specialist dyslexia tutor. is it worth it?

[lemo]

Hi. DS is 13 and dyslexic and dyspraxic. He has a lot of problems copying work from the board, so is slow in class. His reading is just below average but he is using a kindle with dyslexia font which has helped enormously. He has working memory problems, which means he also struggles with maths, he has difficulty with legible writing when copying or writing long pieces of text. He has a tutor for maths and English outside of school. he seems Ok with his maths tutor and can do all work in lesson but seems to forget it when he has to reproduce it at a later date (working memory problems). His English tutor is not a specialised dyslexia tutor and i wondered what additional help one would offer if they were dyslexia trained as i am thinking of looking for a specialist person? Should I change, any advice please form someone who is using a specialist tutor?

It was worth it for us. A good tutor is able to use dyslexia-specific strategies to help overcome the difficulties, and whilst it's unlikely that they'll operate any cure they can improve things. For my son, who was quite young at the time the tutor worked with him, one of the main benefits was the effect she had on his confidence; he stopped thinking he was thick.

What is dyslexia font?

Yes - a good dyslexia tutor will help your DS develop strategies and study skills to work around his difficulties- this will be increasingly important as he moves towards GCSE. He will also need to "overlearn" information for it to move into long term memory.

If it is possible that he would qualify for a laptop in exams, I would also consider touch typing perhaps using something like Nessy Fingers.

He should not asked to copy information from the board - ideally he should be given a print out or, if he is allowed a phone in school, he should take a photo of the board and then copy from this into his book.

I would have a look at what was recommended in his original report. If the report is some years old, a good dyslexia tutor will give more up to date and age appropriate recommendations of how he could be supported in school.

I would also make an appointment with the school SENCO. If he is in year 9, they should be establishing "usual ways of working" now for access arrangements for his GCSEs.