Dd2 is a poor speller. Dyslexia or just a poor speller?

[Trewser]

She's in year 12. She's very bright but her spelling is poor. She's just proudly sent me the end of an essay that she got 87% for and i the last para she spelt 'permanence' as 'permance', perhaps as 'prehaps', influence as 'influnce'. School mention it occasionally but nothing more. Her lowest gcse was a 6 in English Language.

I'm a really good speller so I really notice it, but am I overreacting? I don't mention it to her anymore.

[bruffin]

But you can get extra time for checking

[Lara53]

You cannot use computer spell check in exams

[bruffin]

Further on from my post above DS 24

Back in primary there was 2 levels difference between his writing and his comprehension. His year 6 sats was high 5 for reading/comprehension and barely scraped a 4 by one mark for writing.His maths and science high 5s.
Because of sats results he was taken off the SEN register when he started Secondary and put on gifted and talented for some subjects. He was top set for english and his teacher said dont worry this is the right set for him because of his intelligence
However a few problems arose in MFL and he ended up back on SEN register.
Come gcses he was tested by school and was given exemptions came out with a mixed bag of results but overall really good.
He was given 25% /10% (depending on subject) extra time for gcse and then A2, however the week before his A1s this was taken away because they changed the criteria. His spelling , speed etc was a long way behind the rest of him, but still low average compared to everyone else, so not bad enough for new criteria. He retook further maths and physics and ended up with ABB, got into decent uni however didnt do well there and dropped out. Eventually got a temp job in a manufacturing company who see his potential , took him on permanently and promoted him twice in a year and pay him far more than most of my friends older dc with degrees. The company are setting up an apprenticeship for him now.

[Catapillarsruletheworld]

I’m a terrible speller, but otherwise generally pretty bright.
My youngest sister is also not great, probably worse than me. She’s currently at uni, getting firsts in all areas (she’s studying genetics) and is highly intelligent. Just can’t spell.

Maybe we’re all mildly dyslexic, maybe we just can’t spell. My spelling has improved as an adult, maybe your dds will improve naturally with time.

[Annasgirl]

Hi OP, I have one Dc with dyslexia and dyspraxia and one DC with the spelling issue you have mentioned. You could get your DD assessed and see if it is a dyslexia spelling issue. In Ireland where I live you can then get a spelling exemption where her spelling will not be marked in essays - I do not know how this works for A levels. I asked my DC's school about this (for the spelling only child) but they said as DC was so high scoring on all other items they really felt she was not poor enough at spelling to qualify. It could be worth exploring though.

[Bimblesalong]

As others have said, in following the right procedure, schools can use the report for access arrangements.
The reports now do not need to be carried out again post-16 as long as the assessor who did the original report was either a hpc registered psychologist or a specialist teacher with APC at the time of assessment.

[nagynolonger]

Things may have changed but schools did accept private assessments. I fact it was the only way we could get our boys assessed. This allowed them 25% extra time in exams.

The tests had to be re done once they were adults and before they could qualify for any help at university. So we paid again. But to be fair it was well worth it. They had 25% extra time again and access to lap top and other stuff. I think one son also got extra support when he did his dissertation. All of the boys have gone for maths/science at university.

[nagynolonger]

Spelling he could have the same word spelt 5 different ways on the same page but spell the word correctly out loud

Yes this is certainly an sign of a dyslexic speller. I have dyslexic sons and it was a year 4 teacher spotting this in a son's writing that was the 'piece in the puzzle' which pushed us to get our first son assessed.

At the time there was a two year wait for assessments so we paid privately.

[ruralcat]

I had a private assessment in year 13 as up until then I'd covered up the fact I was struggling. I never enjoyed reading but the thing that tripped me up in the end was how incredible slow I was to read and write which led to me not finishing any exams. Does she prefer to read and write with colours other than black and white? This was also a clue for me. Private assessment is also not useless, as when I went to uni approx 6 months after the diagnosis using the report from the assessment I was assigned an advisor, use of a computer and extra time in exams and also money towards a laptop with programs installed to help you if you have dyslexia.

[Velveteenfruitbowl]

Is it possible that she just reads in whole words? I do and my spelling is hopeless, I can only spell correctly due to n muscle memory. If you asked me to spell word aloud instead of writing or typing them I would fail miserably.

[bruffin]

DS is dyslexic, mainly his memory, short term memory and disorganisation.
He was excellent at maths (A at A level) but would bring wrong number forward from previous page , or calculator on the wrong setting, so method correct just wrong answer.

