education psychologist

[drwitch]

Anybody got any hints or advice about how to get a private consultation. Ds (11)really struggles at dealing with things he finds hard (even though he can do them really well when he calms down). - Gets either really angry or really teary and neither response is when he moves up to secondary school. Its making him happy and stopping him learning at the rate of his peers. Not looking for a formal diagnosis as such but more some help in teaching him to deal with these feelings

Mrz, so as a experienced teacher and a parent, what path should I take? I have a lot of doubt about my ds, for numerous different possibility. I would try all the suggestions you given me already first. But getting private Ed psych assessment a total waste of money if the school doesn't consider there's nothing wrong with a child?

For my son the medical route turned out to be the most effective in the long term (but not initially where the paediatricians assessment was "I've seen worse")
As a parent with concerns you are willing to explore every avenue available (I certainly did and bought my share of snake oil from quacks) but you have to be prepared to accept that a diagnosis probably won't change things (if the school is already doing a good job meeting your child's educational needs) other than you and your child have a reason why ...
If the school is willing and able to provide an EP assessment I would explore this first. I would ask for a meeting with the class teacher and SENDCo and ask if they think other professionals should be involved (for some diagnosis a range of professionals are required).
Your GP can also make referrals depending on your concerns

The importance of handwriting research -
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211949312000038

Thank you for this, the article is an extremely interesting read.

It doesn't quite say what you think it does though, it is focused entirely upon 5year olds and will have little to no bearing on the use of a keyboard in an adolescent who can not write. I can send over the full text if you wish :)

Thank you mrz.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious Flanks. It says exactly what I knew it said. Would you like the research for different ages from reception to university students?

Nothing in the article contradicts the points I made above.

If a 10year old can't write for reasons of processing and motor skills, insisting they write is simply cruel.

I acknowledge d that the recommendation is overused, but for many pupils it is an essential removal of a barrier to learning.

If we know back muscles are developed through walking, would you insist a double amputee 'walk' to developed said muscles, or would you introduce a wheelchair and an individualised physical therapy program to develop the muscles in other ways?

For some pupils the keyboard allows them to focus attention on other skills and aspects of writing which would otherwise be inaccessible. Their education should be adjusted to ensure they gain these skills.

www.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/science/whats-lost-as-handwriting-fades.html?_r=0 a summary in this article but the research is available unfortunately many behind paywalls

www.intechopen.com/books/dyslexia-a-comprehensive-and-international-approach/the-contribution-of-handwriting-and-spelling-remediation-to-overcoming-dyslexia

pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/04/22/0956797614524581.abstract

www.jowr.org/abstracts/vol7_2/Mangen_et_al_2015_7_2_abstract.html

aiic.net/page/7216/handwriting-vs-typing-what-does-research-tell-us/lang/1

Dozens more if you can be bothered to investigate

I don't have a double amputee but we have a single amputee with beautiful handwriting and equally children with cerebral palsy who with lovely cursive script.(even though parents were told by experts they would need to use keyboards as they would never have the motor skills needed for handwriting.)

Weird sister you might find www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-funded-study-finds-dyslexia-not-tied-iq interesting

NIH-funded study finds dyslexia not tied to IQ

Research on brain activity fails to support widely used approach to identify dyslexic students.

Regardless of high or low overall scores on an IQ test, children with dyslexia show similar patterns of brain activity, according to researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health. The results call into question the discrepancy model — the practice of classifying a child as dyslexic on the basis of a lag between reading ability and overall IQ scores.

In many school systems, the discrepancy model is the criterion for determining whether a child will be provided with specialized reading instruction. With the discrepancy model, children with dyslexia and lower-than-average IQ scores may not be classified as learning disabled and so may not be eligible for special educational services to help them learn to read.

"The study results indicate that the discrepancy model is not a valid basis for allocating special educational services in reading," said Brett Miller, Ph.D., director of the Reading, Writing and Related Learning Disabilities Program at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the part of the National Institutes of Health that funded the study. "It follows that, whether they have high IQ scores or low IQ scores, children with great difficulty in learning to read stand to benefit from educational services to help them learn to read."

While the lack of relationship between decoding difficulties and IQ is readily accepted by the field, and is reflected by the official position of organisations such as the British Dyslexia Association and the International Dyslexia Association, it is discomforting that many clinicians continue to use the discredited discrepancy model (for review, see O’Donnell & Miller, 2011; Stanovich, 2005).

That's not what the SASC guidance is saying though Mrz.
They clearly state that discrepancy is not a diagnostic criterion, however where discrepancies are identified , they can provide information which can inform intervention.

'While the lack of relationship between decoding difficulties and IQ is readily accepted by the field, and is reflected by the official position of organisations such as the British Dyslexia Association and the International Dyslexia Association, it is discomforting that many clinicians continue to use the discredited discrepancy model (for review, see O’Donnell & Miller, 2011; Stanovich, 2005).'

See SASC guidance above. BDA, Dyslexia Action and PATOSS assessors all refer to SASC guidance.

It's exactly what the SASC says ....IQ discrepancy isn't a criteria for diagnosis.

Like many other factors (physical, emotional etc) IQ will be considered when identifying individual needs.

Isn't that what I just posted!

I give up mrz.

You have read nothing I said properly. I am trying to have a nuanced discussion about identification of needs and you are responding by discussing general findings suitable for a majority. Your attitude is actually quite discriminatory, and I realise that you don't realise this.

I have nowhere said that discrepancy, as an exclusionary criteria, is still valid. I have said that it remains implicit for various purposes such as assessing need and severity, and I have pointed out that even the documents you reference say this.

I have not said that keyboards should be used for everyone with dyslexia or any other SpLD. I have said that there ARE cases where the physical act of writing is a barrier to developing other skills, and in these cases a keyboard (or any other assistive tech for that matter) is beneficial and preferable.

When I point out information in your own examples you ignore it and repeat yourself (as if repetition makes you right), and when I make an analogy about removing barriers to learning you willfully ignore it.

So let's call it a day, and I sincerely hope you have not caused harm with your approach. I know you care, and you are very experienced, but you lack of openness to discuss things in a nuanced way increases the chance of causing harm.

Thank you for your concerns Flanks they aren't needed. Perhaps one day you will update your research rather than clinging to the familiar even though there us plenty of evidence you aren't willing to accept. Unfortunately it's something many "experts" seem to share.

dyslexiaheadlines.com/beware-fake-dyslexia-therapists/?utm_source=ReviveOldPost&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ReviveOldPost

What's a 'fake dyslexia therapist'
That link directed me to an article in the Daily Mail!

I'm sure you can work it out

I'm not sure how it's relevant to this thread. Flanks has posted that she's a teacher, not a therapist.

Why assume (wrongly) that it has anything to do with Flanks?