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

Think my ds may be dyslexic, can anyone help?!!

18 replies

imnot27 · 18/10/2006 16:25

Just had teacher parent meeting at school, his teacher suggested his reading is very behind and he has real difficulty understanding and remebering words. She and I thought about dyslexia but don't really know enough about it. He is good in all others area, and is 'an absolute angel' (her words!). Can anyone give advice with diagnosis, or links to websites etc.? Also, if he is dyslexic, would that mean he has a Statement of special needs? Help!

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HumphreyComfreyCushion · 18/10/2006 16:28

Just on my way out, but look at

Dyslexia Action

I have two dyslexic children, and I'll check your thread later to see if I can be of more help.

I'm sure others will come along before that though.

imnot27 · 18/10/2006 16:37

Thanks humphreycomfry, the site is v good. Looking down the checklist, lots of things fall into it, however, he is very creative, very good at telling the time, and can concentrate on something creative or dextrous, eg building a bionicle or telling a story, for ages! I don't know if I'm overreacting at this stage, but I recall I was looking up dyslexia on Google about two years ago when he first started learning to read!

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imnot27 · 18/10/2006 18:50

bump!

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misdee · 18/10/2006 18:54

theres no harm in getting him assessed. approach the school, they should know what to do. how old is he?

imnot27 · 18/10/2006 19:00

Hello misdee, buggy queen! He will be 7 in November. Do you know how long we may have to wait for an assessment, or how we go about it?

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misdee · 18/10/2006 19:41

no idea. my brother was assessed years ago when he was about 7, but this only happened after he moved school. he was told he was lazt before this.

i think its around the age of 7 that things will get moving. you need to get the teacher to speak to the senco, they will know what the next stage is. we have concerns about ded1, who struggles with her reading and writing, and with dyslexia in mine and dh family, then we know there is chance the dd's will be affected.

HumphreyComfreyCushion · 18/10/2006 20:16

IME the appointment via school with the educational psychologist took ages - and then she didn't mention the word 'dyslexic' in the report.

She did however, staple a leaflet entitled 'How to help your dyslexic child' to the report.

She also advised us to play 'I Spy' with our children more often - yeah, that would solve all our problems!

We went to the Dyslexia Institute for private assessments in the end. It is now called Dyslexia Action (as in my link below).

It was expensive, but worth it.

Ours were carried out by a Professor of Psychology, who was far more knowledgeable about dyslexia than the educational psychologist who came into school.

The tests are very comprehensive, and show a very good picture of where the strenghts and weaknesses lie eg: DS1 has a reading age 3 years above his chronological age, but his writing ability is that of a child three years younger than his chronological age.

They also tell you how severe their difficulties are, which is useful if you want to try for a statement in school.

I don't know of any primary school aged children who have a statement of special needs for dyslexia - in our LEA they won't even do the initial testing until the child is 9.

You might be luckier though.

Also, your son may only need a little extra help at this stage, and then be fine.

I use stiles with my youngest DS, as he finds reading difficult. He's 8, and we've used them for over a year. I think the Bright Minds website sell them (at least they used to) - they also have other items which are helpful for dyslexic children.

Lots of wordy board games are great for practise. DS1 is also dyspraxic, so we use games that require hand/eye co-ordination eg: jenga.

Mind maps are good.

Wordshark and Numbershark are excellent computer software programmes for young children with literacy difficulties. Expensive though, so check out ebay first to try and bag a bargain!

HTH.

imnot27 · 18/10/2006 20:37

Thanks Humphreycomfrey, that's great! So, maybe we need to look at a private assessment sooner rather than later? My ds can read, but I think he's about a year behind his peers. Will have a look for the games you mentioned. Also, do you sons have poor concentration etc? Looking on the dyslexia action site, all the reading/writing/pen control stuff was spot on, as was abilities such as being v good at model building, but otherwise his concentration is normal, and he is great at telling the time, days of the week etc. Is it possible to have mild dyslexia with only some pointers do you know? Thanks for all your info and help! Sorry you've had a hard time with your assessment

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Tia · 18/10/2006 20:54

He could certainly show only some of the signs,and not others, and it may not even relate to his dyslexia severity. My ds's year 1 teacher was adamant that he could not be dyslexic because he could hear rhymes (many dyslexics cannot). He also doesn't struggle to tell left from right, and can do his tie fine. However he was assessed as being moderately dyslexic. There are loads of stories about children with dyslexia being good at music - which they aren't supposed to be!

HumphreyComfreyCushion · 18/10/2006 20:54

Hi imnot, your DS is still very young, so it could be that he's just not quite ready for all the reading that school want him to do.

In some schooling methods, and in many other countries, children aren't formally taught to read until the age of 7, and this seems to suit so many children.

One thing I would advise re remembering words is trying a scheme that isn't purely phonics based.

We have found that a pack of the Ladybird first 100 words flashcards have worked wonders with DS2. We give him a penny a card, and he went from knowing just 3 to knowing all 100 in just over two weeks - and bought some bloomin' expensive Yu-Gi-Oh! cards with his hard earned dosh!

We have also found the Puddle Lane reading books to be brilliant for taking the pressure of the child - the adult reads one side, then the child reads the other, which has easier text.

I wouldn't worry too much - a year behind may be just a delay.

My DS2 couldn't read or write at all at the age of 7.5, so there was an obvious problem with his all round literacy.

I would just advise you not to pressure your DS about reading - and make it all as fun as possible.

