GCSE English with dyslexia - touch typing and any other tips?

[celestebellman]

My daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia in year 9 - up until this point school had not noticed any issue, she didn't do SATS because of covid and it was me who realised that her spelling (always not great) was actually quite at odds with her general ability, and she was struggling to process what she was reading, which was more obvious as she was required to read more complex and longer texts. She was assessed privately for diagnosis, and her reading processing speed was on the first centile.

Now she is in year 10, and I am really worried about her passing English GCSE. She is capable in her other subjects (maths, science, art, geography) of 6-7 grades I would say (based on her class test marks so far), maybe even an 8 in a couple of subjects, but in English language in particular she is probably working at about a GCSE 3. She has a tutor, who is great, and a previous AQA examiner, who has been working with her a few months. In the tutor sessions she is capable of working through a language paper with support and answering questions using set strategies, to a grade 5 standard. However, in the assessments she has had (to be fair they have only done one paper 1 and 1 paper 2 assessment so guess it is early days) this has all gone out the window. I think this is a combination of nerves, time and, crucially, processing speed. She already has a laptop and extra time. In the first language assessment she did, she appeared not to be able to take in at all what she was reading - I have since arranged for her to have a computer reader, she has only just started using this and on her recent assessment she did actually seem to understand the passages more, and she felt this helped. However, what she has written is still probably about a grade 3. She spent ages reading the paper (listened to it 3 times then 'read' it) and about half an hour trying to do question 1 (this should take about 6 minutes with the extra time). She didn't write anywhere near enough and the structure of her answers just went by the wayside (maybe nerves and practice though).

She is only year 10 so I am telling myself she has lots of time to improve, and the tutor is planning to spend lots of time embedding the techniques and practicing over the summer. I guess she also needs to have a strategy which order to answer the questions and know how much time to spend on each.

Her spelling is very bizarre - not for all words and what she means to write is usually obvious. An example in the recent paper was 'ordotory' (auditory!) I think (this one was less obvious!), however, she would still be better not having spellcheck enabled as she should be able to pick up at least some marks for SPAG!

She really needs a 5 if she wants to go to 6th form (and is much more able in other subjects so should be capable of A levels in these). I am really stressed she is not going to get this, though am trying to tell myself there is plenty time.

I have heard that touch typing programmes (like touch type read spell) can help in dyslexia by embedding spellings in muscle memory so am
wondering whether to try this. It's not too expensive though may be time consuming, so just wondered if anyone has had any experience with this being helpful? Also any tips at all about how to get that magic grade 5 in English with dyslexia would be really appreciated.

The more she uses the computer reader the more confident she will get. Has she tried working with a scribe?

Thanks - no, I'm not sure she needs a scribe (though not sure how this is assessed). Also, I think they definitely lose some of the SPAG marks with this (?)

I am telling myself she did have a bit of a disadvantage in recent test. School have only recently got the computer software running and she has tried it out but not been using it regularly. So her first time using it properly was being thrown into a test situation - this would definitely have increased the cognitive load, and she has not yet worked out how it will work best for her. They have said she can go an practice with this whenever she wants, and teacher said they will upload some texts for her to read to practice (so I have told her she needs to go and do this regularly) - I think this should help .

She would lose some spag marks with a scribe, but not as many as you might think.

The AO6 mark is also for grammar, punctuation and vocab - I'd have given credit for her attempt at "auditory" so it's worth reminding her that spelling really isn't the be all and end all.

My advice is that she needs to learn what the questions want AND to move on when the time for the question is up. The high tariff questions are at the end, so there's no point in spending 30 minutes on a 4 marker. Better to attempt them all.

Nessy touch typing is the program you need.

Teaches touch typing but is for dyslexics so also focuses on spelling etc.

Was very helpful for my DS.

As a rough rule of thumb, students should spend 1.5 minutes per mark. And I tell mine NOT to read the extract first. The questions are always the same, so read the question, read the part of the text which applies, answer.

Thanks @MrsHamlet good to know even that bizarre spelling would have got some credit! I am hoping that her grammar and punctuation (generally ok but she does rush and make silly mistakes) will get her some marks and will just have to take the hit on the spelling .

