Does anyone have experience of Specific Learning Difficulties being diagnosed quite late in the day, i.e. Y10/11??

[FernetBranca]

Ds has just been assessed as both needing to use a laptop for as much written work as possible going forward and also as qualifying for 25% extra time in exams. This has not come as a complete bolt from the blue but is quite a surprise (I thought his writing was just a bit rubbish but it is well beyond that ).

Is it quite unusual to get to this age and stage without something fairly major like this being discovered? The report did say it was quite common for coping strategies to get you so far but no further and working for GCSE's was clearly his tipping point.

We clearly need to spring into action, although I'm not quite sure what springing into action consists of (other than buying a laptop!) haven't yet been able to speak to his school, although this has been done via their preferred Ed Psych and I assume they will pick up the baton on this. But any advice on practical matters or other thoughts would be warmly received.

Dd got gcse results today. Despite thinking they'd gone well they hadn't. When she was speaking to a teacher after results they said " well you didn't have any extra support for your probable dyslexia so you've done well."

I had suspicions in primary, and also yr 8/9 that she may be dyslexic but both times school said they didn't think so and they don't test, so I stupidly believed them there was nothing to worry about. I did wonder again when she was struggling to revise but thought it was too late. To have a teacher say this to her today has me both fuming and upset. Not only have we let her down but the school were obviously aware and never spoke to us.
I'm going to be talking to dyslexia association tomorrow to arrange testing, is this the best way to do it?

Yes, DD was only diagnosed with severe dyslexia at the end of year 10. Unfortunately the lack of diagnosis had already caused massive anxiety problems. I would suggest discussing with the school why the laptop was chosen rather than having a scribe. DD was assigned a scribe and worked at a significantly quicker speed this way rather than writing herself. Unless your DS is already very fast at typing, it may be worth checking how well he would work with a scribe. Make sure that the school apply to the exam boards in plenty of time (do NOT assume that this will just happen automatically).

I'm going to be talking to dyslexia association tomorrow to arrange testing, is this the best way to do it?

I found my assessor through PATOSS (Professional Association for teachers and assessors of students with Specific Learning Difficulties). I assume that they check for all SpLD, would speaking to only the Dyslexia Association narrow down investigation too much?

Thank you IDK I'll look into that now

to your dd pigflew . My dd came out yesterday in tears of relief. She missed only 3 of her (over)predictions and none were disasters. But she started work revising 2 months before everyone else, and went to all extra revision sessions. So now I am in the situation where dh and dd will not see the need to pursue a diagnosis.

Copperbeech thank you for your points - really helpful to hear your analysis. I think that dd is probably that person who doesn't want to stand out as different, or seek special attention. She has said she isn't very quick on a laptop, and has avoided looking into and doing an online touch-typing course, which the SEN teacher suggested 2 years ago before she completely forgot about dd. That's helpful to know it can interfere with other developmental tasks.
Understanding there is a problem has been somewhat helpful as dd can be reminded she needs to spend more time reading and thinking about the question. So far, in this journey, she has at least discovered she needs to work harder than others. But I am a lone voice in the family wanting a formal diagnosis, so really stuck now.

dunlurking

If you do manage to persuade her to have an assessment, I would ask to have her measured with a scribe as well as on a laptop. DD's speed in dictating to a scribe was considerably faster than writing herself.

Thanks chocolate, I'll ask for that. Going to get her assessed for dyspraxia as well - fits all the criteria, as far as I can see, but looks like that reduces the number of psychologists qualified to assess her. Now to pick my time to bring up the subject . . . .