SONS ED PHYS REPORT WHAT NEXT

[cadburygirl01]

Just had my sons ed phy report back saying he has ADD, dyslexia mainly sequencing problems with dysgraphia and poor short term working memory which is affecting all aspects of basic scholastics.

He also has borderline superior IQ in parts of his test but IQ averages out at average IQ. ED Phys feels he is moderately under achieving, but on paper at school he is where he should be?? Obviously things may become more apparent as works gets harder.

So have booked appt with school for friday - what am i meant to be asking for, what is son allowed, im am worried as have read so many stories about schools not providing and fobbing people off. If any one can offer any advice on this i would appreciate it and also any training programmes to help,

Has anyone had any experience in the ant to zip programme??

Thanks.

Hi cadburygirl01

You need to find out as much information about the problems which ED Psyc has identified.
Unfortunatrely an EdSsyc is not adequately qualified in all the areas which you have listed so you may need to see what is called a multi-discipline (multi pofessional) assessment.
Have a look at these research paper collections which may help you identify the real underlying problems.
ADD which is now included in the wider ADHD syndrome of problems
Developmental Dyslexia
Sequencing processing issues are governed by the same part of the brain as Auditory processing issues
Working Memory issues are affected by having to run coping strategies for any sensory or motor information processing deficits

How old is he ? ds has an "Uneven leanrign Profile" with extremes that beocme "average" overall. You and school need to negotiate strategies to work to his strengths and compensate for his relative weakness, ie. if his working memory is poor he may need visual or written prompts to refer back to and reinforcement as he goes through a task, alternatives to writing all the time himself (use of a laptop or a scribe), tasks broken down into chunks which he can tick off as he gets there, fewer spellings to learn at once etc and target hoim on an IEP accordingly.

He has been tested for short term auditory recall and sequencing and has scored below average. He has difficulty with the recall and orientation of letter patterns and in transferring them to writing.

Spelling tends to omit or substite letters, transposed or misordered letters, and could suggest problems with scanning or ocular-motor difficulties.

Is this not adequate enough for the school to implement, Does that mean i have just wasted the hundreds of pounds it cost to see the Ed Phys.

He informed us that school have to accept diagnosis as this is a legal document and covers various acts etc and if the school doesnt implement help then it is negligent on their part???

Is it not responsibility of school to decide what things need to be implemented to help him.

OMG its confusing!! ;(

He is 9yrs old, we have a meeting friday so im hoping the school will be positive in their plans but a friends son who has been statmented currently they are not adhering t what they are meant to.

What you have to really concentrate on is not 'where he should be' according to national averages - but 'where he should be' according to his potential (ie IQ or whatever).

This is what you need to discuss with school. If his 'IQ' is 'well above average' but he is doing 'average' at school - then there is a problem.

The Ed Psysch should have made recomendations of what support school should give him. What does she recommend?

Thanks indigobell - Really we have been given a couple of pamphlets one to do with ADD and another on tips to help with poor short term working memory and also adv a programme to help with spellings etc which is approx £90 ant to zip programme. Really thats about it, the ed phys really said its the schools legal obligation to help so i suppose he put the oness back on to them to help to come up with some ideas and plans.
I must admit i have ordered some books from amazon in hope they can give me some more advice.

And you paid £500 for this advice!!!!

It's actually the Ed Psych's job to advise the school as to how they can help children who are having difficulties learning in the classroom.

It is the schools job to seek this advise and to implement the recommendations.

It is NOT the schools job to know what to do with every different SEN under the sun. That is why they ask Ed Psychs.....

I have never heard of ant to zip - and I have researched quite a lot of learn to spell programs. All of which have been cheaper than £90.

Did she say why she recommended ant to zip in particular?

OK - I've just looked up ant to zip for you. It looks rubbish. There are hundreds of 'synthetic phonics programs for kids with dyslexia'. This looks pretty run of the mill to me - except more expensive.

A far better program is apples and pears

or toe by toe

But I'm not a qualified Ed Psych - only a desperate Mum who has spent 3 years researching dyslexia.

These are both 'synthetic phonics programs for kids with dyslexia'. Whether or not they will help your kid depends on why he can't read / spell....

And they can all be done by school instead of or as well as you....

I didnt want to wait 18mth-2yrs for a cons that we were advised thats how long wait was by our dr via nhs which is why we did it.

OK ;? So do you think i need to go back to ed phys for further recommendations on how the school can assist him.

Is there a programme which is specific for my son as he has sequencing problems, short term auditory recall + orientation of letter patterns and then problems with transferring them onto paper. dysgraphia
Poor short term workinmg memory,

not to mention Add lol!

Are there any companies who can offer advice or websites you can recommend to source the necessary information. As obviously you have sourced yours through 3yrs of hard work.
I do appreciate your input on this

Thanks.

Not surprised that you went private, or that the Dr told you about that kind of a waiting list.

The school should be referring your child to an Ed Psych - not the doctor. But that would require school prioritizing your child above other children whose parents have been shouting louder than you.

In 3 years of researching I have not found anything to help improve working memory. :(
jungle memory claims to - but it was too hard for my DD.

gift of learning has some good advice about dysgraphia.

Write from the start also might help with dysgraphia.