I think as you say it is partly exam technique - she definitely should not have spent so long on a 4 mark question (she finds this one easy-ish in paper 1 but much harder in paper 2). Tutor has also been suggesting things like not reading the whole text just reading the part referred to etc. So I'm not sure why she chose to spend quite so long on the reading. We will just have to practice these things and get her a strategy. Part of the issue is it really does seem to be a struggle to process what she is reading (even with the reading software though it helps) so even with extra time she will be pushed.

Thanks for the Nessy recommendation @Octavia64, will look at that too.

In paper 2, the options to choose from are in the same order as the text. So she could tick and cross next to all of them on a first read and then fill in the correct boxes.

Thanks @MrsHamlet I think it's partly processing, that she is not even processing what she is reading on first read - also that some of them are not straightforward and require inference. Eg one we looked at recently was 'they are feeling more positive about the climb' or something - what was in the text was 'less hopeless'. In paper 1 I think you just need to write 4 things about an aspect of the text which she has found ok.

@Octavia64 can I ask how old your son was when found Nessy helpful? Just wondering if it is good for this age group (15) or for younger children.

Don't treat it as an English assessment. Treat it as a tick list of things to do.
I can't remember exactly what is required, but the tutor will be able to tell you that she needs to demonstrate X,Y and Z. So, put them in.

In the auditory example - use orditory. It's phonetically plausible, and will gain more credit than hearing sound/noise or other appropriate, but simpler examples.

From science (my area of knowledge) make sure she can spell mitosis and meiosis (cell division), and burette (for titrations )and biuret (for protein tests). Those are spellings that could forfeit you the mark. Phonetically plausible will cover most others.

With a scribe, you would use all of your SPAG marks unless you spell each word, and give each piece of punctuation and grammar to the person scribing.

@SpringOfContentment thanks, that is v helpful re science words - I will make a note! Was wondering, as she has used some weird and wonderful spellings on science tests too but appears to have been given the benefit of the doubt!

That's not necessarily true, for AQA at least. There's a sliding scale for awarding marks for scribed scripts.

I agree as so often with @MrsHamlet - AQA GCSE Eng language, especially if aiming for a 5, is very much about learning what you need to do to answer the questions.

Agree about just reading the relevant elements if the text. Also learn the kinds of language needed for the longer answers- metaphor, simile etc and language about structure.

And hard agree with timings - move on once you have spent the allocated time. If in 6 minutes you have 3 answers to qu 1, much better to move on than spend 15 minutes looking for one more mark.

Thanks all - getting the impression it is definitely at least partly about technique and strategy with regard to order of questions/ timings etc as well as knowing how to answer the questions (and doing it!). I don't think she needs a scribe, think that might be more off-putting, and I feel a bit reassured about SPAG. Time is probably going to be the main challenge.

I make my exam classes do questions in timed conditions repeatedly. If they know what 12 minutes feels like (or whatever) it really helps.

Thanks @MrsHamlet - I think we will need to do that, with timings, although also need to try to embed the skills first.

There just seems so much to do for both English language and literature, for tutor coming once a week at moment for a couple of hours but even that doesn't seem enough!

He used nessy when he was about 10 until he was about 12.

It is quite childish,

Thanks @Octavia64 - it did look maybe aimed at younger kids when I had a look just now. It's good to know your experience that touch typing was helpful though, will have a look at the different programmes available to compare.
I have broached touch typing with my dd and she seemed open to it - just aware that she has so many other things to be doing so don't want to overwhelm her!

DD (15) in Y10 is severely dyslexic but was diagnosed at 7 (it was rather obvious).

She learned to touch type in Y6 in lockdown using English Type Junior which is designed for dyslexics. I think they have one aimed at older kids too. It took DD about 2 weeks on the course to be pretty quick and then she has used a keyboard for all subjects except maths since Y6.

Is your DD using a laptop everyday in every lesson?

Despite the dyslexia, DD has a target of 8 for both English papers - her spelling and punctuation are extremely 'creative', so I suspect a 9 is not going to ever be on the cards, but they have reassured me that she's better off not just losing the SPAG marks by using spell-check etc.

We're focusing on extending vocabulary, and exam question strategy - audio books, films and YouTube as DD finds reading exhausting and not a good way of retaining information.

We've started using reading pens to help with chunks of text - verdict was that they're not great but might help a bit. Definitely get the touch typing sorted and that she is using it for absolutely everything - it makes a massive difference.

