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.

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Lara53]

You cannot use computer spell check in exams

[bruffin]

But you can get extra time for checking