Spelling he could have the same word spelt 5 different ways on the same page but spell the word correctly out loud

[GrumpyHoonMain]

I have moderate dyslexia and never had problems with spelling or disorganisation when I used the computer which is probably why it took so long for me to be diagnosed. I also had problems learning how to drive as I have mild dyspraxia until I discovered automatics lol.

My dyslexia only appeared when writing on paper / paper organisation. So if she has that kind of disparity between handwritten and typed work then it could be. But if she gets equal opportunity spelling mistakes my guess is she might be rushing her essays and could benefit from essay planning techniques - most six forms’ student support teams can help with this.

[zafferana]

One more thing - if you wait to get an NHS diagnosis of dyslexia these days in most areas you'll be waiting forever! We were told that the NHS no longer has the capacity to conduct these assessments, so if you wan to get your DC assessed then private is the only option.

[zafferana]

Private assessments are absolutely not worthless, but it's important to speak to the school's SENCo and get their advice about who to approach to conduct the assessment. We had our DS assessed for dyslexia last year by someone recommended by the school. The report she generated has been critical in getting him the support he needs and is the criteria by which he gets extra time, extra support and even entry to a specialist (albeit private) school for dyslexic DC.

[thefattestchip]

'Private assessments are worthless and schools don’t accept them for exams - best get a test via the school'

A private assessment isn't worthless if your dc is thinking of going to University - it will be necessary for dsa.

Schools can accept the scores from a private assessment for exam arrangements if the assessor follows the advised procedure, which is to contact the school before the assessment and ask for part A of form 8.

[Trewser]

She did have two years of one to one help at school in years 7 and 8, which taught her to touch type, but she doesn't seem to type any more. I will talk to her about it over xmas and also see what her report is like.

[HeyMissyYouSoFine]

DD1 was finally screened at school - but it came back with memory issues but not worth perusing further.

Which leaves us with a child who is really struggling with spelling.

We have though dyspraxia fits - but as we can't afford private assessment and area we are we seem to be stuck getting anything further.


Despite the name Remedial-Spelling-Made-Easy has proven useful for spotting problems though we're still working through it its stalled under GCSE work.

Otherwise - TTRS which is mostly a typing program but teaches it looking at word and word groups might be helpful.


We keep having the problem spelling pointed out but no-one seems to have any suggestions of what we can do to support her.

We spent a lot of time through primary school doing spelling programs at home but she is still struggling.

[LittleCandle]

DD2 is very dyslexic and finds screens easier to read than printed text. Does your DD, when reading aloud, skip words, or add words in? It might be worth finding an optician who does Scotropic syndrome testing, as that was a complete game changer for DD2. The tailored coloured lenses helped her hugely (apart from when teachers made lovely coloured power points which DD could no longer read because of the glasses!). It is worth getting a diagnosis, as allowances are made for dyslexia in exams.

On the other hand, DM was a teacher and she always said there were people who could spell and people who couldn't and they weren't always dyslexic...

[elfonshelf]

I have a 10 year old DD in a state primary school - they organised (and paid for) two sets of comprehensive testing with an Ed psych at age 7 when they suspected dyslexia and at the beginning of this term to confirm things. Very high VR and NVR, very low WM. Achieving well below potential.

She has had a lot of 1-2-1 help, school have suggested moving her to a laptop ASAP and she will qualify for an additional 25% of time in exams.

[EducatingArti]

Nessy do an online dyslexia screener for £12 per student ( Dyslexia Quest) but it only goes up to age 16.

[Trewser]

Well she enjoyed maths, got a 7, but certainly didn't want to take it further!

[FantasticMrMouse]

Interesting she's doing 3 essay subjects at A levels. Mine has an aversion to writing long passages and reading, so I strongly suspect it will be Maths, FM and Physics for mine!!

[Trewser]

That's interesting about the laptop, she did mention something about being asked if she wanted to use one the other day. Can you use spellcheck in exams then?

[GreenTulips]

Private assessments are worthless and schools don’t accept them for exams - best get a test via the school

A screening will help with understanding her weak points, organisation, spelling, memory, etc
She may be ale to use a laptop to help with spelling in her exams as long as that is her usually way of working - she needs to this now for exams in 18 months time as the school haven to show her method and apply to each exam board

[zafferana]

www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/children/is-my-child-dyslexic/signs-of-dyslexia-secondary-school-age