Worth getting a 'proper' dyslexia assessment?

[TeenMinusTests]

We've had a hell of a year.
DD, y11, has been out of school since start of lockdown having had a MH breakdown but there were signs before Covid.

Anyway, she has always found school 'hard' and very very tiring.
We've had reports from school screening throwing around things like 'mild dyslexia' or whatever as well as 'audio processing'. But she was 'coping' and no one from school seemed too concerned. We have an OT assessment from year back saying Developmental Coordination Disorder. She can use an electronic reader for English Language GCSE to help with processing.

The other day she said she didn't want to read a new book because the text was too dense and moved around.

It got me thinking. Would a formal assessment/diagnosis of dyslexia help her onwards in college & life? There are so many things she struggles with but we/she can't 'label' them so it makes it hard to explain.

• she learned to read fine, but got stuck for quite a while on moving up from books with illustrations (lIke David Walliams) to books without. Can now read things such as Hunger Games.
• spelling has always been innovative and inconsistent, but has improved a lot in past few years
• often misses ends of words like 'ed' or 's' in writing
• hesitant reader outloud
• no problem forming letter shapes themselves, but writing is slow
• understands more than she can write down

• curious turns of speech, often swapping word order e.g. 'taking over' instead of 'overtaking'
• late to talk, speech still not fluent compared with peers

• muddles left and right
• can't tell time (despite all the effort we put in)
• struggles with times tables (as above)
• struggles with month order

Reading this back it seems obvious we should ask for a proper assessment.
Would that be with an Ed Psych?
Would they be able to expedite it before September?

I nodded along to a lot of this. Ds3 has dyslexia (he also has autism). I thought his autism diagnosis at the end of year 3 would help us to work out why his produced work was so inconsistent with his understanding of the world/recall of facts etc. However, it didn’t really. I asked about dyslexia in the autumn term of year 5 and the school agreed and referred me to a private centre, who diagnosed him as we went into the first lock down. It cost £450, but has definitely been worth it. As well as helping both us and the school, it also outlined some considerable strengths he has. Around us, it’s no longer possible to get a diagnosis of dyslexia through the school. He had seen an EP but she didn’t mention it.

If you do go ahead, make sure you find a centre with the ability to diagnose. There are a lot out there which can tell you ‘there is a strong likelihood’. The difference is fairly obvious around here by price.

Absolutely get her tested. It's only going to get harder for her.
DCD is dyspraxia - you say she'd already got a diagnosis of this? So she may be both dyspraxic and dyslexic.
Please do this. The school may feel she's doing ok but she's clearly finding it hard and will not reach her full potential in school or in life if she doesn't find out why things are hard, and how to cope with them.

Definitely get the assessment - what you've described is very similar to our DD. We requested a school screening, which highlighted areas for further investigation, then we paid privately for a full assessment. We found a qualified assessor using the PATOSS website.

It's given us a very detailed report, but perhaps most importantly outlines future access arrangements which allow for 25% additional time in formal examination or test settings. This will really help going forward.

Forgot to say, most assessors we spoke to were busy, but were able to do the assessment within 1-2 months of booking it. When then received a full report around 2 weeks after the assessment, so you should be ok for September!

Maybe get into it when she starts college next year?

Is she doing GCSE’s this year, and what grades are predicted?

My DS had dyslexic dx at 8, then at 11 he had made so much progress he was no longer dyslexic (as school said you cannot be dyslexic and get 50% + grades), but still got some EAL help.

Then at the start of college, the college let him do a dyslexia test and he was dyslexic again

By now am a bit lost with it all...

No advice really, but yes do keep an eye

You should definitely look into a formal assessor but maybe a full EdPsych report instead of just a dyslexia screening because I found that with my daughter it was not just dyslexia and we found it useful to have the full report which gave loads of advice, though it was £850

Thank you all, you have been very informative.

She was due for 4/5s in GCSEs but has been out of school for a year so that's no longer the case.

Her older sister as a diagnosis of dyspraxia - worse motor skills & proprioception, also poor organisation, cause& effect thinking, and sensitivity to taste/texture. DD 'only' has the motor skills issues (& proprioception is fine) but e.g. needs a bannister to walk down stairs.

DD also doesn't like crowds, or loud noises.