BUT - I am really NOT qualified to give you advice. So listen to me with a pinch of salt.

What you need to do is talk, talk, talk to school. And keep researching and keep posting here.

How old is your son? And how far behind is he? Is his reading OK? Is his spelling OK?

LOL! Yeh im sure if i can shout if need be.

No i think its great that your offering advice from your own personal experience. Sometimes that can help so much more.

My son is 9, he avoids reading like the plaque and spelling at beginning of term would be getting 3/10. Has improved a little he will miss letters out or substitute etc so minute = muitnet, material= matral, sum=sumb etc etc

Ed phy feels moderately under achieving in all areas of basic scholastics, but school are saying academically he is where he should be.

So this is why i think i may have a battle on my hands because they see him as average.

Dr today said still need to wait on referral we were originally booked for re ADD etc.

But down to school for everything else and that they probably wont help! So i thought thats a great start. Needless to say Friday will be interesting.

Can he read OK though? Do you know what his reading age or level is?

Have you ever had his eyes tested by a Behaviour Optometrist?

A regular optician only checks for long / short sightedness and misses hundreds of other vision problems that effect vision. For example eye tracking, difficulty focusing etc.

I think there's a very good chance he has a subtle problem with either his vision or his hearing.

Sorry there are no easy answers. That's why school's 'fob' parents off etc. It's because it's very hard and complicated to help children with 'dyslexia'. And that is because dyslexia doesn't really exist. It is a symptom. But the underlying problem that cause the symptoms (of problems with reading / writing ) can be one of many.

So it depends on WHY your child is having difficulty as to what the solution would be. And a label like 'dyslexia' gives you no clues at all as to what the underlying problem is.

You need to prioritize and decide what is the problem which is affecting him most on a day to day basis. Is it spelling? or handwriting? or something else.

Then do a daily program with him which just focuses on that problem. Then whatever school do or don't do - at least you are doing everything you can.

Probably in 6 months you can improve that one thing, and then move on to his next biggest problem....

And all the while keep talking to and pressurizing, school.

His reading is at age 9yrs, so on track tho phonically sounds lots of words and uses ruler to keep track of where he is.

It is a trauma to get hime to read for instance he has read 2 books since starting this septemeber.

Ok indigobell, think most of it is down to how its all managed and i totally understand what your saying.

MMmmm lots of things to think about isnt there.

Thanks again for your advice.

Could easily be a vision problem if he needs a ruler to keep track of where he is.

If it is a vision problem than that is good news - because it can be fixed with vision therapy :)

His reading age is encouraging but don't let the school get complacent. If he needs a ruler to keep on line then they can help by spacing out any worksheets to give him more of a visual break, colour overlays may help (agree with seeing an Opthamologist), printing on coloured paper (ie. cream) may make it more visually appealing. Reading is not only about decoding the letter sounds nby this age but meaning and use of words - di the EP comment on his comprehension skills ? Some small group work on comprehension, spelling, grammar rules, synonyms etc may help him focus better without the pressure of reading a lot. Obviously being heard reading regularly goes without saying.

For your meeting make a list of all the activities he has difficulty with and ask them for ideas as to how they propose to support him . tbh your report makes the one we recently paid £500 sound like great value for money.

Indigiobell does that mean it is advisable that we see a behavioral optimetrist then??

OMG! Dont think we can stretch the budget to seeing one of them too.

LIZS no i am preparing in advance for this meeting friday maybe a bit OCD like but the ed phys did briefly say only a small % of children need the colour overlays and he didnt think my son was one of them??

Comprehension was on the border of a superior result

Thanks again for everyones input xx

If you can find a suitably trained high street optician then you can get a free eye exmaination and they can advise whether colour overlays or glasses may help, without you spending any money.

Thanks just by chance son is booked in for routine eye test saturday anyhow ;)

We saw 2 opticians, 1 who said vision was fine, 1 who said DD needed a yellow overlay.

6 months later we saw an optometrist who said DD didn't need a yellow overlay. Instead she needs bi-focals and vision therapy.

While her distance vision was fine, her close vision, needed for reading, was not good. And 2 opticians missed this.

And they wrongly advised she needed overlays. It appeared like she needed overlays - but really she was getting eye strain and needed bi-focal glasses.

So unfortunately I can't recommend going to an optician....

The Optometrist charged us £75 for an hour assessment, then £20 for the glasses.

AFAIK If DS needs overlays he will report things like the text moving etc.

Only an optometrist will test for eye tracking problems.

NO he doesnt report of things moving. I suppose its something to think about and to see if we have one in our area.

Have spoke to opticians - they all trained optimetrists but not behavioural so they can do basic exam and advise me i suppose if further assessments needed.

Can you be referred to behavioural optimetrist on NHS??

Private Prices vary so much for a behaviourhal optimetrist

I don't know. But if you ring up your closest behavioural optometrist they will know....

Perhaps suggest precision teaching if his comprehension skills are in the superior range.This will use curricullum based assessment to identify next steps. Futhermore an EP is not qualified to diagnose ADD, they may identify that a young person has concentration needs but a diagnosis should follow a multi-modal assessment froma range of professioanls. Look at his I.E.P do his targets mathc to teh needs identifed by teh EP if not talk to your SENCO he/she will have expereince of working with children with similar needs...