My ds is almost 7 and can barley read and write - help!

[Slippersmum]

I am so worried. He has not hit any of his literacy targets. I just don't know what to. He has had a number of interventions at school, at home we read, write and practice numeracy everyday in bite sized chunks and always have but nothing is helping. He has had eye test to rule that out as an issue. School do not know what to do anymore. Has anyone had any experience of this? What should I be saying to school? Anything more I can be doing to help him more. I have even considered home educating him??

Thanks for the feedback, really helpful. I am not overly concerned regarding numeracy, nothing is jumping out as out of the expected range for his age group. I guess the assessment is so I understand what his exact needs are so I can push for those. If school will not go with them I will need to reconsider what to do. He has a terrific group of friends and is popular with his peers so this does make me hesitant to move schools. He did well for him recently (one out of twenty the previous week) in a spelling test and the whole class all started clapping, they are very supportive and having your pals on your side is a terrific asset isn't it. I am really trying to push things forward now. Emailing the SENCO, asking lots of questions etc and feeling supported myself with all the kind and informative posts!

How does the school teach spelling?

There is still a lot of misconceptions amongst teachers and SENCOs about dyslexia and many still hold beliefs which recent research has shown to be incorrect.

Dyslexia is now believed to be a neurodevelopmental disorder and can be heritable. It is usually characterized by problems with phonological processing and short term memory and may run alongside other difficulties such as dyspraxia, ASD or ADHD. The problems are lifelong, however, the severity and persistence of dyslexia is on a continuum and better long term outcomes are more likely with early and appropriate intervention.

The screening offered in many schools is inadequate and many of the interventions offered are inappropriate.

It is worth looking through here to see if any interventions offered are included

www.interventionsforliteracy.org.uk/widgets_GregBrooks/What_works_for_children_fourth_ed.pdf

Speak to the SENCO and say if they have no more ideas then the next step must be to get an educational psychologist to assess. Usually not done before the age of 7 and often 8 is more usual. They are qualified to rule out (or in) dyslexia.

Did he have ear infections as a baby or early school years? Check his hearing. The ed psych would also check this for processing issues.

I would also recommend looking for a behavioural optometrist. So much more than a normal eye test and surprisingly common problems can be flagged up. Simple exercises could help immensely. I've seen the results and they are impressive.

Actually there is no consensus as to the cause if Dyslexia (even among neuroscientists) or even if it actually exists, which makes it more important for teachers to recognise difficulties and identify the cause/s.

My son was visited by an Ed Psych age 5, they can come in at any age.

In my county dyslexia isn't diagnosed, it's labeled as specific learning difficulties.

In my county dyslexia isn't diagnosed, it's labeled as specific learning difficulties.

Which is more useful if the specific difficulty is identified and worked on.