help - DD in middle of GCSE s - Yr 10 and school just found she has dyslexia

[ThatVikRinA22]

for a while all has not been quite right with DD who is almost 15, and i have had countless meetings with school who kept reassuring me that she was not the brightest pupil but expected to get quite respectable grades yadda yadda yadda....

She has gone from being in the top set for everything to the bottom or second from bottom and its absolutely knocked her confidence for six.

anyway, she came home a few weeks ago saying she had discovered she could read much better from blue paper.....cue massive alarm bells as my son went through the same school without them picking up he had dyslexia - he was dx 6 weeks into college....

anyway - i phoned up and told them what she had said

so they tested her last day of term and she showed a positive result for dyslexia - ive phone school back today and asked to speak with the person who tested her and also enquired who the SENCO is.

given that she is in yr 10 now, in the midst already of GCSE, i am thinking a meeting is not out of order to ask for....??

yesterday she told me that she felt that because she started in Yr 8 in the top sets for everything, and now, in Yr 10 she has fallen through set after set, she said she has felt "thick" for a long time and has just about given up of any hope of getting to college....

im so sad that this has happened and i want to make sure that she is adequately supported - one to the things ive noticed during her GCSE revision is that she has all the information in her head but she cant get it out and on paper in any logical order.....

what should i do now? please help! i am anxious to start getting her adequately supported given that i am sure this is the reason for her grades falling so dramatically year on year....plus there is the confidence issue to deal with - she has just about written herself off.

help!

My son was tested at a opticians that does colour overlays and they used various tests and found two colours that suited him best. He used those at school to decide if he wanted to move onto the next stage which was to have a machine test to decide the exact colour that was best.

He decided to stay with over lays because when he read things without a white background - many books have various colours or backgrounds, or if he was in a room which was quite dark, or exceptionally light, he needed a different shade and therefore felt the colour glasses might e a waste of time. however they do help some dyslexics a lot.

i think i would really like to have her properly tested for the whole coloured overlay thing, but i think its quite specialist isnt it?

DS has just received his DSA entitlement and he was entitled to the colour testing - and yet he wont go and has lost the bloody forms.

ive just asked for another copy of his DSA forms so i may just book DD in at the same time for the colours thing.

Vicar, I think that there's a specialist dyslexia centre in Leeds: Dyslexia Action Leeds

thanks mistle - found the dyslexia association list of centres yesterday and found a few that are within reach. im working flat out at min but am on days off again from tomorrow so im going to do some phoning around.

Will read in more deatillater but wanted to let you know that I am in a similar situation to you with DD2. She was diagnosed at Easter
The only good news for me is that she is in year 6.
Like your DD her grades slipped each year and during this year it wa slike she hit a brick wall.
She has had the full colour testing and now has glasses with green overlays. Within a day of her getting her glasses I noticed that she covered more pages in 20 mins reading than ever before.
What we are struggling with now is getting the info from her head onto paper in an organised and structured fashion.
I need to dash now but will be back to this thread

thanks sonnett - im out to work soon too, so will check back tomorrow.

Ds just completed year 11 last GCSE today. At the end of year 9 I begged the school for help, with the GCSE's coming up there was going to be a huge problem, I knew he wasnt meeting his potential, his talk and explanations, were brilliant but his hand writing was appalling. In year 9 he still couldnt spell his name properly on the cover of his books :-( We paid privately for an Ed Psych and fortunately the school have been excellent. He had an eye issue - convergenece, glasses resolved the problem BUT we were back to basics he could barely read or write and I had been trying for years to get help. Funnily enough it was this school overseas that helped the most.

Anyway we had to get a tutor for maths to go right back to basics, he has been coming once or twice a week for over 2 years. Fortunately he could also help with basic science.

Ds now uses a laptop in class, set up with folders for every subject, templates with headers and footers (to include name and date automatically) otherwise everything was doc1! The template we devised has title for subject, then a series of boxes, objective in first, etc, then he just bullet points during the lesson, when he gets home he extrapolates to build in all the extra info. The routine on the page and with the filing has helped enormously. We also have A3 posters everywhere with huge printed writing and he adds post its, or words, notes etc as he thinks of things. Likewise I recorded books onto podcasts for him to keep him up to speed. He did and does read but he really needed to catch up and we couldnt wait for him to read tonights chapter as it took a couple of hours to read 10 pages of Cherub type books. He is now much better, structure and repition has helped. I do realise he isnt dyslexic but he did/does have big problems, he was granted laptop, extra time, a reader and a scribe. He still uses the reader as he cant take that long in an exam, scribe is rarely, mainly in multiple choice as he cant see the grid (like a lottery ticket, everything is all over the place).

