When to assess for dyslexia

[OneFlewOverTheMumsNest]

DD1 is in year 2 and is almost 7. We’ve recently established that she has visual stress. She has an overlay to help and appropriately coloured writing paper etc. School have been very helpful so far. The senco, class teacher and I had a meeting last week and they seem to be giving a lot of consideration to what they should do to help her.

In addition to the visual stress and issues with reading, the senco mentioned concerns around her handwriting and spelling. She said it may be dyslexia but she’s not qualified to say. Our LA do not fund any dyslexia assessments so we would have to get her assessed privately if that’s what we thought we need to do.

My question is what are the pros and cons of having an assessment and what would be the best age to do it? In addition do you have any recommendations of anything we can do at home to help? We have subscribed to Nessy already.

Hello I'm watching this for info too and bumping at the same time.

Thanks @Justgivemeasoddingname. Is your dc going through similar?

My son has just been diagnosed with severe dyslexia and he's 9.

The signs were there early on. I was told by his previous SENCO that, in our area, the Ed Psych's won't assess for dyslexia before 8 years.

But I guess there's nothing to stop you funding your own assessment earlier if you are able.

Just to add, we did fund our own assessment with an Ed Psych and so pleased we did. I wish we'd done it last year.

Hi @oneflewover, no not really. My dd is 11 and although she is very bright and doing well generally I have thought for many years that there's an issue with her processing information and in particular getting stuff down on paper. It's like she's up against a brick wall. Also her time management is almost non existent.
I googled it last week and will see her teacher this week. I'm not looking for a label, I just think I need a different approach to supporting her with homework. I'm just not convinced there's no break in the process.
I hope you are getting on ok?

Hi, sorry for the delayed response.

@TrueWierdness thanks for that. We’ll have no option but to fund ourselves as the borough don’t pay for them at all. We are just trying to decide on the right time. Dd is very aware of the challenges she has which is what is leading me to think about getting an assessment sooner rather than later.

Thanks @Justgivemeasoddingname. We are getting on ok, the school is being very supportive, it’s just a lot of info to take in and make the best decision really.

Maybe ask the British Dyslexia Assoc?

Our DS is 9, we waited 18 months for an assessment, and then ed psych said they would observe effects of interventions for a couple of terms before making diagnosis.

I think around 8 is normal, though (I know this is random, but bearing in mind money no object to royals) Princess Beatrice was diagnosed at age 7.

Suspect the reason they hold off is normal variation in picking up literacy skills between age 4 and 7/8.

Toe by Toe, Dancing Bears and Fuzzbuzz all have good reputation as schemes to help.

Pocket book dyslexia is good.

Multisensory teaching never goes amiss (say a word, hear it, see it, make it from dough, touch - like letters made of sandpaper or other texture - even smell!) Lots f pintrest stuff you can look at. Active phonics might be good too. Games and fun - bean bag throw at a word - audio books and reading to them also really helpful. That way they can access stories and vocab that are age appropriate even if they can't yet read.

Thanks @KisstheTeapot14, I’ll look into all of those. I love the multi sensory spelling idea. I can see that being something Dd would love.

op - How did you establish visual stress?

@shumm dd has made odd comments about text moving etc and reading had always made her exhausted. When I was looking at a website it mentioned visual stress so I bought some cheap coloured overlays from amazon just to give them a try. When dd got to a particular colour she was visibly taken aback and said “all the words are stuck to the page!” So I booked an appointment with a behavioural optometrist and it went from there.

Sympathise with you and your daughter, my ds is severely dyslexic. There is a lot of info on line that can give a good idea, by year 2 the signs are quite clear imo. We paid for a private assessment and I don’t want to deflate you but it has been a struggle all the way, even with that. One assessment was not enough because his needs changed. Be informed about dyslexia and don’t be fobbed off.

Educational psychologist can assess in school but they are very restricted on the number of visits they are allowed per term and unless she is practically desperate they loathe to do it. I got one assessment from them in primary and one in secondary. Learning has always been a struggle but he’s wonderful easy going, calm brilliant 18 year old now. Doing why he loves, not sitting in a class room.

Hi, getting a private assessment asap may be really worthwhile as it will highlight your daughters strengths and weaknesses, which in turn can help teachers and yourself to assist her in developing useful strategies. Doing this earlier rather than later is good because if she begins to feel that she is falling behind/different that her peers this could impact upon her self-confidence. It doesn't have to be an Ed psych to do this, there are many highly qualified Dyslexia assessors around who usually charge around £300 for a private assessment. I hope this helps :)

I'm in a similar boat. Does anyone have any recommendations for people who do private assessments in London (preferably north London)?

Hi, here is a link to the patoss register. You will find details of accredited assessors in your area, hope it all goes well :)
www.patoss-dyslexia.org/tutor-index-landing