Dyslexic thought processes

[SueDunin]

My 16yr old dd has recently assessed and told she is just below the diagnostic line for dyslexia.. She has no problem with reading or writing but finds forming her ideas in words; written or spoken, time consuming and very difficult. So, after years of searching for assistance/ an answer we now understand why she's struggling but, aren't entitled to support. We've been given no advice on who or where to turn to, consequently I again feel left in the dark. GCSEs are looming, her target grades are A and A* but mocks left her with nothing above a C as she stands no chance of getting papers finished in the allotted time. This is so frustrating!
Any suggestions on where we can find suppor for this kind of dyslexia would be gratefully received.
Many thanks

This could n't be dyspraxia could it? Difficulties with planning. What is her co-ordination like? Although, I must admit they normally have difficulty with handwriting.

Will the school not supply a scribe?
They did for ds even though he wasn't 'diagnosed' as they knew it'd help his grades which in turn helps them

Not being entitled to extra time in exams etc sounds harsh and unfair. There isn't a clear cut-off for dyslexia, it's not a separate condition, so this arbitrary categorisation seems unfair if it's really affecting her work. Who did the assessment? (And what was done?)

My husband has a similar presentation of dyslexia, only diagnosed two years ago. His spelling and grammar us perfect, but he really struggles to get his thoughts on paper and organise himself. He has extra time allowed in his MSc exams, as well as having his work marked with the marker knowing that it was written by somebody with dyslexia.

Have you spoken to the school SENCo about how the school can support her? It's such a frustrating condition, but there are ways of working that can help. Can she type well? My husband also uses mind map software to help organise his thoughts. These things might really help for A Level work.

If she's 16 your going to have real problems.

DD1 gets extra time due to dyslexia, In her case her her reading and especially working out even approximate soellings is very slow.

But they did the firmal tests two years ago so she got extra time in all her controled assessments.

You can ask, but I think your SENCO will have difficulties getting it past the exam boards.

Last year I came Across the Oliver West Footnotes Programme at a Youth Work conference. It immediately caught my attention on several levels-He is chronically dyslexic and was badly failed by the UK Education system, but as a result of his struggles, has produced Footnotes, which is a set of visual learning strategies. I have a dyslexic son, and work with Teenagers too, and have been trialling it with both !For example at 14 my son didn't know his phone number-till i got him to learn it using pictures he drew, eg a bike for '2' and 2 bikes for 4!! He hasn't forgotten it since. I have also found with the young people i work with that putting thoughts and ideas into pictures first then often triggers the words. These are precisley the issues he faced and has addressed with a variety of strategies. I would recommend you check out his website-www.OliverWestFootnotes.com, and also his book-In Search of Words is an enlightening read-it's been exciting to find something new which is actually very simple, and works. He also offers online Skype tutorials-these could be for you or for your daughter !

I would recommend a book called The Dyslexic Advantage. I think the main argument is a bit overblown but there is some great advice for secondary schools/exams.

Who did the assessment? Has your DD seen an educational psychologist or speech and language therapist? School can refer to both, or you can do it yourself. My DD is dyslexic and also has a lot of word-finding difficulties - the SALT gave us some very helpful advice.

If you are stuck with this going into GCSEs then do make sure the 6th form is aware - where we live, 6th forms have a much better track record in support compared to general school.