It hasnt held him back. he has worked so hard for the last 2 years, revision has been constant, week in week out as he couldnt allow himself to get behind (his choice). I dont care what grades he gets because IMHO he couldnt have worked any harder. Although he is confident, as are his teachers he should get a cluthc of A/A*, B's and maybe a C. Sorry for the ranbling but it is possible to find work around solutions and for your child to excel. Good luck.

yes thank you for that idontknow - i had pretty much the same with DS who has AS and dyspraxia - but he was diagnosed with these conditions much much earlier as his problems were much more severe - he too got help and used a laptop, extra time in exams etc. and he is an university now doing computer science - so i know a good outcome is possible, the same school did however not ever pick up on the fact that he too was moderately dyslexic - it took college just 6 weeks to get him assessed when he got their at 16. Its only by virtue of the fact he had other conditions which affected him that he got one to one, laptop, extra time etc etc.

however....i digress -

the problem for DD is that she has already done half her GCSE without us ever having known of the problem she is 15 in a month - we have just watched her subtly slip down year on year, her confidence ebb, without knowing what the problem was until last week, we have gone into school several times only to be reassured that this was normal for children at her stage of school, that her predicted grades were good etc etc but now she is not hitting her predicted grades and has already totally failed some of her GCSE - her writing is neat and her spelling good - what she writes however barely makes any sense and she needs some kind of strategies to plan her writing first and make it make some sort of sense - her problem is getting what is in her head down on paper.

She can sit through a whole lesson without having a clue what is going on. School didnt have a bloody clue.

A good outcome is indeed possible as i have seen with DS, but i feel that at this very late stage we are going to be pushed for time to get DD sorted out in time for the rest of her GCSE.

Firstly don't panic, you are not too late to get extra time for the GCSE exams, I think we had to have an up to date assessment by Christmas for the exams DD is sitting now.

I also TBH would be quite cynical about the support you get in school, unless they have an exceptional teacher / department. Both DDs found it fairly useless. They can show you strategies, techniques and help you with equipment but they rarely seem to be good at working out what will work for you. DD1 had already worked out for herself the strategies she was shown and DD2 commented that when she said she found it hard to organise papers it didn't help to be given a load more sheets!

I think it is vital to shell out for a proper assessment from a good Educational Psychologist. It's the results of their exhaustive (and exhausting ) tests that will give you an insight into your daughter's strengths and weaknesses. Dyslexia isn't one problem, it is a spectrum of problems with memory and processing that manifest themselves in different way. My brother and I and our three daughters and a son are all dyslexic but to different degrees and in different ways. The challenge is then to find out how to overcome your weaknesses and use your strengths. We found books recommended by teh Helen Arkyll Centre useful. And I do emphasise to my daughters that it isn't an excuse, it's a reason to work harder.

I also have found schools try to stereotype you, assuming they shouldn't do languages and should avoid essay subjects. True the exams in these subjects present the biggest challenge but if that is where your child's talents lie... (I now have two Masters degree and I'm working on a PhD in an essay subject!!) And I've heard some rubbish from teachers, "She has obviously recovered from it, they do as they grow older" ????

Once you get to the stage of applying to uni though, they really value the skills of dyslexics, seeing the bigger picture, thinking creatively, and will enable both their application and their study when they get there. Most unis now give excellent support.

I wish your daughter all the best

And one thing that has been an absolute boon to our whole family has been Kindles, something about the screen? We had already discovered it when a friend said a dyslexia unit her son was attending had bought up loads of them.

I feel for DD, I didn't get a diagnosis until 32, but I knew there was somethign wrong.

Basically get her the blue overlays for school books, set her PC/laptop background to blue and buy / beg /borrow / steal a program called inspiration - you basically put all your ideas down in any order on a diagramme, then you link them and it produces an essay plan based on what you put in.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B005GJQDAG/ref=sr_1_2_olp?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1339743065&sr=1-2&condition=new

It's late & I've not read the whole thread so forgive me if I'm repeating advise.
My DD was diagnosed aged 15 & half way through her GCSEs. Your story cold be mine!

We had moved her from a state secondary to a non selective all girls private school in the Easter term of year 9. Her English teacher suggested she might be dyslexic & so the school did their own wholly inadequate testing & declared nothing was wrong. To cut a long story short. DS went to a brilliant private cool in year 7 & they picked up on his dyslexia & treated him as though he had this before the officially diagnosis. We paid & had both DC assessed & the diagnosis was made. DS school were marvelous & incorporated help within the daily timetable at no extra cost. DD school were a nightmare! We demanded they support DD for free as they had wasted a whole year of not supporting her & calling her badly behaved. The school was merged with another local school in DD's final year & the support improved remarkably.

