Dyslexia/Dyscalculia

[SuzSuzSuz]

My 8 year old son has Dyslexia and Dyscalculia (Numbers)and has been tested. He has poor memory recall so things he learns in maths he forgets and can't remember when he has to do it again. We pay for extra help once a week but it's not enough and unfortunately he can't receive any state help because he isn't in the bottom 5%. This really worries me because if he stays in the state sector he is going to be left at the bottom to plod along without any help. Does anyone have any advice or experience of my sons situation? I have heard of people receiving funding for specialist schools but I don't know how they managed it.

Hi Suz,

Does your son have an IEP? Is he on School Action or School Action+?

How far behind in Maths is he?

School should be doing a lot more for him. I don't think you'd ever receive funding for a specialist school - but I think you should be able to get a lot more help from your current school than you are getting.

Can he read? write?

Has he been assessed by the school's Educational Psychologist? The SpLD team?

Also, there's a lot you can do for him at home. Some of it cheap, some of it not so...

hi suz

Get a second opinion my son has the same as your son. I requested an assessment and the EP tested my son, and well according to her, my son wasnt in the bottom 5% either, so I paid 150 pounds to have him assessed privately, using more in depth testing, and it has shown up all weaknesses, my son is in the bottom 1%, the test the LEA uses was the BAS II which has a very broad average range, remember if they can get away with not issuing a statement saves them money!! Good luck

HI Guys

Thank you. Yes he does have an IEP and he seems to achieve what they set him each term. We had him assessed a year ago at the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre in Frensham and we gave a copy to the Head Master and his Senco and teacher. He is in the bottom group for Maths and gets help there but no extra/additional help so we pay for an exra hour on a Sunday morning which helps and reinforces what he's learning. He has poor Memory recall so forgets easily what he has learnt. He reads quite well (below average) Level 14? and his hand writing is very neat but he's not great at content but his spelling isn't bad at all! With maths it's a struggle but he's managing to make connections between numbers which he seems to have totally been missing in the last few years. It's just I always get told he's not in the bottom 5%! I have found this school in Frensham Surrey called More House and it's for specific learning difficulties but it cost about £13,000 and it would be nice to ge some help! If the state can't help him then this school can but comes at a cost!

Forgot to say that he was on School Action plus but now they have said he's not bad enough and has been put on School Action but this was really for his reading and writing! I still think his maths should be school action plus!

It's not unheard of to get LAs to pay for SpLD specialist schools, but it would have to be named on a statement. Generally only the most severe cases will get a statement and I'm not sure your son would be eligible from what you've said.

The LA has to use funds efficiently and you'd have to show that the cost of the help he needs in mainstream is more than the cost of funding a specialist school. As he's not getting much extra help in school at the moment, it's unlikely to succeed.

What has the Dyslexia Centre suggested? Can they give you strategies on the kind of support he needs at school?

Thank you I'll try the Dyslexia Centre and see what they have to say.

I would definetly suggest talking to the Helen Arkell, the principle is very useful and has given me some excellent advice. My one other piece of advice is whatever you do, do not boost him so he just achieves level 4's at 11, if he scores below he is more likely to get more help at secondary school.

I would also request a formal review meeting with his SENCo next term, and get him a formal IEP, with targets for his Maths not just Reading and Writing. His IEP should have 3 to 5 specific targets with dates that they should be achieved, together with strategies for achieving them.

Your son is unlikely to get a statement, and so have any chance of receiving financial help to a school such as Moore House.

suzsuzsuz

my dd has the same problems as did my ds. Sometimes it just takes time and you may find that in a year or two your son suddenly transforms into a fantastic learner (as happened with mine age 10) Unfortunately I had to fight the school for help for my dd as she was tested and found to be in the bottom 5%. If you are not happy with the support your son is getting speak to everyone at the school who may be able to help and keep on talking.

I was amazed to find that my dd teacher knew very little about dyslexia, find out as much information as you can about the many different ways it affects your sons learning and educate the teacher whenever you think it is appropriate. (you never know they may even thank you for it!)

the most important thing to do is not panic :) not easy when it comes to our kids i know.

oh forgot to say, dyslexic children are just as capable of learning the things other children learn it just needs to be repeated a lot more often. A dyslexic childs brain needs to work up to 5 times harder in class to keep up,(this is often why dyslexic children are grumpy and badly behaved after school)

Hello
Am new to this so please be gentle!
Dingdong1 Loved your message posted in August referring to the difference between the EP you paid for privately versus the LA EP. We too have come across the broad parameters the LA use with the BAS. We are currently awaiting a tribunal for the LA's refusal to assess so would be interested in any further details you could provide on your experience using a private EP. Despite appealing a refusal to assess we are in a real dilemma. Do we sit back and wait for the Tribunal decision and go backwards and forwards between Tribunal and LA whilst our child falls further and further behind? Or, do we stump up the cash and throw everything we can at getting our son the help now and realise the LA are never going to support us?

Golden73,
We are in the same position as you at the moment-we have got our hearing in Dec and we are really hoping the LEA will back down before-although I cannot see this happening.
We even asked for a 2nd opinion and dd was given 2 days of assessments at GOSH so we are just waiting for these reports now to see what they suggest-but they do agree she needs alot more 1-1 support with her work to keep her on task.
This has been a long hard year for us as I initially put my request in to the LEA in Feb-dd was only yesterday assessed by the Ed Pshyc at school all because the hearing is only 2 months away..
I don't think the LA will ever support us......but I will fight for all I can for dd.

Hi , my daughter is dyslexic and i have found it impossible to get her the help she needs so am trying to start up a group for parents in the same or similar situations here is my link
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs/1139385- Dyslexia-support-group please contact me if you are interested x

Hi can I ask where you got them diagnosed privately please? Thank you

Some schools do run bursary schemes - it's worth the question!

mrsDarcey78
You may wish to try PATOSS. It is an organisation for Professional Specialist Tutors including Dyslexia. They have lists of accredited specialists working throughout the UK.