Dyslexia, Visual processing problems or totally normal?

[bt110110]

I'm really struggling with this!

My daughter is 7 and coming to the end of year 2. She's a bright kid who was exceeding in Maths, Reading, Writing, Communication , Understanding the World and several of the other EYFS areas at the end of Reception. I've noticed over the last couple of years that she isn't making the greatest progress at school. She's slipped from top set to middle for Maths and Literacy. She's still flying high in science, which has always been a real strength for her. Despite getting 10/10 in every spelling test her spelling when writing is dreadful. She is a very slow writer and although she's still above average, reading wise, she lacks fluency and is quite hesitant when reading. She reads long, complex words just fine but substitutes small words like but, who, she, he, the, a etc, at pretty much every opportunity. She will misread words for those with similar letters. Earlier today she read large in place of eagle. She is still mixing b,d,p,q,9,6, n,u , and many more up, both when reading and writing. She also reads and writes maths problems incorrectly, for instance 125 for 521. Previously, school have said that she's fine whenever I've asked and I've always come away feeling a bit neurotic. We had parent's evening recently and her teacher said she was ' so very bright' but testing about where she should be generally, but probably wouldn't get expected in the SATs SPAG test. I'm no fan of SAT's but is it right that she should have gone from exceeding to developing ( not reaching expected) in two years? It's a very mixed inner city school where lots of kids are really struggling and I feel a bit ridiculous even suggesting that she might be struggling. There is a very strong family history of dyslexia and I'm in two minds as to whether this might be the case for her. I've mentined dyslexia to school before and they've seemed to brush it off. I did an online dyslexia screen with her and she scored very high in all areas but failed to score at all in Visual Sequencing. She just couldn't do it. I dont really know what this means or how significant it is. I've asked to see her teacher and the SENCO to discuss this but feel like i might be making a big fuss about minor setbacks. Is there anything I can do? Thanks for your help x

[Campfiresmoke]

I think you should get an assessment do e, especially if there is a strong family history.
Try these people www.patoss-dyslexia.org/
They were great for us.

[mrz]

It pretty much described my son in primary school ...he's not dyslexic.

[PurpleAlerts]

Oh and Daisymay2
"very good in class but less good at written work"

This is my DD to a tee! Every single school report she has got has said how amazing she is orally in class- that she gives outstanding contribution to class discussions. She just can't bloody write it down!

I have often wondered if she is dyspraxic as is a bit of a klutz but she has danced from a very young age and think perhaps she has been able to retrain her brain to force her body to be more co-ordinated.

[PurpleAlerts]

Yellow is also my DD's favoured colour- the Ed Pych suggested yellow background with green writing as the best combination. Now all her teachers use this on her handouts and screen on interactive white board. Considering she is at a high performing grammar school I have been astonished at the level of support she has been given.

[Daisymay2]

I could almost have wriiten Purple's posting= almost identical GCSE as well. Although my DS read well ( 3 years above chronological age) he got to year 13, and less good AS levels than predicted before someone observd that his handwriting was slow and painstaking. Learning support suggested we got him tested by an Ed Psych as they were not clear of what his problem was from the tests they could do. Verdict was dyslexia, some dyspraxia, slow processing and some visual tracking issues with high IQ, which is how he coped until AS . He now has 25% extra time in exams. We also took him to a specialist optomatrist who was able to test his tracking and showed him how he missed words and went back over parts of text several times and gave him excercises. Looking back we realise he had always been very good in class but less good at writtern work
My son did not find coloured filters helpful, but when he was assessed for learning support for Uni he found that a yellow background to his compter sceen was almost miraculous
Get her tested now while she can get most benefit. However , if it helps, he is doing an Arts subject at a Russell Gp Uni and has just been accepted onto an MA for next year, He still struggles with a train timetable though.

[mrz]

Dyslexia Action

On Thursday 13 April 2017 Matthew Haw and Karen Spears of RSM Restructuring Advisory LLP were appointed as administrators of Dyslexia Institute Limited t/a Dyslexia Action. As of the above date Dyslexia Action has ceased to trade all operations except the teacher training centre which continues to operate as usual whilst the administrators negotiate a sale of this division. If you have any queries please contact RSM's London office on 0203 201 8000 or email [email protected]

Matthew Haw and Karen Spears act as agents of the Charity without any personal liability.

