I'm lost with dd13 and her struggles

[annonpppp]

Just wondered if anyone can help, give guidance or advise what my next step should be.

Dd is 13 in two weeks (due to go into year 9 in September)

It became apparent in year 3 of school she was behind especially in maths and despite me constantly on at the school nothing was done until she started year 6 and his was only as a result of me having blown my top at the headmaster and writing to the governors as I found out the last week of year 5 that despite promising me in February he hadn't actually referred her like he told me had to the local LEA S.N.S.T

She finally got her assessment in year 6 through them focusing on her maths and she was assessed at a level 2a (equivalent of a year 2) I also took her along to a charity called the dyslexia trust that identified problems with her

comprehension and vocabulary of single words

And with the recall of digits, when she has to repeat a string of numbers after the tester, was difficult at a age level of 7.4 years. Which suggest DD had difficulty with immediate auditory recall and remembering what has been said to her.

So dd has been complaining a lot recently about how hard she finds school, she says she just doesn't understand what they say/ what she is meant to do which is upsetting her a lot as she actually just thinks she is stupid.

Now some observations I have of dd are the following

She struggles to understand what you are saying, instructions or even simple things an example is this weekend... She had asked me to French plait her hair for a party while we were out shopping, on the way home I said to her, X will be picking you up in half hour so we will have to plait your hair as soon as we get home.... She looked at me like I was mad and made me repeat it 4 times before what I was saying actually made sense.

She stutters a lot especially if trying to tell you something, nervous or worked up about school work

Has funny ticks, constantly twitching her nose and blinking, does this funny hop when walking

Very anxious and has panic attacks about school/work

Complains words move around when she is trying to read

Constant headaches from school

Still can't add/subtract numbers to 10 without using fingers and still takes time

Can't half numbers (especially odds like number 5)

But she is very very sporty, amazing dancer, flexible and has no problems with her motor skills

Now like I said she is going into year 9 (GCSEs soon) and I'm worried and so is she, she has always loved school social aspect but noticing more and more she is asking for days off, getting worked up about the work

What can I do to help, should I go and try to get them to asses her again

I hope all this makes sense and I would be so grateful if anyone could give me any advice

I have attached a pic of some testing she had done 3 years ago at age 9.3

She also still struggles with her left/right

Bumping for you.

Also, it seems you have named your child (in the 6th paragraph) which is not a good idea on a public forum (privacy) - but if you report the post, MNHQ might be able to replace the name with e.g. "DD".

Sorry, but I don't have enough relevant knowledge to feel confident in giving you much advice, other than that if the dyslexia assessment was not done by an Ed Psych (at a cost of several hundred pounds and over several hours) then I suspect you really need that kind of in-depth assessment.

Senco should be all over this (and you might need to push him/her).

Best of luck, and I hope you get some more responses.

I should have said not just "dyslexia" but "dyslexia/dyscalculia/working memory etc" in my post above - given that maths and memory also are affected. (But again, I have no idea, really)

Obviously her anxiety is also a concern and something to discuss perhaps both with her and the school - from a pastoral perspective.

As a recently retired senco I have worked with young people like your daughter. I feel she needs specialist 1:1 tutition to address her needs. She needs to understand what her difficulties are and how they affect her. Then she needs coping strategies to manage them. You need to see the senco to highlight her problems and have her/him issue her teachers with supporting strategies. For example listening in class is very difficult but if the teacher put the key words on the board or gave her a printed outline for her to highlight it woud be less stressful. It could also agreed that your daughter listens but then checks with a friend she is sat with as to what she has to do. Having her own text books also helps especially if the teacher gives a page or chapter reference first.
Organisation: have a whiteboard in the kitchen, come home from school, write down what has to be done (phone a friend if nec) and any requirements for tomorrow.
When giving her instructions make sure her attention is focussed. Use fingers to number (nomore than 3) repeat back; make a visual picture to go with repetition.
Use a coloured overlay to help stop words moving around. Try different ones to see which is best.
Maths word problems: don't try to deal with the whole problem at once. Take first sentence, highlight numbers and identify what operation to use. Move to next sentence and repeat. It's easier to work with a pupil and show them.Make cards showing ways of making 10 when put together e.g. 5+5 2x5 half of 20 (when confident extend to 20 then 100). Have these around the house, she can do 2 on her way out the door in the morning etc.
Use mind mapping for planning.
Use key word mats/theme mats

There is so much more. If you are anywhere near me I could come and spend a day showing this. I do work as a tutor (my profile is in Somerset services) but also offer advice gratis. pm me if I can help.
Eng literature: get a copy of the text read aloud. For analysis short passages can be worked on. Use York notes.

I would suggest you ask for copies of her school records and go through them carefully to see what they demonstrate about whether she is making progress or not, particularly if they do regular assessments. If it confirms that she isn't making adequate progress - which means roughly a year's progress in a year - think about asking for an EHC needs assessment. There's information on IPSEA's website about how to do it.