What's her English Lit on track for? I think they only need the 5 in one of the English exams.

Hi @OhCrumbsWhereNow thanks, it's good to know someone else has also found touch typing helpful. Think will give it a try, I mentioned it to dd yesterday and she was open to it, fingers crossed it will help with spelling and with getting enough down on the page.

She is using the laptop in English and Geography mainly. They can't use for maths and French I don't think, and she doesn't appear to be using it much for science - at least all the papers so far she has written, as the answers tend to be quite short but maybe I should speak to her about this. She does not like to be marked out as 'different'. The reading pen has, however, been transformative in science and I think will also help in maths, where there can be some wordy questions - but the texts in English are too long for this to be useful as it's quite clunky, so I am hoping the reader software will help.

English teacher said literature is a 'relative strength' (I would say word relative being key here though!) She is still probably around a 4 though, also hoping for a 5 in this. I only recently realised entry to 6th form needs 5 in either, as previously I had it in my head it was language. But also aware that at least last year the trend seemed to be for people to do worse in literature than language. Advantage of the literature questions is there is less new text to read (though not done much on the unseen poetry yet, which I think will be a challenge) but on the other hand I think she feels overwhelmed by the need to learn quotes and be ready to apply them to a variety of themes. What is really unhelpful also is that she really dislikes English as a subject, she hates reading (understandably) but also doesn't really like audiobooks either - even when trapped in the car with one she seems to switch off to
extent she doesn't follow what is happening - I have even wondered if there is some auditory processing issue as well. I have been trying to reread Frankenstein with her, as they read it in class, but I think she found it difficult to follow - but it has been really hard, and she hates doing it.

On the other hand, she is extremely good at art, so the visuospatial part of her brain is well developed - in complete contrast to me, I am terrible at art but loved English literature and found it an easy subject to do well in. It's just unfortunate that this is the skill that is most valued by society in order to progress with pretty much everything!

I just wondered also if anyone has any knowledge of using coloured overlays? The service that assessed her didn't seem that into this and didn't recommend but I have only thought about it after when so many people have mentioned it. Thing is, she doesn't have a problem with the letters seeming to move or with writing things back to front - it is definitely phonetic awareness and processing that are the issues so not sure this would help with that.

You can order the over lays yourself and see which makes it easier to read. There’s no apraxia technique.

Typing club is a free touch typing program. Try that. Typing isn’t a skill just for dyslexics and you do t need a special program.

I always looked at the first few questions and they highlight the answers as they find them.

Look up exam techniques and past papers. This will reduce the stress as she understands what the markers are looking for.

Would Functional Skills English be a possibility? It's equivalent to GCSE grade 4. I really think schools should double enter children at risk of not passing GCSE. Would sixth form really strictly impose the grade 5 criterion for a child with such a specific difficulty?

What you have to know for sixth form is, will she be able to keep up with the workload in her A level subjects given her difficulties? The pace is very fast and the volume of work is high. It might be ok for non essay subjects or it might not.

Or would she be better off at college or on a more vocational/practical course? Maybe this is a discussion for next year but there are other options for studying.

Edit. , also YY to touch typing, if she can learn it, it takes some of the pressure off the mechanics of writing.

My dyslexic children swear this guy helped them! My dd got a 6 and my ds an 8 https://www.youtube.com/@MrEverythingEnglish

@NotMeNoNo I definitely want her to pass GCSE and I think/ hope this should be possible. I understand what you are saying about the challenges of A level, but for us it is not really an option to be downgrading that much to functional skills English. She is in the more able stream at school, has strong subjects and I think she could manage with support and, crucially, her work ethic which has recently really started to develop. I agree I have queries in my mind whether school should be imposing the same requirements on children with a specific learning difficulty and a spiky profile, but I suspect they do.

We are an academic family (firsts from Oxbridge and Russell Group universities, PhD from Oxford) so I appreciate I am probably looking at things through this lens, but I do want her to have the best education possible and to reach her potential, which I feel
is there in the subjects she enjoys and is better at (science and art). I don't think she would be aiming for As at A level, but I think she could get decent grades and I would like her to have the experience of sixth form.

I have got some overlays recently and she has had a look, not sure yet if any have revolutionised things. I assumed there was some magic way of assessing so helpful to know maybe there isn't.

@bestbefore thanks will give everythingEnglish a look too!