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SEN

Here you'll find advice from parents and teachers on special needs education.

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Original poster

Wanting advice

11 replies

PsychoFlame · 13/07/2006 17:32

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but here goes anyway.

I have 5 kiddies, two of whom as of yesterday have been flagged as maybe's for dyslexia. My DD2 who is 10 and my DS1 who is 6.

In some ways it is a relief to know that they are being picked up on as having problems (I changed schools for them all back in december as I wasn't happy that their old school was ignoring me in my plea's for some help.)
DS has also been found to have a hearing problem too, so that is something else I am also having to deal with.

Problem is I don't know where to go from here. They haven't been definately diagnosed yet, I have just been told that this is what the teachers are looking at, and that they will be assessed. But how can I help and what can I do?

DD is happy to have help from me with her reading. Her reading and spelling age is 7yrs, so 3yrs behing her chronilogical age, and yet she still tries.
DS on the other hand, is now getting phobic with regards to anything that I can do to help. He kicks off when I try to help, and when ever anyone else tries (be it friends or teachers even) he looks at the letters and words as tho he hasn't encountered them before when clearly he has. He is bright enough, they have established that, but he seems to have a 'block' when it comes to reading and writing. Numeracy though he is very good at.

So.....where now. Would getting a tutor in be a good idea? Is there any benefit to getting them assessed privately, or could that backfire on me? (ie, the school refusing to accept a private opinion as oppossed to their own assessors diagnosis.)
Is there any way for me to do anything during the holidays, bearing in mind that Holly will be going into yr6 in sept, and Max yr2, which is the sats years and ones which I at the moment think they would not get thro well.

Help.......

OP posts:

psychomum5 · 13/07/2006 17:33

and that is psychomum5 by the way....stupid pootah refused to accept what I tried to sign in as

Socci · 15/07/2006 12:19

Message withdrawn

psychomum5 · 15/07/2006 22:07

am bumping as it seems busy here tonight...

please someone answer

and thankyou socci for bumping before

please answer......getting miffed at ignoriness going on

2shoes · 15/07/2006 22:10

sorry no answers yet can't help as my dd has cp but sure someone will come along

psychomum5 · 15/07/2006 22:19

thanks 2shoes for answering tho....

I am wanting to hear if getting them tested outside of school tho would help....????

chatee · 15/07/2006 23:38

i have not(yet)had to do a private assessment but i think(jenk1)has so she may be the person to ask
from reading your original post my suggestions would be
for your dd- does she have an IEP/Reading intervention programme/Statement/OT input if not then i would be requesting a meeting to find out exactly what extra help they are giving your dd and take it from there.
for your ds- really the same sort of thing educationally wise as your dd but also classroom seating position could be important

my dd is going in to yr 2 and i am also worried about howshe will cope with the sats(dd has cp)

Good luck and i hope someone with more help comes along soon

psychomum5 · 16/07/2006 00:10

Chatee....thasnks for the reply.

DD2, yes they have given her an IEP. Not sure on how many hours a week, but they wanted to go thro it with me first (that they wanted her to have one etc), and get me to sign it. I think they may be going for 5hrs a week, but that may be me just talking off my head there....(confess to not taking it all in. was upset at how low her reading age is, and also shocked that they were finally realising that she does indeed have a problem!)

As for DS1...they have moved him to the front of the class and they are making sure he is looking straight at them when speakign to him. It was the teacher that thought his hearing was in issue in fact and got their school nurse to assess him. I was shocked when they rang me...I knew he did seem to have a problem at home, but then how much of that is/was him just ignoring mummy!!!

What has made it harder this week for DD2 is that her younger sister has just done her sats (she is 7) and got level 3 and her reading age is 9. I am very proud of her, but it makes it hard to show for fear of making DD2 feel inadequate.

Oooh, being a mum is hard enough without this coming along too......

Tia · 16/07/2006 23:21

Hi Psychomum5. I have a son of 6 with dyslexia and ended up getting him assessed privately twice to get the school to pay any attention. If I were you I wouldn't go privately, because it doesn't help you get any extra support (funding) at the school. It seems like they have already identified the issues. If the school finds after a while that their interventions are not working, they can apply to have children statemented, which means they will receive expert help (although never much). I suppose it all depends on how much help you are willing to pay for, and for how long. You are also able to apply to have them statemented yourself. There is a support guide for parents on the SEN part of the Dept of Ed website which explains all the processes.

MotherEve · 10/08/2006 00:29

Hi there - haven't been around for a bit so hope you read this ... Just been talking about dyslexia with my friend who's son has just been diagnosed ... he's about to go into year 6 .. she was raving about a book The Gift of Dyslexia: Why Some of the Brightest People Can't Read and How They Can Learn

May be worth checking out ...

ZippiZapata · 10/08/2006 06:37

please bear in mind you may not be able to post freely here in future

swedishmum · 10/08/2006 15:17

In my experience IEPs vary hugely in content and usefulness. The 3rd of my 4 children is dyslexic (ds, 9) and I've been spending the year doing a specialist teaching course and intend to do some private teaching.
I'm sure it's a relief for someone to suggest a problem. Although teachers cannot make a formal diagnosis (only psychologists can do that) they can use a variety of tests that can suggest dyslexia. Will your children be school action or school action plus? Are you happy with the person who will provide support (we have just moved ds as his last school was far from dyslexia friendly despite claims to the contrary)? Will your dd read to an adult daily (have the school suggested books - thoroughly recommend the Barrington Stoke website for high interest books that are easier to read. Do they use a non glare pastel background for interactive whiteboard? Is fully joined writing encouraged? Toe by Toe seems to be a widely regarded system of learning to read. There are some fantastic programmes out there for younger children - ask the school what materials they intend to use.
I won't go on - bit of a soapbox of mine right now!

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