dyslexia and support from school

[runningscare]

Hi, I am looking for clear guidance on what support my 10 year old son who has a diagnosis of dyslexia should be receiving. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Might be better posting this in the SN boards as well as on here to get both sides of the coin.

@EndOfDiscOne thanks

Bump

You don't get any special support for having dyslexia.
If a child (any child - dyslexic or not) has problems with spelling (enough to be on the SEN register) they will get extra input in that.
If a child (any child - dyslexic or not) is behind in reading they will get support with that.
The actual diagnosis of dyslexia doesn't get you any support. It's the level of need/under performance for chronological age that gets you the support.
Advantage of having a diagnosis is purely for self esteem if the child to know the reason for their difficulties.
There are lots of positives about being dyslexic. Look on the Made By Dyslexia website and Dyslexic advantage website.
My own children loved the #Like a dyslexic You Tube video made by a dyslexic child and I must admit it brought me to floods of tears (in a sort of good way) whenever I watched it.

HI depends on the deficiency your child displays

For example spelling writing memory etc

They should be giving him ways to access the curriculum - either clario pen reader or text to speech or touch typing - he should also be getting additional time to finish tasks and if necessary coloured paper for tasks
Tasks should be in smaller chunks and instructions broken down or written down to refer too
He should also be given focus breaks if necessary

He should feel he's achieving and making progress

Do you have his test scores?

Thank you both for your messages. Both very helpful indeed

Have a look on Nessy.com
This week is dyslexia awareness and they are offering free screen via a 6 program game

You can then sign him up quite cheaply for their programs which really help

Plies you can do the home awareness coarse - usually £20 for free

I think Purpleand Turquoise is right.

It does very much depend on where the deficits are and what the child is finding particularly challenging. It also depends on who made a diagnosis of dyslexia and what the school is doing to support.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but we found in state primary that no extra funds were available after our DS was diagnosed at age 10. We had a private assessment as school couldn't justify the cost of assessing him as he was at age related expectations... Turns out if it wasn't for the dyslexia he'd be be above age related expectations. But state schools don't have the funding to support these kids, all additional help has to be channelled into kids not meeting the age related expectations, dyslexic or not. Head teacher was understanding but yr5 and yr6 teachers didn't get that you could be smart and dyslexic, and just put his difficulties down to laziness "as boys don't like writing and reading". When looking at state secondary, we found the same attitudes "he's not weak enough to be dyslexic". Made me want to scream. We were fortunate to be able to afford a selective secondary, who get that bright kids can be dyslexic, and he's thriving there. We wish with hindsight we'd taken him out at year 5, when he was diagnosed to avoid the hell that is SATS. Year 6 state school is so focused on this, no real dyslexic help is forthcoming. We found ourselves doing lots at home to help and support. The main thing is maintaining self esteem, as primary school work is marked on ability to spell and write lots, ignoring the content ( so we found) Sorry to be so negative, rant over.

@Changemyname18 .... really helpful advice and appreciate your honesty!

Dyslexia is an umbrella term that has no universally accepted definition as such the label isn't helpful. Schools and individuals that tell you otherwise are misleading you.
What you need to ask is what are my child's actual difficulties and how best can these be supported.

Dd had some one to one support with reading and writing because that was below average.

School funding is so stretched nowadays it's unlikely much 1:1 support will be made available, there may be groups he could join in school or an intervention programme that he could follow.

Definitely take advantage of the 'Nessy' free assessment as it will highlight the area or areas that he personally struggles with most and they you can either follow the programme, ask school to buy into or you could pay for it yourself.

www.nessy.com/uk/

Working memory is a very under discussed element of a dyslexic profile and one that can supported and stretched at home with games such as 'I went to the shop ....' and colouring activities with instruction such as 'colour the anchor green and then colour the man behind it in red.

It also means your son will have extra time and support for his SATs.

You don't need a diagnosis for extra time in exams

You may not need a diagnosiss but the school have to apply to the exam board with evidence and wait to see if it's accepted (they do this a few months before the exams and their are strict deadlines)

It's gotten harder due to the number of parents requesting it

All they need is reading speed

No extra time given for my DS in SATS despite dyslexia diagnosis.....

Having a dyslexia diagnosis doesn't guarantee extra time - answers to a specific set of questions does.

Three of my Y6s had a dyslexia diagnosis last year - all got over 100 in reading but only one qualified for extra time (because she was reading at less than 90 words a minute and ended up getting 108).

Schools are expected to use a sum of money to support pupils with SEND, before more intensive support via an EHCP is allocated.

Many pupils with dyslexia are indeed, very able and may not appear as able as they are because of the deficits they have in reading/spelling/writing/working memory/ or any of the other aspects that may, or may not, contribute towards a diagnosis of a specific learning difficulty or dyslexia.

In an ideal world, those able pupils would attract as much additional support as possible. In the real world, schools have to target those pupils for whom the gaps in attainment between them and their peers are growing wider.

A diagnosis of dyslexia does not automatically mean that a pupil will have additional support, extra time in tests, a reader, a scribe, the use of a computer, or any of the other facilities that are available to those in greatest need. You may think it unfair when it applies to your child, but unfortunately, it is the case that year on year, budgets for SEND in particular, are squeezed until the pups squeak.

Pips squeak

A diagnosis of dyslexia does not automatically mean that a pupil will have additional support, extra time in tests, a reader, a scribe, the use of a computer, or any of the other facilities that are available to those in greatest need. You may think it unfair when it applies to your child, but unfortunately, it is the case that year on year, budgets for SEND in particular, are squeezed until the pups squeak.

Whilst a diagnosis of dyslexia does not guarantee exam access arrangements, if their scores related to cognitive processing, speed of handwriting etc fall below a standard score of 85, they are entitled to extra time and/or other access arrangements in GCSEs and A levels.

If you are getting your child assessed from year 9 onward, work with school and get them to agree to use the assessor and complete the necessary part of the JCQ Form 8 before the assessment takes place. Most schools will do this provided they have had an opportunity to check my qualifications in advance of the assessment.

Dyslexia is a recognised disability under the Equalities Act and individuals in work are entitled to reasonable adjustments and are protected by law; university students with dyslexia are entitled to disabled students allowance and reasonable adjustments in examinations. It should not be any different for children taking exams at school.

But it is.

But it is. . I am not sure what your point is.

Undiagnosed Specific Learning Difficulties are linked to poor mental health and a disproportionate number of people in prisons have SpLDs - but the academic and social outcomes with appropriate early intervention can be excellent.

Why would anyone want to disadvantage the estimated 10% of the population who have dyslexia - never mind those who have other SpLDs. It is wrong and we shouldn’t just so “oh well, that’s just the way it is”

You said:

It should not be any different for children taking exams at school.

And I said 'But it is.' And actually, I don't think a dyslexic child scoring 115 as a scaled score in KS2 tests actually needs extra time. And dyslexic children who do need it will have it awarded to them.

Feenie it would depend on the level of their difficulty for things like processing speed - you can’t generalise