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Primary education

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Original poster

Teacher mentioned dd may be dyslexic but has always been at top of the class?

59 replies

llynnnn · 05/03/2014 20:37

My dd is in year 3, and she has always done brilliantly at school, been at the top of her class and is currently working at level 3b in all subject areas. But, her teacher says her spelling isn't good at all and she just isn't remembering and using the correct spelling 'rules' in her writing.

We know this has always been her weakness and she hates learning spellings. despite us working on them through the week she still struggles, but we have always been told before that she's doing great and will get it etc, however at tonight's parents evening her teacher mentioned that she may be dyslexic?
Has anyone else been in this position? The school have advised us to have her eyes tested first and then they'll do dyslexia tests within the school.

The teacher seems to think that if this area doesn't improve then her writing level won't continue to increase and that this will hold her back. Sad she was always very enthusiastic about school, but we have noticed a change since she went into year 3 and she is worried and gets anxious about it all

Thanks for reading! Sorry for the long post! Thanks

OP posts:
mrz · 05/03/2014 20:40

Does the teacher actually teach her to spell or does she just send home lists?

nonicknameseemsavailable · 05/03/2014 20:41

well it is hard to say. I would be surprised if that was the only symptom and she had got to yr3 being top but it is very possible for a very bright child with dyslexia sometimes to find ways to compensate for it and can still do very well. Unfortunately at some point it usually starts to unravel a bit.

Original poster
llynnnn · 05/03/2014 20:45

Thanks for the replies. He said he has taught her all the spelling rules and gone over them all, but she doesn't apply them in her writing. I have noticed in her writing at home that she has trouble and she detests learning spellings every night as she struggles but I never thought it could be dyslexia, just that it was normal at this stage/that she'd get there?

OP posts:
BillyBanter · 05/03/2014 20:47

Well surely it's good that they are being proactive.

Even if they decide she is not dyslexic if she is having trouble with spelling then extra support will help. Something like www.wordshark.co.uk/wordshark/wordshark-home-use.aspx#WhatAge maybe?

Studies show early intervention shows best results regardless if dyslexia is diagnosed or not.

mrz · 05/03/2014 20:48

There aren't any spelling rules Hmm

Original poster
llynnnn · 05/03/2014 21:05

Thanks for the link billybanter, I'll have a look at that. It is definitely good that the school want to help, just a bit of a shock when I hadn't even considered anything wasn't quite right. Bad parent!!

Mrsz that's what her teacher called them, think he meant the general ideas and common spellings? I'm really not sure Hmm

OP posts:
TheRoadLessTravelled · 05/03/2014 21:08

Wordshark is dreadful. Stay well clear of it. There's loads of better spelling interventions out there.

Interesting that he suggested an eye test for spelling problems. Does she also have eye tracking difficulties? Ie skips lines or words when reading? Or does she struggle to copy off the board?

Y3 is a very common age for problems to start to be obvious.

Jinsei · 05/03/2014 21:08

Not sure, but a friend of mine was diagnosed as dyslexic for the first time when she was doing her degree at Cambridge! She had always struggled with certain things, but obviously managed to do very well in spite of it.

Original poster
llynnnn · 05/03/2014 21:14

Thanks jinsei, I realise tonight how naive I am to dyslexia and how it can take different forms and hinder people. Was your friend relieved to have it assessed?

Road - do you have any suggestions of resources which can specifically help? Thank you for your reply

OP posts:
Original poster
llynnnn · 05/03/2014 21:15

Sorry, not sure why insisted on eye test, just said that was the first port of call? She had one almost 2 years ago and all was fine?

OP posts:
Minnieisthedevilmouse · 05/03/2014 21:20

Dyslexia is perfectly 'normal' now. No need to panic. Some of the most intelligent suffer and best business brains.

MooseBeTimeForSnow · 05/03/2014 21:27

My husband is severely dyslexic and clever. He didn't realise just how badly until he was being assessed for assistance by the OU. At the end of the tests the woman running them said she'd never seen anyone figure out the tests the way he had and spent ages listening to him explain his strategies and coping mechanisms.

