Possible undiagnosed dyslexia in my 12 year old dd

[berrycloud]

I'm not sure if this is in the right section but anyway here goes.
My dd has always struggled with spelling and to a lesser extent reading although this has improved a bit since using a phone for texting!
When she was in primary school it was something I always discussed with her teachers as she would get anxious and upset about not being able to keep up. The teachers alway dismissed these concerns and said she was only slightly behind the rest of the class and definetly no dyslexia signs and refused my requests for testing here. Which I am kicking myself about not pushing them to do.
She moved to secondary school last September I found out that the primary school had recommended she needed extra help with English work.
Anyway last night my dd suddebly blurts out that she still can't spell, that she struggles to remember how to spell simple words like cat and can't even remember more complicated words and she feels really stupid and was in tears. She covers this up in school by asking her friends how to spell words and using a dictionary or changing her sentences to not include the words she can't spell. Even her 8 year old sister can correct her spellings and tell where she has gone wrong.
So I have a parents evening with her English teacher tomorrow and I really need some advice. I would like them to test her for dyslexia but fear being fobbed of again. Also does this sound like dyslexia from other peoples experience? I really want to be able to help my dd and am feeling helpless

It sounds like Dyslexia to me.

BUT think clearly before you ask them to test for dyslexia. What do you want for your DD. Because testing for dyslexia will cost money and may just give you a diagnosis, and nothing else.
In your situation I would ask for help with spelling. Help with English and literacy in general. Advice on what you can do with her to help her.
Explain to the teacher how your DD feels. Ask for a referral to the SENCO. Ensure your DD is tested for things which will give her extra time in exams, maybe access to a computer.

I would also suggest getting a note book and keeping a record of any specific steps they promise and when it will be done by.

I would also get her eyes and ears tested. And read up around the subject.

Thank you that's really good advice. I will be using those ideas. As it's really the extra help in she needs probably more than a diagnosis.And taking notes and getting them to stick to what they say is great, I will be doing that at the parents evening.
I think my dd really needs them to acknowledge that she is working really hard and she's not stupid, which is how she sees herself. Her confidence is so battered.
I will look at getting her eyes and ears tested as well as that then covers all the bases. And I will find out who the senco is.
That's really helped to clarify what I need to do, thank you.

berrycloud,

Dyslexia is a man made problem about having problems using a man made communication system the visual notation of speech or the graphic symbols society chooses to represent the sounds of speech. There are to types of dyslexia, Alexia (acquired dyslexia) which is caused by brain injury, stroke, or atrophy; and Developmental Dyslexia which has genetic origin. There are three cognitive subtypes of developmental dyslexia, auditory, visual, and attentional. Which means that an auditory processing disorder, a visual processing disorder, an attention disorder, or any combination of these issues can cause the dyslexic symptom.

Dyslexia is only a shared symptom, and you will need to idedntify and have a diagnosis fo the condition(s) that is causes your dd's dyslexic symptom.

You can find more related information, especially related research paper collections included on the APDUK web sites "Auditory and Visual Dyslexia" web page
www.tempinformation.apduk.org.uk/audiovisual_dyselxia.htm

She sounds like me, I got the diagnosis at 32.

In an 'O'Level, exam I forgot how to spell 'and', I know how to spell it, obviously, but I just forgot and had to leave a space until I remembered.

One plus - I had/have a better vocabulary because I would write things to avoid certain words.

Yes discuss it, take notes and get her tested.

And still get her tested even if she needs glasses, I have astigmatism as well.

Trust your gut instincts. My two elder boys have both been diagnosed in the last year. To be honest, I always had an idea that they had dyslexic tendencies but teachers said they had no worries. Ds1 struggled learning to read but had vision therapy which really helped and he ended up a really good reader (though still struggled reading aloud). DS2 disliked reading but (I'm a teacher) I gave him lots of extra help and he now also has good reading comprehension but still misses words out or loses his place when reading aloud. His spelling is really weak and it tends to be smaller words he struggles with.
I would say try and get a diagnosis as I left it too late for DS1 and now the school are saying he can't have extra time as they have never spotted any need. He has never met an English target and is losing about 20 marks on each exam paper due to lack of time but the school aren't really bothered as they think he will still get Cs. In my experience, the sooner a diagnosis is made, the more seriously it is taken.
Once your dd moves to secondary school, if she has a diagnosis, it will avoid her being seen as careless or lazy. Also, the assessor will put specific recommendations in the report for teachers to follow. Their results will also help identify specific areas of difficulty. For us, it helped identify a specific problem with auditory processing and gave steps to follow to help minimise difficulties.
The other advantage to knowing exactly where the difficulties lie is that when tests are done for extra time etc, if you know where the weakness is you can make sure it is tested for. DS1 was given a reading comprehension test and then told he couldn't have extra time because he was too good. However, his dyslexia assessment said his comprehension was good and it was his cognitive skills which are weak so we could argue that the test done was inappropriate.
I am a teacher and I know that most teachers get virtually no training in dyslexia. They think they know what it is but really they just know the stereotype just like everyone else. That's why a significant number of dyslexia aren't diagnosed until sixth form or uni! Obviously you have to do what you are comfortable with but I really wish I had trusted my instincts and acted sooner.