[Lowdoorinthewal1]

There is another thread on here by a psych who has been working for Dyslexia Action saying that they have gone into administration and are closed with immediate effect. Don't pay them any money without checking that out!

[PurpleAlerts]

I always suspected my DD had some dyslexic tendencies. She was very bright but seemed to read soooooo slowly- added in words, missed them out, lost her place and struggled with spelling. She actually passed the 11+ and went to a grammar school but quite a few of her teachers queried whether she was dyslexic. She did well in her GCSEs (1A*,6As and 5Bs) but didn't get as higher grades as she had been predicted.

She really started to struggle in year 12 and after she took 5 different on-line dyslexia assessments showing a high probability of dyslexia or some sort of processing difficulty, we finally got her tested at Dyslexia Action. The Ed Psych was shocked at how slow her processing was for reading saying that her difficulties should have been picked up in primary school. On a scale of 1-100 she scored 0.2 for processing although many other assessments showed that she was very able. She said that DD had some very effective coping strategies which had masked quite how difficult she found reading but that the higher intensity of A level studies meant that she just couldn't keep up.

She was diagnosed with scotopic sensitivity also known as Irlens Syndrome. She now gets 25% extra time in exams, uses coloured overlays, coloured exam papers and is allowed to use a laptop and is doing much better.

I feel so guilty that I hadn't paid out for the assessment sooner as she could have had this support sooner and if she had had the extra time in her GCSEs her grades would undoubtedly have been higher still.

If you can afford it I would get a private assessment. Dyslexia action do a half an hour free consultation before you commit to a full assessment- either from a Teacher of Dyslexia or an Ed psych (the latter being the more expensive option which we went for as she was able to fill in the form 8 application for extra time in the exams.)

[bt110110]

Thanks all, that's really, really helpful. It's highlighting that I'm not just making it up and worrying needlessly!

[mrz]

Before you spend large sums of money remember schools do not have to follow private recommendations unless part of an EHCP.

[ilovesushi]

Yes. DS was age 6 and just going into Y2. From memory it cost about £550. The EP spoke to me several times over the phone initially and gave me some tips and things to try even before the assessment. As well as conducting a test with DS, she came into school and observed DS in lessons and at playtime. She met with his old Y1 teacher and new Y2 teacher and also met with me. It was incredibly thorough and I felt she put into words all my gut feelings. She gave both me and school really concrete tangible things to do. I have done everything to the letter and had fantastic results.
It has been more frustrating with the school. There is some of small group support, but very little/ no one-to-one. They continued doing things she said point blank would not work playing to his weaknesses not his strengths. I have had to fight to get them to implement even simple cheap strategies. In general his school are pretty poor with anything SEN related. It is a fairly wealthy catchment area and most people just go private as a solution. We aren't in that bracket so have to make the most of the school.
We also saw an occupation therapist first privately but then through CAMHS. That really helped me understand the visual aspect. DS scored in the top 3% of the population for visual perception yet his words, letters and numbers are reversed and weirdly formed. The OT helped me see how he sees not in a linear way but in this amazingly complex 3D way.
All the assessments have been worth their weight in gold in terms of finding strategies to enable him to learn. Also touch wood I think we got in there before hitting any really serious mental health issues brought on by poor self esteem. Looking back DS was depressed and still struggles with negative feelings.

[Fluffybrain]

I love sushi....Did you pay for a full assessment from an educational psych? How old was your DS when you had him tested?

[elfonshelf]

Btw, if you want to try overlays, you can get them on Amazon for around £10 for a pack of 11 colours. They haven't helped DD much, but was worth a try and she does use the 'pretty pink' one as a reading ruler .

[elfonshelf]

Lots of things there that sound like my DD (7 and in Y3) and she had an official dyslexia diagnosis in October last year through the school.

Also at an inner-city primary with lots of FSM/EAL/SEN, but there were brilliant in spotting the initial problems in Y2 and getting her assessed in Y3.

FWIW, DD scored 100% on the phonics test - but her reading is okay, but nowhere near what would be expected for a child with her VR/NVR scores, and her spelling is atrocious. She has very poor working memory and average processing speed.

Getting the test results was brilliant - she now has 1-2-1 help in school, her form teachers have adjusted expectations and use different techniques with her, we're no longer frustrated and she has stopped thinking that she's stupid.

