Possible dyslexia - how long to wait

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Dd2 has been increasingly struggling with reading. She is in yr 3. Although probably not behind NC levels it is the struggle and agony she goes through to read which is a problem. Letters and numbers are still frequently reversed when writing too. Also the increasing need to read in other subjects such as maths which she finds otherwise easy. The opticians have advised waiting until she is 8 to test for irlens syndrome. She uses an overlay and has started wearing pink tinted sunglasses to read which she finds helps. I have spoken to her teacher who has been great about sitting her in good places in class, adjusting whiteboard etc.

Her teacher was going to discuss with the SENCO although I can see for the school that as she is doing ok there might not be a great advantage in pushing for an assessment. How long should I leave it before following it up?

Also she is wanting to sit the 11+ in a few years (dd1 currently exploring secondary options). It isn't super selective and they do support girls with dyslexia. I know that some can get help in the exam with a reader/extra time and I wondered if anyone knows how long it would take to get a diagnosis (if it is dyslexia) and request arrangements for exam considerations. There's no point in getting a diagnosis now and then having to do it all again in a certain time frame for the 11+.

I know that a Grammar school might not be the best option and we would explore all the choices but I would like her to have the opportunity that her siblings have and level the playing field slightly when beyond the mechanics of reading and writing she has good creative writing and comprehension skills and loves maths and science.

I really would chase the SENCO. She may have dyslexia rather than Irlens syndrome. But the school needs to refer to the Ed Psych service or you have to pay to have it done privately.

As the parent of a daughter who just left a super selective and a younger dyslexic daughter who tried and failed to get in, I would not advise it unless your daughter is exceptional. There is some help with the tests but it was not sufficient in my daughter's case. There was a dyslexic girl in elder DD's year who really struggled at the super selective.

My younger daughter is in the top set at a comprehensive and normally has to settle for Bs while her fellow students get A* or A.

It is just a selective school so top 25-30%. There are other alternatives and clearly it is a long way off. We are encouraging her to keep her options open but it seems unfair to dismiss it entirely when both her siblings have a fair chance of admission. I agree though it will be an uphill struggle.

Sorry I misread your post. My daughter was tested for Irlens syndrome at the dyslexia research centre in Reading, not sure if that is an option for you.

www.dyslexic.org.uk/clinic

Thank you, we probably could get there although they seem to be advocating blue or yellow but at the moment she prefers pink, having said that any colour other than white seems to help.

Does she have difficulty with working out what words 'say' or is it just a vision thing?

don't rule out selective schools for her. If she is dyslexic she can still fly. My niece just got nearly all A* at GCSE at a highly selective school and she's dyslexic. I have dyslexic friends with doctorates, high level degrees. It's tough, but a lot depends on if the schools you're looking at both recognise and support whatever her needs are. A good selective school should accommodate her if her ability is within their catchment.

btw, my son has dark green tinted glasses. They make the world of difference.

She gets words muddled up so she will take letters from the line above and insert them into the word creating a nonsense word. It is getting worse as the writing gets smaller. Her actual vision is 20:20 but my best guess is that it is some sort of tracking problem. She still reverses letters and numbers and will use a seemingly random mix of capitals and small letters. Her spelling (if you can read her writing) is generally phonetically plausible, although often not correct. She still mixes saw and was. She also has travel sickness which seems to be associated with it. She used to frequent a&e with bizzare accidents as a child and often fell over but that seems to have improved as she has got older. She also has some sensitivity issues - she hates sunlight and noises (e.g. hand dryers). Just trying to make sense of the best place to start (just look at irlens or go for full dyslexia assessment) and how long to leave it with the school before we start our own investigations.

That is good to hear smee gives us some hope.

I would try for something a bit more specific than a 'dyslexia' diagnosis. 'Dyslexia' can mean anything anyone wants it to. It sounds to me as though your dd has very specific difficulties. Personally I would want them properly identified so that support can be appropriate.

Yes, it is just knowing where to start and how long to leave the school to um and er about whether to screen her or whether to strike out alone in search of some answers. Also whether to concentrate on just the vision or get a general dyslexia assessment first. I realise that for the school she is hitting NC levels so maybe alarm bells aren't ringing yet for them to investigate. They aren't battling to get her to read every day though and I guess she is one of thirty there but to us (and her) her progression and opportunity to fulfil her potential whether in a selective school or not is important. She is already asking whether children like her who find reading hard can go to a grammar school.

My daughter was diagnosed as dyslexic in year 3. She went to an absolutely rubbish private school and could not read or write at that age. We had a private assessment done at Dyslexia Action and she had specialist teaching there one afternoon a week until year 6. It was expensive but she was level 5 at the end of year 6 and in the top set of her comp since. Her state primary thought her difficulties were caused by very poor teaching in her original primary school rather than the dyslexia itself.

By the way if you see an ed psych they won't talk about dyslexia but define it in terms of working memory problems etc and give you some advice.

I was convinced by some people on the SN boards to see an alternative practitioner who has an alternative theory of dyslexia but it didn't work and DD herself disliked him.

