Dyslexia support thread

[DyslexiaChallenge]

My DS aged 10 has recently been diagnosed with dyslexia. He has a very poor working memory and processing so is finding learning times tables and all the rules around grammar very difficult. It's pretty much impossible for him to access the year 6 curriculum because it relies on memory so much. He is a nightmare with organisation and following multi step instructions so I find myself hollering at him most of the time. I know there are varying degrees of dyslexia but I think his must be pretty bad as I've been told to expect him to fail his SATs and we are about to apply for a EHC plan. I have no idea what we're going to do about secondary schools. I know it's far from the most serious issue but it affects my son so much and I can't help but feel frustrated when I have to explain everything a billion times and he still doesn't get it, or have to go over and over the 2 times tables. The curriculum is almost impossible to keep up with. In his case, it's his maths that's a huge issue. The school give him different work from the rest of the class but some of its for year 2 and he still struggles. I've actually got to the point where I don't speak to the other mums now as it's all talk about being top of the class or passing tests for selective schools. It just makes me feel shit. Is anyone else in this position or get any words of wisdom?

DS2 has severe dyslexia and is in Year 5 and working at Year 1/2 levels in reading and maths. He’s at a specialist school and is much happier than in mainstream.

Have you thought about a specialist school? If he has an EHCP, that would help to get him into a secondary school with good SEN support. Do you have an assessment from an educational psychologist?

Yes I have thought about a specialist school but have been led to believe we won't get funding and we can't afford to pay the fees. Yes he's had an Ed psych report. It was pretty depressing. I am dreading him ending up in bottom sets with badly behaved children. I just don't know what to do.

Can anyone tell me what constitutes good support for dyslexia in schools? They just seem to leave him in the main classroom doing work for much younger children whilst they drill the rest of the class for SATs.

Amongst other things multi sensory learning

I'm also interested to know what additional support or adaptations to the class learning where made. My son is year 2 and was diagnosed at the beginning of the school year. From what I can see the only adjustments that have been made to accommodate him have been made by me and my husband at home!!

Does he have things like Toe by Toe for Reading and Nessy Dyslexia product on computer for Reading, Spelling, writing and Maths. He should be in a support group for Maths with a TA or even moved to a different class. toe by Toe can be bought from Amazon for about £25 and should be done minimum 3x a week for 5-10 minutes. We use all the Nessy products in school and I've used them with my boys too.

Does he have a list of tasks/ steps written down to tick off for each task given? A now and next instruction board?

Is the SENCo involved? I would be arranging a meeting with them ASAP as just leaving your son in class doing Yr1/2 work is not appropriate support.

The SENCO is involved but quite frankly is not very helpful. Let's not forget he's been at that school since he was 4 and no one noticed.

He's not doing any work for his literacy problems despite an Ed psych report suggesting all the things you mentioned. He does however have a laptop but it's seems a bit random when he's allowed to use it. I believe he has tasks broken down on a white board. He doesn't have a now and next instruction board. He is meant to go out with the TA but this rarely happens. His biggest problem is maths (dyscalculia diagnosed as well) which their idea of intervention is to sit him in a year 6 class alone doing ks1 work. He can ask for help but they are obviously busy teaching SATs.

Your school should be doing so much more to support your child. He should be doing Interventions to help with his literacy skills and Maths. Unfortunately, it sounds like this has been picked up quite late in his primary years and it feels a bit like school is now riding the storm with him till the SATS are done. I would hope they would not be putting him in for SATS as he does not need that added pressure. I would be looking at a good secondary school and asking about SEN Provision. A good secondary school will support your son with his dyslexia and putting in all the necessary provisions to help him succeed. This maybe in the form of extra support in class, interventions, laptop, extra time for exams. Maths should be learnt by Multi-Sensory Learning using equipment to understand how to find the answer, he will not be able to just rely on his memory to learn facts. I have created a book specifically for parents in mind to help their child with Maths, you can purchase it on Amazon its called Supporting Practical Maths. It is ideal for children with Dyscalculia. I really hope you get the support your child deserves. Remember, he just learns in a different way and good teaching will help him to be successful. You will find he is probably extremely creative and as he matures will be successful at thinking outside the box. Some of the most inspirational and successful people are dyslexics. Einstein, Richard Branson, Alan Sugar, Agatha Christie. He is in good company and the world is his oyster.
Good Luck