Good luck.

merlotmama · 18/10/2006 22:25

Dyslexia is a continuum, with the severe end still struggling to read into secondary school and the mild end phasing into 'not a great speller'. It is very common. It is sometimes called 'specific difficulties with reading and spelling' because each child has their very own individual profile of strengths and weaknesses.

I guess my message would be: don't panic! He's still young and at least the school is recognising and acknowledging his difficulties.

Awareness and resourcefulness in schools is much better these days...I even noticed a difference between how DS2 was treated compared to DS1. We don't have SENCOs in Scotland so I'm not entirely clear re. their role but assume she should be involved if school have concerns? Could you ask for an appt to discuss the sitn with her?

BATtymumma · 18/10/2006 22:31

Ask for a meeting with your sons SENCO.

she should be able to organise for him to have an assesment. My brother was able to have his during school hours with his SENCO.

If it is found that he does have any signs of Dyslexia the school can then put an IEP into place and give him sme extra help, if it is thought his problems are of the more severe end of teh scale they may place him on school action plus..basicly its just a little more specific than the IEP.

You can, if the school think its necessary to apply for a Statement but it is incredibly rare to get statements for Dyslexia nowdays, so i wouldn't hold my breath.

If the school are good they will be bale to sort most things for you and it will be pretty simple to get things put into place.

imnot27 · 19/10/2006 09:33

Thanks everyone, I have made an appt with the head for tomorrow, so will ask for the SENCO to do an assessment then. Is all a bit confusing!

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serenity · 26/11/2006 19:30

Hope nobody minds if I hijack this thread - it's very similar to my own situation, so seems a bit pointless to rehash it

DS2 has had an IEP since Nursery due to language delays (he's been seeing a SALT through the school since then too) He's now in Yr 2 and is starting to really struggle with literacy and written maths. He's behind on his reading, but doing 1:1 in school has really improved it. Anyway, I've been getting increasingly worried about him, last parents evening his teacher had him on the list of 'under achievers' and he has lots of dyslexic characteristics. I'm really concerned that he will not cope with the change to juniors next year.

I've approached his teacher who agreed with me (shock! thought she was going to write me off as a neurotic mother!) and we've written the referral together which she's now sent off with examples of his work.

Ok so what happens now? Reading some of the old threads terrifies me. I thought I'd got the hardest part over with (getting his teacher to agree with me) If he's already got an IEP, and I've got school support, will I have already got my foot in the door with the Ed Pysch, so to speak? I don't care about statements as such, I just want him to get the extra help he needs to be able to do his best so he can be happy and confident in school. We both agree that DS2 blossoms when working one on one. Have we got a chance? Is it always such a battle?

mousiemousie · 26/11/2006 19:35

I have been using the reading manual Toe by Toe with my year 2 dd since August. Would recommend it...10 minutes a day. This was recommended to me by mumsnet ...I was about to pay £300 for an assessment...paying £20 for this book was a better choice!

AttilaTheMeerkat · 27/11/2006 18:44

Hi Serenity,

Have read your comments with great interest:-

"If he's already got an IEP, and I've got school support, will I have already got my foot in the door with the Ed Pysch, so to speak? I don't care about statements as such, I just want him to get the extra help he needs to be able to do his best so he can be happy and confident in school. We both agree that DS2 blossoms when working one on one. Have we got a chance? Is it always such a battle?"

With regards to your first question I would say yes you do have a foot in the dooe but you may well have to wait a long time to see an EP.

I would seriously consider a Statement if his needs are not being fully met by school. It is a possible way of getting him one to one; also a Statement (unlike other things like school action and school action plus) is legally binding. I got a Statement for my son due to speech and language delay. You as the parents can apply directly to the LEA for a Statement - you do not need school to do it. Also you as the parents can appeal if the LEA say no, the school cannot.

It is always a battle getting provision but some LEA's are better than others.

IPSEA are very good at this whole business and would suggest you read their website which is www.ipsea.org.uk.

serenity · 27/11/2006 22:35

Thanks Attila,

Not sure how our LEA is tbh. BF's DS1 had to wait 18 months for an appointment (she went private in the end) but this was a few years ago, and the school was very obstructive. On the other hand DS2s BF had a referral written at the end of september and their appointment with the EP is this week - they did ring the school every week though and his problems are more pronounced (reception level in yr 2). DS2s teacher has advised me to do the same.

With regards to the statement - would I need to pay for a private dx in order to go directly to the LEA? Does the EP do the dx, or do we have to persuade her to send him for an assessment and then he gets a dx (or not?) I'll go and read the IPSEA site, thanks

I just feel I need to go into this armed with as much knowledge as possible so I can argue my corner!

AttilaTheMeerkat · 28/11/2006 09:23

With regards to the statement - would I need to pay for a private dx in order to go directly to the LEA?

No you do not need a private DX to go to the LEA. Besides which some LEA's do not "accept" private reports though they ought to. All that needs to be done to start with is for the parent to write to the LEA. BTW IPSEA have model letters that can be used in this regard.

"Does the EP do the dx, or do we have to persuade her to send him for an assessment and then he gets a dx (or not?)"

EPs cannot diagnose many problems e.g autistic spectrum disorders. Has your child ever seen a developmental paediatrician or been to a child development centre?. Such people can diagnose. A parent can get a referral usually to such a person or a centre through their GP.

IPSEA are well worth calling as well even though their phone line can be difficult to get through on. Would suggest you phone them late morning.

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