Never heard of PATOSS - I'll do a search.

it is difficult when you don't know what you are looking for. The parent of a friend of hers mentioned autism to me a few months back - she had 'assumed' DD had autism, which I know is difficult to diagnose in girls, but I don't think that is it. But I do know that autism, dyslexia & dyspraxia have overlapping signs.

How is she socially, @TeenMinusTests? That would be key identifying if she has autism traits rather than dyspraxia/ dyslexia (or possibly ADHD, which can present very differently in girls than in boys so can get missed).

My son and husband are both dyslexic, and have many of the symptoms you describe in your daughter. DS was falling further and further behind in school, and his self-esteem was getting lower and lower. We had to really push the school to get him tested for dyslexia aged 12 (horrible head of year) but it showed he had dyslexia and dyspraxia. Once diagnosed he got help from the school, and his self esteem started improving the very next day, when the horrible head of year told him off yet again for something he couldn't help and he replied 'I can't help it, I'm dyslexic." Once it's diagnosed you can do something about it, before that he described himself as "useless" and "something wrong with me." His self-confidence grew daily and he eventually got a HND and has a good career. I don't think people who know him at 12 would recognise him now! We also paid for weekly private lessons in english and maths with the local dyslexia society, so he could catch up with the basics he'd missed out on - without the basics they can't progress. This was 20 years ago so things have probably changed now.

OTOH DH wasn't tested or diagnosed till he was in his 40s, so he got no help or understanding, didn't go to uni (he's certainly clever enough) and never really fulfilled his potential careerwise. It's taken decades for his self-esteem to improve to the point where he now realises he deserves more than working long hours for low pay, and being put bottom of the pile.

It's all very well for the school to say she's doing ok but she needs to do her personal best. Someone told us that it's the one's who are 'doing ok' because they're dyslexic but get by with intelligence and coping mechanisms that get left behind, while those who just simply lack intelligence get help.

Please get your daughter tested.

As well as or instead of an Ed Psych assessment, if DD fits a couple of criteria for multiple conditions rather than fully meeting the diagnostic criteria for any specific one somewhere like GOSH or Evelina's neurodevelopmental team would get to the bottom of DD's difficulties.

GOSH definitely accept private referrals, I think Evelina do too. Despite being or approaching 16 they will probably see DD privately even if they wouldn't normally accept a referral via the NHS.

@PrintempsAhoy

Maybe get into it when she starts college next year?

Is she doing GCSE’s this year, and what grades are predicted?

My DS had dyslexic dx at 8, then at 11 he had made so much progress he was no longer dyslexic (as school said you cannot be dyslexic and get 50% + grades), but still got some EAL help.

Then at the start of college, the college let him do a dyslexia test and he was dyslexic again

By now am a bit lost with it all...

No advice really, but yes do keep an eye

I'm sorry, Printemps, but this is is rubbish - about you cannot be dyslexic and get 50% + grades - I presume you were being ironic/sarcastic?

DC sometimes develop coping strategies and may also put in extra work to try to keep up.

OP - DS2 was diagnosed with dyslexia in y10/y11 and it made a big difference. Not only did he get the breathing space of 25% extra time, but it also confirmed to him that there was something going on which meant that he wasn't stupid - his brain simply worked in a different way.
Some of his teachers who had previously been rather rude were suddenly rather embarrassed and stepped up to help with correct support.

Over I think Printemps was being disbelieving of what the school had said if you re-read.

Thank you all for your views. We'll have a think how to proceed and try to achieve something once GCSEs are out of the way, which will still give us 3 clear months before college.

Further views welcome too!

Or try to get it done through the school ASAP if you can OP

Definitely worth exploring. Do be aware that many specialist teachers assessors and EPs will be delayed due to various closures during lockdown. Some are backed up at least a term - worth making enquiries and getting onto wait lists.

All the best with it. PATOSS is a great start for getting in touch with qualified practitioners.

Your DD sounds just like mine, who was diagnosed with Dyslexia (auditory processing & working memory) at the beginning of year 12 in new 6th form. Signs were there earlier, but she masked due to high IQ and never actually 'failing'
She too learnt to read fine, but struggled with very slow handwriting, rote learning, days of week, left from right etc.
IMO do not wait to get her tested - even if she doesn't get extra time awarded, a decent assessment report will give loads of good advice as to how she can be helped with her learning.

Thank you.
Once these GCSE assessments are out of the way I'll be on the case.