Dyslexia and speech difficulties

[Strawberrycocktail]

My daughter (aged 8y 6m in year 4) has recently been diagnosed as dyslexic by an assessor outside of school. The school had a suspicion of dyslexia and were going to screen her this year as there 'wasn't time' at the end of year 3. I decided to pay for a private assessment during the summer holidays as I wanted to find out sooner and her teacher supported me by filling out the school questionnaire for the assessor so it had some school involvement in that sense but wasn't their choice of assessor. I have sent the report to the SENCO to ask if we could discuss, could the school provide any support etc and I am currently waiting for her reaction/response. However, there is another issue with my daughter (which was also a reason I really didn't want to wait and got an assessment privately). This is that she also has speech problems which have been apparent from an early age. She had speech therapy in short blocks until age 7 but was discharged by the clinic as they were 'overwhelmed' by patients after covid and so could only allow a batch of 4 sessions before discharge. Previous sessions were largely group sessions or done online during lockdowns which were far from ideal.

Although the therapists and I have worked on individual sounds with her and these have improved to some extent I have always felt there was a bigger problem which they never really tackled. This is that she jumbles up the sounds in words quite frequently or misses out syllables especially when learning new multi syllable words. I work with her on this by breaking down the words into their various parts and practice with her but she doesn't 'get' it easily, unlike my older child who never had these problems. She has also had problems with stammering where she got 'stuck' on how to say a word but we have mostly resolved this now. I have read that dyslexia often shows in speech as well and hence the problems with jumbling up syllables or missing out syllables from words, or including wrong sounds within words might all be connected with the dyslexia.

Therefore, I wondered if anyone with a dyslexic child had had similar problems with speech as well? Did any therapy to help with dyslexia also tie in with therapy to work on speech or were the two difficulties dealt with in isolation? Also has anyone found any apps/software programmes or workbooks that are particularly good for a child of this age and ideally ones that may help with speech practice as well as writing and reading?

Thank you!

Dd7 has dyslexia and also has Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). We've had to go private for everything but finding a SALT who can help with it has been challenging. Your dd's challenges sound very similar so may be worth exploring. Good luck.

Thank you @whatapalavaaa! Who made the diagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder and is that any different from the difficulties that most speech therapists cover? My daughter hasn't seen an Ed Psych yet for a broader assessment (if we need it), just a dyslexia assessor. I wondered if her difficulties might come under the umbrella of auditory processing disorder as her teacher from last year commented that she might be having difficulties 'hearing' the sounds. She has had ordinary hearing tests several times and no issues came up from those. The SALTs we have encountered have all seemed quite narrow in their focus so it looks like we are going to have some challenges in finding the right SALT like you! I am definitely hoping there are some good dyslexia and/or speech apps/software out there that may help us get going on tackling some of this.

A SALT made the diagnosis after we were told time and again either she was in the realms of 'normal' or she had a speech delay but no disorder by other therapists. We found the NHS in our area completely overwhelmed and unable to assist. Once she was diagnosed and we read up about it, it clicked into place. Have a Google and see if it 'fits' your dd. If you dm I can send you the details of our SALT, we're in the SE.

Our dd has a dyslexia tutor, half an hour a week 1:1 time at school (no EHCP) and is learning to touch type using Nessy Fingers (although handwriting isn't a struggle for her).

We support at home with spellings and reading which often ends in tears. It's so hard to see them struggle, also following for any tips!

Thank you whatapalavaa, I will PM you for details of the SALT!

@Strawberrycocktail

Please be aware often people with dyslexia are phonics blind and they will struggle to learn to read with the sounds only.

So try sight reading, by context and flash cards.
Drop the phonics.
Be aware that dyslexia tutors will still push phonics.