Unfortunately we found it impossible to get any help on the NHS or from school and had to pay for everything ourselves. DD is in year 11, doesn't work particularly hard and coasts along. She is good at art but extremely lazy and lacking in confidence. Her school are not supportive but did arrange extra time and a laptop for exams.

I think the dyslexia research trust will tell you if she has Irlens or not - sounds like they now carry out a full assessment. From what you describe it sounds like a general processing disorder rather than a sight problem. Perhaps find a private ed psych. In my experience an LEA will not see them unless they are years behind.

I wouldn't wait at all; the earlier her problems are identified and addressed, the better, surely? Everything you describe sounds like my DD, who was diagnosed dyslexic (and gifted) at just turned 7 - at the end of her first year in primary, not in the UK. We had to go through a private ed psych, which cost a fortune, but the information was worth gold to us. The public system would have had us waiting at least another year, in which her confidence would have nose-dived. She is now 9 and thriving in a relatively demanding bilingual school, following a programme in two languages with excellent support. But most of all, the diagnosis gave her understanding. It let her know that she was not stupid, or slow, or lazy, or immature. Her mind simply works in a different way, and that's OK. Of course, you need more than just a diagnosis - you need hard information about how best to support her going forward, but that all has to start from a diagnosis.

ive just arranged a private assessment for my 7 year old daughter. I have to wait a while though even paying. We have the same thing; she is hitting NC levels at aorund average but reading is a painful process and so lacking in pleasure for her. Her spelling skills are just non existant. My concern is that shes fallen to average and will keep falling and I dont want to wait until that point when she is in the bottom few and the school take notice ( it may never happen as shes reasonably bright, good at maths and creativity) as her self esteem is taking a battering. I dont think the diagnosis if she gets one will make that much differencein terms of support she receives but it will to her and we can have some idea of how to help at home instead of this dread we all feel when it comes to reading time

I suspected my son was dyslexic at age 5 but teacher said he was just lazy. I tried again throughout primary and at secondary and eventually paid to go to an Ed Psych at Dyslexia Action and got the report which said he was dyslexic (he was 12 by then). He now uses an ipad at school and that has freed up his writing so he can get his thoughts down. Keep pushing on behalf of your child! It is so frustrating that schools think they are doing ok because they get Bs and Cs when their potential might be As.

Thank you all for your encouragement. I have emailed dyslexia action about assessment and the LEA in relation to the 11+. I guess that my concern is that if we test her now and then discover that it has to be within a certain time we would need to have a whole new assessment. I have asked what their time frame is and whether a full new assessment would be required of if an update to an existing report would be sufficient. I wish that we had the money to have two assessments but I think that the money would be better spent to have one assessment and specialist tuition. Oh for a bottomless pit of money!

I was told by a school that as dyslexia does not go away they would accept a diagnosis that was some years old for the admissions test. They just asked for an email from the primary school. For SATS the school accepted a 4 year old assessment. I really would not let worry about assessment for the 11 plus stop you getting help for you dd now.

I know a little girl who has Irlen syndrome and got glasses aged 7. They have made an enormous difference to her, far more than the overlay she was using before. She can read smaller print, read for longer without getting tired, and the glasses have transformed her writing (letters used to shimmer and move as she tried to write them).

Thanks HP. I guess I just was concerned that we would have her tested 2yrs 7 months before and then find out it should be within 2yrs 6 months! I have emailed dyslexia action and someone else knows an educational psychologist so will see what they all come back with. We are lucky as the non selective schools are also very good so I am sure she can do well wherever she goes but personality wise I can see her fitting in at a selective school.

I am fairly sure that there is an Irlen component as the overlays (and cheap sunglasses from amazon) do seem to help according to dd2. I guess that part of me still wants a full diagnosis in case as HPparent says it goes beyond that and she wears glasses for a while which improves things enough to make some progress before hitting another glass ceiling.

We have at least found reading material which she is enjoying reading and her teacher has been finding new books with big letters and on topics she enjoys. At last I feel as if she has a teacher who 'gets' her.

Definitely go for an early diagnosis. The earlier the diagnosis the more time you have to help.

Like smee said please don't ever not give her opportunities to fly due to dyslexia. My brother has dyslexia and is a fast jet pilot.

I read in the paper last week that GCHQ specifically looks to recruit dyslexic people due to their particular aptitudes for code-breaking! It is often a gift to have dyslexia, and a shame that schools are so word-focussed that it makes kids feel they are always struggling when their talent might be in explaining verbally or building/ drawing the ideas they have...

Thanks fatmumslim72 she may well want to add that to her list of possible jobs. She is good with number patterns - spontaneously worked out the 25 times table and a few years ago she did some NVR tests and did v. well so maybe she should aspire to that (if her other aspirations of Queen/ explorer / architect don't work out). I think that she would like to be a spy!

Jet pilot might also have some attractions. She has been reading about Neil Armstrong and she really is fairly ambitious in her aspirations. She also wants to be a writer and one of her favourite authors was dyslexic. I would hate for her ambition to be squashed due to this.