educational psychologist says DS is mildly dyslexic, what next?

[kilmuir]

DS is 7. He identified areas he struggles in. We are waiting for report and will share with his school. I understand that school not obliged to act on his report.
Basically my head is in a spin, can anyone recommend organisation/website that can tell me what i should expect from the school. Its a small village school and my friend has a child there with Aspergers, she said good luck trying to get any help!

It won't get you much, especially if he's broadly doing okay. But I think there are a lot of positives in knowing. Mostly with his confidence, so he'll know now that there's a reason why he struggles with some things and that it's not because he's stupid. Second is the Ed Psych's report as when you get it that will explain in detail where his problem lies. v.useful as a stick to wave around if schools do dim things. eg: my son has slow processing, yet school kept forgetting and making him do timed quick fire maths then keeping him in at playtime when he scored low. Just quietly reminding the teacher that he was dyslexic and putting the report back under her nose stopped that and he got the time he needed.

This link helped me, so I hope it does you too. Great sheet at the back on famous dyslexics to show your son.

dyslexia guide

Okay, check out www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/ and then take a deep breath. This is a lot to take in so take some time and approach it in your own time.

It's great that he's getting a report and that will give you a bit more information. For now I would focus on the things you can do at home. Be that worksheets or just thinking of different ways to approach what he finds difficult. For me and my mum we stopped drilling spellings at the table and started running around the living room instead!

Be open and up front with school, ask for a meeting with the SENCO.

Some things that can help with dyslexia -

• larger fonts - at least 14 pt. Ask his teachers to make sure all his worksheets are on at least 14, although, as he's 7, they probably are anyway. This doesn't change as they get older.

• readable fonts. The dreaded Comic Sans is actually pretty good for dyslexics.

• coloured background to text. The glare of reading black text on a bright white background can make the apparent distortion worse. Some schools print worksheets etc on to coloured sheets. If it sounds like your ds' school aren't very proactive, try him with some coloured overlays. It is possible, but unnecessary to acquire coloured overlays at great expense. You can just use coloured polypockets, like these. With a multipack your ds can also try out a few different colours and decide which he prefers.

• another nice trick is getting a clear, coloured plastic ruler to read through - this helps the reader to focus on the particular line of text they are looking at, acts as a coloured overlay, and doesn't attract nearly as much attention from other kids in the class, if your ds is worried about that.

My DS was assessed for Dyslexia .. however he came out with Dysgraphia.. It had a list of recommendations which most of which the school has taken on board. I think you need to wait for report then plan how to move forward..

I would recommend the British Dyslexia Association and Dyslexia Action websites which have loads of resources and useful links for parents.

Schools really vary in their knowledge and willingness to help. The Ed Psych report should include suggestions for support in school but IME you will have to check that these are followed through. Check that any interventions offered are appropriate and evidenced based - sadly this is not always the case and the importance of evidenced based practice was highlighted in yesterday's government white paper. I have seen Ed Psych reports which recommend secondary school interventions for primary aged pupils and have worked in schools where the dyslexia "intervention " was just a well meaning but untrained and unsupported TA waving flash cards at the child.

Lots of individuals with dyslexia go on to have success academically (and in other area) so try not to worry too much.

Thanks. some great links and websites to look at