What are the benefit of a (mild) dyslexia diagnosis for teen?

[Mymadworld]

I've suspected my 13 year old DS has mild dyslexia for a little while now but as he doesn't seem to be struggling academically, I've never pursued it as I didn't want him to be labelled for something that's doesn't seem to affect him too much. However, I am conscious that his written work and spelling in particular is quite poor and as he gets older this is causing issues with his English and starting to wonder whether I should get an assessment done.
Any thoughts?

I always suspected my oldest Ds (now 19) was dyslexic. I approached his primary school when he was 7 and they were very unhelpful. They told me to look in the yellow pages for an educational psychologist! They kept an eye on him but never offered him any support.

His secondary school screened him in year 7. The screening showed it was likely that he was dyslexic. They did not go down the full test route but his school records listed him as dyslexic and he was on the sen register. He had some one to one english support in year 7 as he wasn't making any progress.

I would say my Ds is on the milder side and did not receive anymore support during the rest of school. One of his A level teachers mentioned last year that she thought he should have been entitled to extra time, it was far too late by then to even be considered for it. He still struggles with spelling and things like punctuation. He gained good Gcse and A level grades but I feel he had to work harder than others to get them.

Youngest Ds is being assessed for ASD at the moment and in hindsight I think we should have gone down the full dyslexia testing with older son. But he did just about manage without an official diagnosis. Maybe you should contact the senco as they will be able to do some screening tests in school and it might give you an idea of what is going on. Good luck.

Thanks that's really helpful I'll start with his school and see what they say.

I was a teen with mild dyslexia, diagnosed in year 8. I am and always have been a voracious reader, so primary school just thought I was careless in my work and clumsy to boot, and I was constantly being told off for careless, silly mistakes in my work, often from copying stuff down incorrectly. I got no additional support, and didn't really need any, but it helped me change my own narrative in my head about myself, and improved my self esteem.

If he often struggles to finish tests, then assessment for extra time in exams is crucial - and very valuable if he gets it.

Such an assessments looks at a range of things including dyslexia, slow processing etc to see if he meets the criteria for 25% extra time. Schools typically administer these a year or (max) two before important exams.

The value is better grades (in subject where he would have run out of time), which obviously can be very valuable. This can also make exams less of a stressful and negative experience. Important that, if he gets it, the outcome is communicated and digested positively e.g. "you are even cleverer than you thought". (Sometimes very clever kids with SEN are overlooked as their attainment is OK/good.)

I'd ask him if he often runs out of time, and if yes also ask the school's Senco if they can investigate / assess. It is in the school's interest for all pupils who need extra time to get it, so can be easier to achieve than more expensive EdPsych reports - schools often don't want to spend, but they do really really want good results.

The label is really useful for self esteem in my experience- they can see themselves as dyslexic not thick. It also gets the teachers off their back - otherwise they can be seen as sloppy with their work rather than that they have trouble with certain elements.
The extra time is absolutely invaluable especially if it takes a little longer to read the question.
DD has phonic blending skills well below the bottom 10% and her spelling can be atrocious - but managed an 8 for both English GCSEs and is now doing 3 x humanities A Levels (including English Lit) so it doesn't have to be a block.....without the extra time I think she would have been look at a 4 or 5.

Get the assessment done - if he turns out to be dyslexic it's worth every penny!