't spell. It is not that important.

Very easy ... oh he/she has dyslexia they can't be expected to learn to spell correctly and of course their writing will be poor ...

No kensingtonia I expect all teachers to teach every child regardless of their difficulties and not accept less from a child with a label including my own.

She is in the top band and the top class for all subjects at her comp. There are 240 in her year. She is currently working at level 8A in English - she is in year 8 and 12 years old. Her teachers most certainly do not accept less from her, but they try to help her overcome her difficulties by letting her use a laptop for example. Instead of doing spelling tests on which she regularly scored zero, she works on constructing sentences with the word in. In maths tests the teacher gives her an A4 copy of the paper rather than A5. Her work is expected to be at the same level as the others in her class and by making quite minor adjustments it is - in some instances exceeding the others.

Well spelling tests are a pointless exercise whether you are dyslexic or not. Personally wish I'd held out against wordprocessing everythingin the case of my child.
However whether your child or mine is top of the class a label should not provide an excuse

The reality is most parents and teachers use dyslexia is an excuse.

From day 1 school has used dyslexia as an excuse as to why they could not teach her.

And lots and lots of parents that I know are happy to accept that their child can't spell 'because they have dyslexia'. Frequently without even trying a single thing to help.

Teachers tell them not to worry. The EP tells them they have dyslexia. They absolutely use it as an excuse.

Teachers only care about your child for the one year they teach them. They do not care about long term implications.

And most teachers only care if you'll pass their subject or make expected progress rather than having your child's long term welfare at heart.

So if the child won't get marked down in GCSEs for spelling or handwriting most teachers don't care about it.

However of course in the job market you may or may not find things are different. Depending in what job you want.

I am certainly doing everything I can so that my DD won't be restricted to jobs/bosses that don't require good spelling.

It is not an excuse for anything; it never has been used as that and it never will be. My DD has worked really hard to overcome her difficulties and she is fortunate that we were able to access specialist teaching when she was younger. When I used to train people, I had to make adjustments for people with visual impairments, limited mobility and stammering for example. I didn't regard that as treating them more favourably because of a "label" and neither is making adjustments for dyslexia.

You seem to be taking this as a personal afront but regardless of your experience dyslexia is used as an excuse for children not progressing

Indigobell - re work, as already stated I worked for a Chief Exec some years ago and also for a very senior civil servant who couldn't spell. That didn't hold them back, they were both extremely able visionaries, and fantastic organisers and speakers. I have colleagues in my profession who are dyslexic. This is a profession where you need to have a degree and pass lots of professional exams. It has never held them back and they are as good as anyone else. They sometimes use specialist software but that is that.

I find your sweeping statements about parents and teachers quite offensive. My daughter had specialist teaching for 3 years. We have done our utmost to support her and a lot of her teachers do see the bigger picture and do genuinely care. At the end of the day her teachers do not see spelling as that important and neither do we. If she was Dutch rather than English she probably wouldn't have so much of a problem with spelling.

mrz - it is very sad if it is used as an excuse. I have often thought the opposite, that children are written off as incapable, lazy or disruptive because they have a learning difficulty that has not been picked upl