Will he grow out of it?

[rara67]

DS1 is in Y4, summer born so just 9. He still gets b's and d's mixed up and has a sign/ picture on his desk. He did some jubilee homework and he wrote dates as 1P73 and 1P66. He struggles with reading and his writing and spelling is poor. He does get some extra help at school.

I sat on the stairs last night and listened to him read to DS2 who is 4 next month. This is only the second time in nearly 4 years! He read Winnie the Witch, struggled or made up what he wasnt sure of. He shows no interest in sport and only mastered riding a bike in March this year. He still gets left and right mixed up.

Sometimes (admittedly when he's rushing) he spells his name with the first letter looking like 't' instead of 'j', for example John would be tohn.

If you spoke to him he's charming, articulate, great vocabulary. Into computer games and history.

He had a dyslexia test in Y3. I have spoken to his teacher again but basically he doesnt do the reversal consistently so there are no concerns. Will he grow out of it, or should I approach the SENCO and ask for another test before he starts Y5?

He may or may not improve - but he won't grow out of it.

Ie I think it sounds like does have dyslexia (and possibly dyspraxia) and even if he learns to read he will still have dyslexia.

I would talk to the SENCo, take a diary to record what is said. I would also alk to the GP and try to get a referral for possible dyspraxia.

One thing I did to help my eldest two was: we stuck a piece of paper up on a wall, they stood facing the wall, I drew a letter (or number) on their back with my finger, they then copied it onto the paper saying what it was as they did so.

Has he had a proper eye test? By proper I mean at a behaviour optometrist as opposed to a high street optician. A lot of what you are saying could be caused by vision problems.

My DS has completed a course of vision therapy recently and it's really helped (they even spent a few sessions working on laterality - ingraining left and right). He even likes sport now and showed no interest previously .

Thanks will get back to you on all your helpful points.

Another thing is that he forms some letters and numbers in reverse. Eg he would start writing an 'S' at the bottom left on near the line, whereas normally you would expect people to start it in the top right. Difficult to explain but if you think of it as a snake, I write head to tail and he writes tail to head.

DS does that too. It's part of his OT to work at fixing that. We are supposed to make shapes out of playdoh etc. TBH in his case I never corrected his poor formation as I was just so delighted he was writing anything at all (he has fine motor problems). Now in yr 3 we are having to reteach him how to write properly. It IS working - he writes 'p' properly now :)

it sounds like classic dyslexia signs. My stepson did all those too. My husband is dyslexic, and I have talked to the SENCO at our school, as well as the literacy tutor who is the school's dyslexia specialist. They test for Dyslexia in year 2, and in year 4. They don't hold any weight with the year 2 tests though as they find there's about 50% false positives and false negatives. She said that they don't really get a definitive diagnosis until year 4.

If there's history of dyslexia or you suspect this might be the case it is worth mentioning though. Even if they can't or won't test for it yet, it can help them in planning the support he needs for his reading.

Thanks ladies, that's very helpful. I have asked the SENCO to call me. I will make another opticians appointment (we go to a very good one but they prescribed bi-focals which he wore once!) with another optician who has a DD with SEN so may be able to get to my DS' level. I will do this in school time (wrong I know but he will concentrate more during the day than after school/ weekend).

I dont want to label him but I want him to have all the help he needs at home (if he'll let us) and at school. DH and I didnt struggle at school and I remember doing my times tables - up to 12 - in the equivalent of Y3. He is so different from us (I adore hime because of it!) and I know that we are all different but there's a difference between being different and struggling. DS2 starts in reception in September. I have no worries about him as he is already sounding out letters and couting to 10, that makes me realise that I need to do something for DS1. I know so many people who had a late diagnosis: one at 16, one when she went to 6th form and one in his 2nd year at Uni. These poor children suffered for years and so did their parents. Thanks again.

I would also approach the school again, your DS sounds like he is struggling.

I can't offer any advice as I'm just starting a similar process with my Y4 DS. I think there is a problem and have always had the same response you get, ie he'll grow out of it, no need to be concerned, etc. I just don't believe it anymore. I'm starting to realise I should have been pushing much sooner for some proper answers.

Good luck, I hope you are able to get the help you need.

An 'optician' won't pick up on the sort of eye problems we are talking about here. You need an 'optometrist', preferably a 'behaviour optometrist' see on BABO website.

Surnburnt - thanks for support and good luck to you and your DS

MrsB - off to check BABO website.....thanks