Will slow reading Y1 child catch up?

[confusedparent12]

Ds2, age 5 is progressing very slowly with reading and is still on a combination of level 1+ and 2 after a year of books coming home. We practice most days but he doesn't seem to retain the information. He has dyspraxia and can't write much yet either, also has sensory issues for which we are seeing a paediatrician again soon after being on an asd assessment waiting list for almost a year. Should we think about dyslexia testing too or is he too young and will catch up later on? He got expected for maths in reception but emerging for almost everything else.

He’s probably too young to be tested, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t got it, and so no one can say for certain whether he’ll catch up.
There are some obvious signs such as a 'spiky' profile which means that a child has areas of strong ability alongside areas of weakness.
First discuss this with your child's class teacher. You could also arrange a meeting with the school's SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator) to discuss your concerns and thoughts. The SENCo may be able to carry out assessment or screening to give an indication of possible dyslexic difficulties.
If he continues to have difficultiesdespite interventions, you can ask for them to be referred for assessment by a local authority educational psychologist or another specialist in dyslexia.
A dyslexia diagnosis might not always be helpful for you DS at such a young age.

Thanks, school are aware and he is working with a 1:1 ta quite a lot of the time. He hasn't really got any strengths apart from that his maths is less behind and he can mostly sing in tune (but not in public/class due to extreme shyness). Why is the dyslexia ds not always beneficial at a young age? Is it because it can be misdiagnosed?

There is a Dyslexia Screening Test that can be administered by a Specialist Dyslexia Tutor before age 7. It's not the whole Ed Psych Cognitive assessment but it gives an idea of dyslexic tendencies. However in the Pearson website, it says it starts from age 6 and a half...

www.pearsonclinical.co.uk/Psychology/ChildCognitionNeuropsychologyandLanguage/ChildLanguage/DyslexiaScreeningTest-Junior(DST-J)/DyslexiaScreeningTest-Junior(DST-J).aspx

A specialist Dyslexia tutor might be able to start looking at him.
Here's the PATOSS Index for Specialist tutors in your region.

Also, would you be able to see an OT for his Sensory issues?

My DS1 has DCD, APD and undiagnosed SPD. We saw a private OT a couple of time for DCD and it has been really helpful.

Yes he's just started weekly OT sessions, seems helpful but don't know if it will translate into school progress, helps a lot in other ways though.

Artichaut27 I will keep that test in mind. We have found a local dyslexia association so I think they might have people who can administer it.

I’m a teacher and so many children I’ve seen in primary school use their dyslexia diagnosis as an excuse not to bother. They either believe that there’s no point in trying because they won’t be able to do it. Or they just don’t want to do any reading, and so think that we’ll let them off the hook if they say “but I’m dyslexic”.

Ricekrispie22 this is hugely unfair to kids with actual SEN.

I was fobbed off for 2 years by teachers who said that my son would grow out of his bad handwriting. Meanwhile, same school never mentioned that he had motor-coordination issues at PE. It became evident straight away when we changed schools.

How can you as a teacher actually tell which kid is dyslexic or not? Until a child has been assessed by a proper Ed Psych, you can only err on the side of caution.

I'm dyslexic and did all my years at school and university without anyone noticing. I was very cunning at hiding it as I was terribly embarrassed.

I find it very worrying that a teacher would dismiss children as waving the 'dyslexia card' in order to slack off.

10% of the population has dyslexia. In a class of 30 there is likely one or two child with a SEN.

^
I find it very worrying that a teacher would dismiss children as waving the 'dyslexia card' in order to slack off. ^

What she said