Dyslexic son with proprioceptive issues starting middle school - help

[BillStickersIsInnocent]

Hi

I’m looking for any advice about what I can expect our school to adapt for my son.

He’ll be starting year 5 in September, moving up to a middle school after completing first school (we’re in a 3 tier system)

He has dyslexia including poor working memory and self organisation skills. He also has proprioception issues and struggles with some dressing - buttons, ties etc.

The middle school is much more like a secondary, even for KS2 students. There’s a real focus on independence and self organisation. He will need to change twice a week for PE, getting out of and putting back on a shirt and tie. At the recent welcome evening the head of year stressed how important it was for children to be able to get changed quickly, otherwise they would miss out. This has left my son feeling even more anxious about the move.

I’m also worried about lessons, and the support he will or won’t get to enable him to access the learning activities and articulate his learning.

But the practicalities of uniform changes feels more pressing, I don’t want him to get stressed about getting dressed at school.

I’m meeting the Sendco on Monday. How adaptable can I ask them to be? For example, can I make an adapted tie on elastic? Will he have support to get his football boots on? Will he have support to help him move from lesson to lesson and be in the right place at the right time?

I’m trying to be calm about it all but the welcome evening did worry me.

Thanks for reading.

I totally commiserate - all three of mine have dyslexia (and one has it "so severe it isn't even dyslexia any more" according to the EP). However, I'm here to tell you that this isn't the end of the story - all three of mine have grown into themselves and, slowly and surely, out of the grip of dyslexia and each have found their place in the world. I know they'll always have it (their dad still does) but it actually has made them who they are and stopped limiting them the older they've gotten.

Keeping calm is easy to say, but hard to do - you're doing a great job and one day you'll find that he's found his way brilliantly, too.

I think making the teachers aware is the most important thing - what I worried most with dyslexia was not the dyslexia in itself so much, but the way it made them feel comparing themselves with others. Arming the teachers with what he needs and being supportive of THEM was the way forward that worked for me. Teachers are under so much pressure, I found that by being supportive and respecting them whist giving them all the information I could gained their support in equal measure. I would think they would be sensitive to his clothes once you make sure they know about it. My son struggled in the same way, but within a month he had mastered it. I guess the other thing to say is Welcome evenings, trial and taster days and Sports Days can be real flashpoints of perceived inadequacy when you have a child with dyslexia. Their real life in school outside of these milestones will be better! They key is to do what your doing - stay calm, make sure the teachers are informed so they can be his ally and just know all will be well in the end. :-)

Thank you so much for this really positive and helpful message, I really appreciate it.

Your point about milestone events being flashpoints for comparison has struck home and a very useful pointer for me about how to best view them.

I’ve just had a good visit with the Sendco. I filled in some of the gaps he had about DS and we’ve put a plan in place for the things we’re concerned about, so it’s looking pretty positive so far.