All I can suggest is pushing for as much help as possible. Try not to worry too much as things will work out in the end. DD is 19 & attempted education until June this year when she realised it wasn't for her. She's working in a low paid job & gaining some life experience & I'm not worried at all about her. She'll find her way in life no matter what & is comfortable in her own skin.

A side note about age & diagnosis. DH was 54 when I first realised the dyslexia was a genetic thing. DH went back to college last year & is loving studying where as he hated it at school. All three have seen a specialist optician who has tested them for coloured lenses. (Started with overlays which they all found helped). Was told that having 2 members of the family with visual stress was unusual but 3 was unheard of! DH now has tangerine lenses for reading while DC have 2 shades of purple. The optician test wasn't cheap but totally worth it to see all 3 reading & enjoying it.

Will read the thread in the morning, but in case I forget, good luck with DD. it will be OK & she will find her path but that support is vital whether it's in school or out.

thanks for that - thats interesting.

i reckon that it is genetic - DS has it, now DD and i know that if i were tested i would have ti too! ive just not been tested and i manage - the only thing i have trouble with is left and right, (makes driving interesting!!) and noting things down when they are spoken rather than written - i often have to ask people to repeat themselves several times to process what letters they are saying.

I work as an invigilator (have done for six years) and mostly invigilate SEN exams. There are loads of options that can help your DD and it's certainly not too late to get something in place. Theoretically they could have something in place if she had an exam on Monday and the Exams Officer would merely need to contact the Exam Board after the exam to send in a special considerations form (it's just an example to reassure you they have emergency procedures for things like this, mostly used for broken arms/unexpected sickness).

Provision I have seen includes (just to give you an idea of what you can discuss with the SENCO): scribes; readers; scribe + reader; exam printed on coloured paper (with original provided for the pupil if they need to cross-reference); exam on coloured paper and enlarged (exam board does a special enlarged version); extra time; rest breaks (not for dyslexia IIRC). A good SENCO (like ours) should know all this already but from what you say of the school they don't seem 100% on the ball.

Depending on how well your DD would cope could you ask about the possibility of resitting core modules once she has provision (cherry pick some with the aid of teachers?) that will have the maximum impact on her overall marks. Hope your meeting goes well :)

Oh, I forgot (stupidly as I used one myself!) we did have a dyslexic student who used a laptop.

Using a laptop isn't quite as useful as it sounds, it is stripped of all software so it isn't a word processor, no spellcheck or cut and paste etc. So you type as you write. One DD has a writing speed at the 10th percentile so she did try but found because she is used to typing in Word, where you tend not having to think so much before you type, because you can change it later, that it was just as slow.

Vicar, can I ask if you have problems remembering numbers? When I'm putting my credit card number into the internet I need someone to read it to me in twos. If they do it in fours I panic! I consider myself mildly dyslexic but DS1 was properly diagnosed at 7 and is now 23.

I'm pretty sure it's genetic although my other theory is a slight birth injury. DS1 had the cord round his neck when he popped out and has a v v slight shake in one hand. I didn't notice it until an Ed Phych pointed it out to me when he was 11.

I'm interested to know if it's genetic. DS2 is 100% not dyslexic.

im sure its genetic.

DS has AS and Dyspraxia and Dyslexia.
i am very very slightly 'touched' by AS.....im pretty sure im Dyslexic and i can truly walk into doors its not an excuse!
DS has AS, my grandmother had AS, my uncle has AS and my bio brother whom i dont see (long story....i wont bore you) is AS and Dyspraxic and im pretty sure dyslexic too.

it all runs in my family. im not massively afflicted, nor is DD, DS has a worse time but i think these things are more prevalent in boys anyway.

at work i often have to take down names and dates quickly - i am useless - i tanspose numbers and cant write fast if i am hearing the spoken word....i need time to process so i repeat what people say slowly to give me time to process and write it.

Interesting. Also interesting to to hear that your DS is doing computer science at Uni. Mine, who did degree and masters in civil engineering has (after getting a 1st and good job) is very much struggling with the amount of report writing he has to do in his job and has just decided to return to studying in computer field. An MSc which has been recommended as leading to a job with v little writing. I'm crossing my fingers.

And good luck with the GCSE stuff. It's a really stressful time for the whole family as I remember.

you know this wouldnt be so bad if some teachers were a little more understanding....today she had another exam and asked for it to be printed on blue paper.
the teacher said no.
she asked again. she told her she was "jumping on the bandwagon" and didnt she realise that coloured paper is more expensive than white.....

im
meeting next week....this is going to get addressed!

