Should I tell my 8 ds that he is dyslexic?

[billyog]

On one hand it would explain to him why he has difficultly with his literacy and why he sees the SEN teacher once a week (alto he doesn't know that's her title but he does know that he's getting extra help and sometimes claims it's because he's stupid :(
However, I fear it might label him too early and also that he may use it as an excuse to give up! My father always told us we'd never be good at maths and as I result, I stopped trying and although I agree I doubt I'd ever have become a mathematician, I think I could have done better if I'd tried harder.
Parents of dyslexic kids of a similar age: do your children know? Your views on this matter would be greatly received

That's really interesting dolfrog, and a great analogy Kisses.

I've recently learnt the LA doesn't diagnose dyslexia in our area either, but prefers to use screening to identify the key areas of difficulty and then put strategies in place to target those. Not sure if this is the most effective or a cost cutting strategy, however.

One thing seems to strike me though, that if the teaching in school does not recognise or support a child's needs for different learning strategies, it won't make a whole lot of difference what parents bring in from the outside, re: assessments and tutoring etc.