What level of dyslexia for specialist dyslexia school

[colapips]

I have had my ds' ld report and in the words of the ED psych he's a complicated case, but most definitely dyslexic.

My ds currently attends independent school, and I don't know whether his level is as such that he should remain at his mainstream independent or change to attend a specialist school for dyslexia.

Would someone be able to advise me based on the following results:

SPM 98%
BPVS 58%

WPPSI
WAIS
Similarities Invalid
Comprehension 9
Digit span 6
Block design 18
Geometric design 17
Coding 6

WRAT 3
Reading 50%
Spelling non-starter

Bangor
Mental Arithmetic 100% dyslexia positive

Aston Index
Auditory Perception 10%
Visual Perception 5%

TIA

Are there any specialist dyslexia schools in the state sector? I don't know of any so imagine that you would get your son in if you want to, as long as you have the money. I guess it all depends on where you think he'd be happiest/do best. Is he struggling in his current school?

He ignores the work aspect of school and will do the absolute minimum that is asked of him.

Today he was asked if he was looking forward to returning to school, and his answer was yes as there was some friends he was unable to see during the holidays.

Some of the specialist schools have mentioned that there can be help from the LEA for certain levels of dyslexia, but I can't find what these levels are.

I think it's very rare for the LA to fund specialist schools for dyslexia. He'd need a statement of special needs that named that school as the only pone that could meet his needs. Their legal duty is to provide a suitable learning environment, not the best possible learning environment, irrc. They will argue that a mainstream state school with extra support fits that bill, if they accept that your son needs extra support via a statement of special educational needs at all, which they might not. I'd be very surprised if many children with dyslexia qualify for statements these days... You'd have a big fight on your hands, especially coming from the private sector, I suspect. Good info on statements here. Also ACE is great if you need advice on any education matters.

Thanks for that info autodidact.

Does anyone know if my ds levels at a level appropriate for mainstream?

I don't think the issue is whether mainstream 'decides' that your DS's levels are 'normal' enough, but whether your DS would do better, be happier, thrive more at a specialist school.

My Ds has dyslexia too and all I can say is that I would have him in specialist provision in a heartbeat if I could afford it. What's NOT to like about targetted interventions in small groups where he is not going to feel singled out?!

I think personally that this should be you and your son's opinion based on his happiness rather than whether mainstream would or would not accept him.

oh, and just to add, I'm in Hampshire and the 'specialist units' that are attached to the schools in my county (I think there are one or maybe two) state that the child is usually around three years behind peers with reading etc. I don't think a statement is necessary.

I think the main thing is the child's experience; so, a child may be 'only' three years behind peers but may be agonisingly upset/bullied/losing all self esteem/self harming...in which case I would imagine you could make a great case for needing specialist provision. Another child might be 4 years behind peers but coping well. I think it's very individual, as are all things with special needs and kids; it's about your child's experience and what happens to them.

I'm not at this stage yet with DS as he's only in primary, so this is going on the info I've read and gathered locally so far.

Maybe I am asking the wrong question or asking it wrong.

My ds is currently at a school with small class sizes (10 in his class), but he's going to have to go out of class every day by himself to attend the LSU.

The benefit of him going to a specialist school would be he wouldn't be 'different' from his classmates, he may still have to go off for 1-to-1, but so would everyone else. But I'm unsure whether due to the specialist schools saying about level of dyslexia etc, whether he is at a level, if this is correct way to describe it, that a specialist school would say that he is severe enough for them.

Sleepingonsowell - thank you for that information we are in same area, so this is very interesting.

My ds is only in Y1, so the same as you that still only primary age.

I think my point is cola that it's the effect of the dyslexia on your son, just as much as the assessed level of that dyslexia that matters. I think I'm trying to say don't get tied down by these things. If you feel your son would benefit then it's about making a case I think.

however I think from what I remember that no primary state provision exists in hampshire for dyslexia; though there is of course private provision including Mayville in Southsea and Chiltern Tutorial school, both of which would not need your son to be at any kind of specific level of dyslexia as far as I know. oh there's also another one called Stanbridge Earls I think. Stanbridge and Mayville are mainstreams with specialist units attached, whereas chiltern tutorial is a very small school just for dyslexic kids.

good luck, would be interested to know what you decide in the end!

Thank you and to you too.

I will let you know, very early days for me, but will do a lot more research.

I think the hard fact is that if you can afford to pay there will not be a particular level of dyslexia the school will be looking for. However, if you are looking to the Local Authority to fund a placement at the school your son would need to be very severely affected indeed. I'm not up to date on this and don't have a child with dyslexia (as far as I know) but I have heard that they don't even assess for dyslexia until at least age 7 in the state sector. The thinking is that lots of children take a little while to take off with literacy and you can't really be sure of much at such a young age. Are you sure he's not just struggling in a hothouse type place that doesn't suit him? I didn't realise he was so young. I'd be tempted to wait and see how he develops in the next couple of years, tbh.

The school aren't concerned about his ability, as he's around average, however, he's got very poor eyesight, and I'm severly dyspraxic, and I wanted to see whether his problems with english (compared with other areas) was due to eyesight, dyslexia, age or other.

Did the Ed Psych discuss the results in the report with you or explain what they meant?

It looks to me like your DS has a 'spiky' profile based on the WPPSI/WAIS. The block design/geometric design scores are very high, showing that he has good perceptual reasoning scores. The mean score is 10 - if he had scores at that level in all areas then he'd have an IQ of over 140.

However, the score for digit span is low, which shows his difficulties with working memory. And also for coding, which shows difficulties with processing speed.

With his reasoning skills, he should be achieving well above average, so he may be currently achieving below his potential even if he's getting average marks.

Is SPM Standard Progressive Matrices? And is 98 the Standard Score or Percentile? If it's the percentile, then 98 is very high - i.e. in the top 2%.

Have you considered auditory processing disorder and/or Irlen Syndrome?

Regarding specialist/mainstream schools, I think it's worth calling specialist schools to visit and discuss your son's needs. I agree with autodidact that private specialist schools will probably accept less severe cases if you're self-funding. If you want the LA to pay, your child will need a statement, which is very rare for dyslexia except in very severe cases (and very difficult to get if the child is at a private school already and making progress). You can get an idea of what kind of dyslexia cases get funded by looking at past decisions from the SEND website.

Thank you very much for your response sugarcandy.

They explained it, but I'll be honest I didn't really understand, and have come away to digest, and then they have said I can return with questions.

The SPM is Standard Progressive Matrices and that's 98 percentile, she commented that was particulary high, but I wasn't clear as to whether high was a good thing, as he got 100% for the mathematics but that meant 100% being dyslexic.

Is auditory processing disorder - hearing? He has no problem with hearing, or is it processing of auditory information? The ED Psych said his auditory process was not good but not as bad as his visory process.

The Ed Psych has given him a blue overlay as that is currently the best colour to stop the bouncing around.

Thanks for the link.

Yes, auditory processing is different from hearing ability - it's when someone doesn't process what is being said to them, even if they can hear it perfectly.

It's good that you can go back to the Ed Psych and ask more questions - they'll probably be able to advise on strategies that can work within a normal school, or whether he needs more intensive input.

The fact that he has a high level of underlying intelligence is a mixed blessing - he will be able to compensate for his other difficulties and may end up getting average results despite them. But if he achieves age-appropriate levels then his difficulties may be overlooked as it's usually the underachieving group who get the most input.