[ilovesushi]

I would get her tested. I paid for a private assessment for DS who has severe dyslexia. It was a huge relief to get a diagnosis, as the school were adamant he was just bit slow. Of course they didn't put it quite like that. I can see similar traits in DD but again the school are in complete denial. Their take is she's very bright but probably won't hit any of her age related targets in KS1 SATs this year. Not quite sure how they are squaring that one! I don't have the spare cash to pay for an assessment for her this year, so am doubly frustrated by school's attitude. If you can pay, it's well worth it. With DS we were also able to get an OT involved as well which really helped his progress.

[bt110110]

That's great. I'm glad he's doing well. We have no issue paying for an assessment. My main concern is that her potential in other areas is overlooked because of it. she is very able in some respects and it would be a great shame if that potential was lost. A few hundred quid is nothing in the grand scheme of things, if it prevents that from happening. Thanks for your help.

[Lowdoorinthewal1]

Yes, I found the assessment useful. He had a WRIT, WRAT, CTOPP and TOMAL (I think that is what they are all called). It came out with recommendations about what and how he should be taught and supported (7 page document including the results).

I think the best thing was that it demonstrated that he is very able, so the staff must maintain high expectations of him even though his spelling is poor (at the end of Y1 his writing was pretty dreadful).

We had it done at the very start of Y2 and TBH, although his spelling is still a weakness, he has caught up in all other respects. He has done a lot of extra work but it has been worth it because his confidence is back where it should be and he no longer dreads being asked to write.

The assessments were done by the Learning Support dept at his Prep- at their suggestion after some head scratching- and took a few hours over several sessions.We paid for them. It's a non-selective prep and they are VERY on it with any type of SpLD. From the state sector (I am a specialist teacher in Primary) you would need to pay privately to get it done- it would probably be a few hundred pounds with a private Ed Psych. If you have the money I would say it is worth it. It will not necessarily lead to your DD getting intervention, but it should help her class teacher and inform what you can do at home.

[bt110110]

Thanks everyone, that's all really helpful. Lowdoorinthewal was the assessment useful? Did it identify what measures to take to help? Do you think it was worth pursuing and did you ask for it or was it initiated by school?

[Lowdoorinthewal1]

She sounds a lot like my DS (6, August born Y2).

We had a full screen done on him and it flagged up an auditory processing issue. He also has the visual tracking issues you mention, leading to reading anagrams of words and 'he' for 'the' etc.

Things that have helped include:
Apples and Pears- dull but really effective for spelling.
Nessy- less effective but more fun.
A writing slope.
Dancing Bears- basically to 'reboot' visual tracking
Using a little, transparent green 'pointer' for reading (pictured) to help with tracking. I don't know if you can buy these anymore, but you could fashion something. I find it is particularly helpful when he is tired or the font is very small.

In the summer holidays we are going to have a crack at cogmed to give his working memory a boost too.

DS gets a lot of help because he is in a small class, but we have had to do a lot at home too. Even if you get a diagnosis I think you will end up needing to put most of the support in yourself, tighter school budgets are going to mean a decreasing amount of intervention.

[kesstrel]

It sounds to me like you should perhaps start by getting her to sound out the 'little' words she's been taught as sight words. She may think that she 'has' to recognise them as sight words, if that's how she has been taught. You and she both might find a detailed alphabetic code chart helpful, as it shows all the alternative spellings for each sound, in order of how common they are.

This one is good, free and you can print it out: alphabeticcodecharts.com/free_charts.html

Choose the second option in the list.

[bt110110]

Yes, they've been taught sight words all the way through too. It's always been a massive uphill struggle with her though! Her brother ( 2 years younger) is absolutely bloody amazing at reading ( most able by quite some way in his year of 60). She is unable to read the sight words he brings home, which he is doing easily. After 6 months of school he is a better reader than her and actually takes an interest in reading and words. She on the other hand seems a bit blind to them, it's hard to explain. Of the two she has always presented as "the bright one".

[mrz]

Simple answer is no.

[bt110110]

Can you be dyslexic and be ok at phonics, or is it more likely to be something else, or indeed, nothing at all! I keep swinging from thinking it's something and nothing!

[mrz]

Is she being taught "sight words" rather than how to decode all words?

[bt110110]

This is partly why I'm not sure it's dyslexia Mrz, as it doesn't seem to add up. It seems to be sight words that are a massive issue for her. Everything she spells is phonetically plausible, just wrong!