I recently got some colour overlays for my DD from Amazon. We needed A4 size as she does a lot of singing and that is much more convenient to go over sheet music (the first time she used them her choir director and the assistant commented on how much better she was singing).
My DD has no diagnosis, but gets extra time and the use of the overlays, she is actually only on the register at my request (oh the other thing she gets is her homework recorded for her as she can miss the crucial part of instructions). Her elder brother is formally diagnosed as dyslexic, and the school has a wonderful SENCo.
For my son, he does most of his exams on computer, because he struggles massively with writing. We did have some issues with some invigilators forgetting his extra time (it cost the school as they paid for his resits in those subjects). The school did give him a special card to show he needed extra time, he also has had a special exam timetable produced to show where each of his exams is (as they are usually not with everyone else). We did discuss using a scribe, but he wasn't keen and that is a skill that is best if practised.

BTW I have been to a seminar given by Professor John Stein (brother of Rick Stein) and it is likely the causes of dyslexia and dyspraxia are quite closely linked.

well.
ive been to a meeting today with the dyslexia teacher and the senco. upshot is that she has masked any difficulties really really well, too well in fact. The specialist teacher was shocked at the result and did not expect it, due to the fact that her reading is good, her spelling isnt bad and she works quickly. The sequencing and logic aspects of the tests are where she fell down the most, and that makes sense when i look at where her problems in school lie (not understanding the question in exams and writing reams of irrelevant detail). The problem is because she is fast, she wont qualify for extra time, and because she is able to read, she wont qualify for a reader, and because she can write, she wont get a scribe.
in short, there is nothing she qualifies for. (except the coloured paper thing)

They have suggested a tutor for maths, which i am in the process of trying to find, and they will give her extra tuition at school after school once a fortnight to practice old papers in the essay style subject (history) and learn some techniques for essay writing etc.

All i want for her is to reach her potential. I asked about getting her properly tested, the dyslexia teacher said it would not help her in getting anything more from school, and if they refer her to the ed psyche they will just ask what has been put into place and how its working.....we will run out of time.
They know she is working extremely hard. Her teachers all say she is putting in absolutely 100% effort - the problem is that she is getting very little pay back and is disillusioned and pretending not to care because it hurts less - this was the specialist teachers observations and she is spot on.

Anyway. We particularly need to get her through maths and english - so we are seeking a maths tutor, (english she is on course to attain a C) If she gets 5 a-c GCSE she can do the btec Media course, which they think will suit her more than A level, as she is very organised and practical but clearly not achieving good enough grades for A levels. The sad thing is she feels so stupid.
when she came home tonight i explained we will get her a tutor for maths and why, and she cried. She wants to do well. She knows she was doing better and she has watched her grades drop year on year.
it hurts to see her hurting. She is 15 next month and so acutely aware of looking different or less able than her peers. She has accepted that we need to get her through maths any way possible, and she knows she is doing the extra work at school but after school so no one need know.

im still weighing up whether or not to pay for a full dyslexia screening, given that its probably not going to illicit the result from school we would like. She is doing well in Media, ICT, RE, English and DT, she is not doing so well in maths, history and the sciences. history im not pushing - she wont get a C and its making her miserable. They are scrapping all her exams so far in Maths and she is going to change to the linear course and do the exam at the end - so this is one we can still pull back with some hard work and a tutor. The rest is going to be practice practice and more practice on past papers etc so she can see where she is going wrong, practice answering the question, practice learning what response they want from a question, etc.

im so sad and quite angry that its taken this long to find the problem. I told them that i felt that way and that i have been saying for long enough that i felt something wasnt adding up.....i hope they are going to help me help her.

I was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia when I was in year 10, one of the reasons it stayed hidden so long was that I worked super fast (over compensating from a young age perhaps?) I was still given the full allowance of extra time and a laptop (if I wanted one). The examination officer at my school jokingly said that it was, essentially, to allow me to do the exam twice, once in a rush and once properly. I see no reason why your daughter shouldn't be allowed extra time.

My view may be controversial but I was at a private secondary school and their focus was A-A, I believe this is why I was supported so strongly (I was working at an A/B borderline for some subjects) At a state secondary their focus (mostly) is A-C, if your daughter is already in this bracket I suspect they will probably be reluctant to pull their finger out as there is nothing extra in it for them. If she is on the C/D borderline (the best place to be in terms of extra state school support) use this to push them to help her as it will improve their results.

As a student starting teacher training job September the above makes me very depressed but I have seen it time and time again.