DD's teacher has sugested dyslexia. Now what?

[LynetteScavo]

DD is in reception, and not 5 until July. I'd put all the other children's fabulous reading and writing down to their age (i.e. being older than DD)

The teachers have spent the past year raving about how wonderful, and intelligent DD is. Which, of course being her mother I would agree with, but he still can't read, and is still on ORT level 2.

Another child came in crying whilst I was talking to the teacher, so we didn't really finish the conversation...but what do I do next?
I'm pretty sure the school SEN won't think she is dyslexic, as she is DS2's class teacher, and if any of my children are dyslexic, it is DS2. She doesn't think he is dyslexic (he isn't particularly bright- I think his averageness masks the dyslexia, if that makes sense.)

Basically, what should I do now?

Does he know all his phonics yet?

SENCO won't necessarily know if your dd has dyslexia unless she has specialist training.

Everyone thought DS2 was dyslexic
But it turned out he needed glasses

Is worth getting an ey test first
My optician is esp trained in dylexia too and checked his 'tracking' which is a dyslexia indicator.
That was fine and now his reading and writing is coming on leaps and bounds

Also check hearing.

Eyesight has been checked (DS1 poor eyesight)

Hearing has been checked (she had poor speech development but is fine now)

I was very surprised that her teacher thought she might be dyslexic, as I'd always focused on DS2's poor reading, and presumed DD would fly like DS1.

I would be happy to pay to have a private assessment. DH strongly disagrees, and thinks I'm looking for problems to spend large amounts of money on.

As already said, the SENCO is about as useful as a chocolate teapot, s she has no idea about dyslexia.

Did she say why she thought that?

The teacher said that DD was very similar to her own daughter. She has recognised similar traits of mild dyslexia, that she has seen in her own daughter, and started to mention that she had taken her daughter to see a specialist who really helped. That was when the crying little boy came in, and the conversation ended.

Wonder what those traits are then - it's not neccessarily dyslexia even if she shares the traits. She's very young and so it could just be developmental.

My son was investigated for epilepsy at nursery because he shared traits with the Nursery manager's child who was epileptic. He came back negative eventually. However he is now diagnosed as dyslexic, which I think may explain the "zoning out".
5 is too young to diagnose dyslexia. However if you are concerned, work on her phonetic sounds. Play games sounding out words and getting her to guess them. Then try to work out the word with a sound missing, then with a sound added. Get her to listen to stories (on CD etc.). And try to get her into poetry, so she enjoys rhyme. This won't do any harm een if she isn't dyslexic.

You ignored Indigo Bell's question, which was extremely pertinent.

Also. Why is a struggling child getting ORT books?

What phonics scheme are they using and why don't they have decodable books for practising using their phonic knowledge? ORT are useless for the early stages of learning to read.

Do not go down the 'dyslexia' path unless you are sure that the phonics instruction is impeccable, that it is not mixed with 'other strategies', and that your child is not being taught to read 'sight words' as 'wholes' (rather than decode them...). If the teaching isn't right, the problem lies with the school, not within your daughter.

And, I suspect that no Educational Psychologist would assess such a young child for dyslexia

Looking on the OUP web site ORT level 2 seems to be where they are meant to be at the end of reception year, so she sounds remarkably average to me!

DS3 is on level 3 in his school books but can read slightly higher at home. Apart from a few children who are way head, and those that really haven't grasped their phonics at all yet, it seems most of the class are on level 2 or level 3.

I think it is generally accepted that there is little point in looking for dyslexia before the age of 6, therefore I would suggest keeping an eye on her, trying to use a synthetic phonics system to help with her reading and thinking about a formal assessment if she is still struggling in a year's time.

Schools don't always place much store by private assessments and there is no obligation on them to act on their recommendations, though they can be useful as a parent (if only to reassure yourself that you're not going mad, there really is a problem!). I have two dyslexic children who presented in very different ways - unfortunately it isn't as easy as "she does x and y, therefore she is dyslexic".

She's not a late reader. It's common internationally not to start teaching children to read until they are 6 or 7. My ds 2, who is 5 1/2 can't read and he is considered to be doing fine at his (French) school by his teachers. He has just finished the equivalent of year 1. Reading is next year. DS1 could read at 4 but he was the only one in his class who could read for nigh on 2 years. They are now all 7 and 8 and they can all read fine. I agree with others that she's too young to look for dyslexia. I also think it's too young to be concerned about her reading unless there are other things about her that you worry about.

She seems very young for a teacher to be talking about dyslexia. Agree with the other posters some click later on with their reading. Perhaps you could do some phonics with her over the summer holiday?

maizieD - so sorry for "ignoring" IndigoBell's question. To be quite honest I'm not sure if she knows all her phonics yet.

All children in the class are given ORT books after the autumn half term. Most children progress through the stages, DD has not progressed, and neither has she learnt to read, she is still memorising the story, and telling to me parrot fashion.

I will check that the phonics instruction is 2impeccable", that it is not mixed with 'other strategies', and that your she isn't being taught to read words as wholes.

But to be honest, memorising whole words was how DS1 learnt to read, very successfully and quickly. DD is quite similar to him so I thought she might be able to learn to read in the same way. Maybe that's the problem! I'll have a go with some flash cards and see how she responds.

I read a lot to her, and she pretends to read to me, but it is still very much pretending.

Some children do learn to read by memorising whole words, though it is possible that if they don't, consciously or unconsciously, work out the 'phonics'for themselves they could well hit a brick wall when memory for whole words reaches its limit.

If you have a child who finds learning by whole word difficult (as thousands do) they are going to get stuck very early on if the school persists in trying to teach them that way (despite govt. guidance telling them not to!)

Reading is not tied to development so there is no particular optimum time to learn to read. If your dd were in a continental school she would indeed be much later starting to learn, but then so would all the other children around her. As it is, she is losing ground and will soon (if she isn't already) be acutely aware that she is 'failing' at a skill which most of her peers have mastered (though I doubt if she is the only one who is having problems).

Advice to do some phonics with her is absolutely sound. Also get her some decodable books to go with the phonics which will give her practice in sounding out and blending words with the phonic knowledge she is learning.

It is possible that she may be given good phonics instruction in Y1; believe it or not, policy on the initial teaching of reading may not be consistent across year groups, with individual teachers doing their own thing - you can find good phonics teaching and 'mixed methods' (not good...) side by side in some schools

See if you can get hold of a Jolly Phonics handbook; it is a good comprehensive guide to teaching phonics, or, try www.phonicsinternational.com or, try the BRI books from www.piperbooks.co.uk/, these are a complete 'teach to read programme in themselves and very good value.

I don't know what you can do about those horrid ORT books, but at least there's not much of the term left and you have the whole summer to help her in.
Enjoy the holidays!

I think it's way to early to diagnose dyslexia and I would try not to worry if you can avoid it.
See how things go in year 1.

Thanks for the links, Maizie - I'll have a good look at them.

I would question your daughter's teacher's expertise.

mrz,

How would one go about questioning a teacher's expertise? Would it be any use to march up to the school and say 'I don't think you're doing this right'? I couldn't see our staff reacting very well to that...