Original poster
llynnnn · 05/03/2014 21:33

Thank you for the replies and encouragement. Her teacher mentioned she could get extra help within the school but it may be limited because she has good levels overall. Will try to help her as much as possible at home, does anyone have any good books/support materials that could help? I'm completely clueless Blush

OP posts:
stitchedupbelow · 05/03/2014 21:39

Another here who was diagnosed when I got to a topuniversity (and my mum is a primary school teacher)! I wouldn't feel bad!

TheRoadLessTravelled · 05/03/2014 21:39

Best spelling interventions are 'apples & pears' and 'word wasp'

TheRoadLessTravelled · 05/03/2014 21:42

But if, as well as spelling problems, she has difficulty copying off the board or misses words or lines when reading, or finds it hard to read out loud then I'd recommend 'engaging eyes'

nonicknameseemsavailable · 05/03/2014 21:58

it is only now I am trying to help my daughter I realise I am probably dyslexic too, lots of things make sense now. We are having to get her assessed privately because school say she is compensating effectively for whatever her problem is so they aren't able to do anything.

someone else will know but isn't there a spelling book similar to toe by toe which is a reading one for dyslexics? that might be a good starting point to help her?

Mumofjz · 05/03/2014 22:02

I thought all the way through primary my DD had some form of dyslexia has her spelling and writing were atrocious, but school never acknowledge it as her reading ability was so high.

She has brilliant coping mechanisms which we now understand - she is very verbal within class over ideas etc but when the time came to put to paper she would do everything and anything else rather than sit and write.

When she went into high school they automatically test for it and she came back as moderate dyslexic....we're at the beginning of a long road I think

Mumofjz · 05/03/2014 22:03

High school have given her a sand colour perpex sheet to put over any writing and she has said that this helps loads as the white doesn't shine through the letters like e, o, g ....and she never mentioned this in the whole time as primary as she thought it was normal and found her own way of dealing :(

dyslexicdespot · 05/03/2014 22:15

I was diagnosed as severely dyslexic during my second year of a PhD program at a world renowned university. Being diagnosed was a huge relief and changed my life for the better.

If your DD is dyslexic, she can only benefit from being diagnosed at a young age. Good luck!

TheRoadLessTravelled · 05/03/2014 22:17

NoNickname - the spelling book like toe by toe is 'word wasp' and 'hornet literacy primer'

nonicknameseemsavailable · 05/03/2014 22:22

thanks theroadlesstravelled - I had a feeling I had seen someone on here mention there was a spelling one.

Vijac · 05/03/2014 22:29

Yes, I too was not diagnosed until I was at uni. After that I got extra time in exams (so useful) as my main problem was slow writing. As I child I was disorganised, not great at spelling or mental arithmetic, reading aloud (always loved reading though)and always last in dictation. Otherwise I did very well. When I had my dyslexia test gave me a score out of 100 for verbal and spatial reasoning. I got something like 98% and 75% respectively. Meant to reflect how you'd score compared to the rest of the population. They said that my dyslexia probably wasn't picked up as I was above average but the large difference between the two scores is indicative of dyslexia. As long as your daughter does not feel a stigma when being tested etc. it will only be an advantage to her to be diagnosed if she does have dyslexia as she will get the support she needs. Do not worry about it!

1944girl · 05/03/2014 22:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RawCoconutMacaroon · 05/03/2014 22:41

I'm another one who was diagnosed at university (with a huge 50 point difference between the different parts of the iq test. I was 24 at that time.
It was a massive relieve to get a diagnosis after my experience of school failure.

I knew DS2 was dyslexic from about the age of 3, it's about so much more than writing, it's the whole way the brain works and processes information. Like me, he is very very bright and enjoys reading (even though it's harder work for us). He wasn't diagnosed until he started uni last year... School screening tests ARE NOT diagnostic, they give an indication of problem and don't seem to work very well will bright kids who can find coping strategies. But believe me, the problems are very real.