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Primary education

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Stealth Dyslexia??

4 replies

AGrunner · 31/01/2024 14:36

My nearly 8yo (year 3) has some ongoing issues that Im now thinking could be dyslexia and wondered if it was possible given the fact that her reading/comprehension has always been very good. My sister is severely dyslexic (there is a fairly strong history in my family but I don't have it myself) and I wonder if I’m being coloured by my experiences of her and missing something in my daughter.

She read easily and early. And has always been precocious in her verbal language but pretty slow to write with poor handwriting. A definite mismatch between the two.

She was massively impacted by covid in terms of early phonics/writing but I’m not sure if its just that. By the middle of year 2 her English was still below expectations and she could barely write. This was one of the reasons we moved her to a private school last year and she has definitely come on loads in a smaller class but still has significant issues with writing/spelling.

She is actually in the top English group and often gets full marks in her spelling test (having remembered them by sight) to then forget them at a later date. She commonly misspells easy words eg where will be wher, enjoy will be injoy (she has been taught this lots of times etc).
She struggles to read for pleasure.

BUT her CAT scores (including verbal reasoning) were super high-the highest in the class….and the same as her extremely academic older brother who has never had any issues with spelling/writing.

Is dyslexia a possibility here? Don’t
want to pay lots of money for an assessment if we’re barking up the wrong tree. Her teacher is unsure as she is performing at a high standard but agrees with the handwriting/spelling concerns.

Her coordination is good so I don't think physically writing is the issue.

If she is dyslexic - is there massive benefits in diagnosing early? How do interventions help? Happy to leave alone if this is just how she is. But equally don’t want to miss something!!

OP posts:
NancyDrawed · 31/01/2024 15:06

It's a tricky one - my DS (now 13) started struggling with spelling in KS2 and his handwriting is appalling unless he goes very very slowly and ideally prints instead of joining.

Like your DD he has a great vocabulary and I find it really frustrating because of course the schools can only assess what they see written, and his knowledge is way above what it would appear.

He has been screened a number of times for dyslexia - in primary years we were told that he might start to show signs at secondary when things get more complex and it is less easy to get by with memorising.

Unfortunately, while it is clear that he has some issues, he does not score highly enough to get any interventions, which is frustrating for both me and him as we both know he is more capable than it seems!

None of which helps your DD or answers your question, but honestly I would see if you can get at least a preliminary screen done. I'm sorry I can't remember how I found the centre we used but no doubt found it via Google

Ratfinkstinkypink · 31/01/2024 15:10

DS has a dysgraphia diagnosis, he sounds similar to your DD.

AGrunner · 31/01/2024 15:39

This is interesting will do some research thank you!

OP posts:
AGrunner · 31/01/2024 15:40

Thanks for sharing. Think an assessment would be helpful.

OP posts:
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