Does my ds have learning difficulties?

[mynameissal123]

Hi there. Wondered if any of you could offer any advice.

My kind & nice natured ds is struggling at school. He's particularly bad at maths, especially the 'Fred has 30 sweets, he shares them out between 5 friends. How many does each friend get?' kind of question. He's not so bad at the straight forward maths questions though. He's a brilliant reader but often fails to comprehend what the stories are about. He has good general knowledge & a great memory (for things that interest him) but seems to struggle with processing problems & then solutions. His teacher recently said that if only she could get what's there in his brain out & into something appropriate on paper he would be doing great. He's in year 2 & for his SATS they've predicted a very low score for English & maths - I think it's so low it's classed as a U. She has suggested we get him assessed for SEN which we've agreed to but she said it can be a slow process and he doesn't fit comfortably into the usual categories so might take longer. Also, he's a young 1 - born mid July (prematurely by 5 weeks) if any1 thinks that makes a difference. I feel upset for my lovely boy as he's becoming more aware & anxious about his limitations at school. Thanks for reading.

On the face of it there are concerns worth following up.

Personally I would say that his age is an issue though. While his behaviours are worrying for a yr2 they would be a lot less so in yr1. In developmental terms a LOT happens which unlocks literacy during these years, and being a year younger can lead to unfair comparisons with peer groups. This is also a greater issue for boys.

I would say let the normal timetable for assessment take place, but perhaps ask if he can join an intervention group which has year1 children in it.

Thanks for your reply. I think you're probably right. I think being younger is a factor along with the fact that he gets anxious about getting things wrong which actually makes him get more things wrong (there was an incident at school last month with a teacher who shouted at him for not understanding & now he's v scared about getting told off). I do think that there's something wrong with his learning as well but the teacher who is senco can't work out what it is.

Has he had a speech and language assessment? In my area children can only be referred if under 5, in Y2 or Y6 so if yours is the same you need to get it done asap!