Dyslexia: Need for Advice on What To Do

[PWUK]

Hello,

Our son is in Year 3 and has been diagnosed with dyslexia.

The school has advised that he has a reading and maths age of a Year 1 child, although all other children within his class are meeting the Year 3 targets, consequently he is not being afforded the necessary amounts of time to enable him to progress. Whilst his school references itself as a dyslexia friendly, they only manage to spend 30 minutes with him each week.

We understand that the school should be offering at least 12 hours each week and should also have a well considered plan, in terms of how they propose to tackle his issues.

We are presently trying to take the most proactive and appropriate steps to support him but we are new to this and need to understand the best way forward. What will cause the Headteacher to deploy additional resources e.g. a teaching assistant to his class or other actions.

Any recommendations or a point in the right direction would be appreciated.

In all honesty, you being a complete pain in the arse and pestering, writing, meeting with Senco, agreeing and IEP. A good ed psych report with points to follow is a must. The sad thing is you only get what you fight for.

Insist on the school being proactive. Meet with the teacher to discuss your concerns regarding reading. Ask your GP for a referral to a educational psychologist for a assessment. When you receive the follow up assessment report read the whole document carefully. In my area there are a couple of reading specialists who have experience with dyslexia. Not sure where you live but the Sutton Dyslexia Association have memory cards that might come in handy plus helplines
www.suttondyslexia.org.uk

How have you come to the understanding your son is entitled to 12 hours a week? Without an EHCP detailing 1:1 support this will not happen on an individual basis. I would imagine the most he would be getting would be small group support for English and Maths.
Very few Year 3 classes even have a TA let alone full time unless independent sector.

You are right that he should have appropriate targets and a clear plan of how he is being supported even without a TA or EHCP

Be annoying! Be really proactive in scheduling meetings, targets, reviews. I think 12 hours 1:1 isn’t a teaching basis I’ve heard of. Currently my DC receives 3x 30 minute 1:1 sessions a week plus I have a private tutor for her an hour a week and she is in p6. Progress has been slow but a report from Ed psych definitely made sure the school had to be more accommodating.

Has your ds seen an Ed psych? Were they private or LA? What were the recommendations? Does your ds have an EHCP?

12 hours support a week is a lot for dyslexia (obviously a generalisation, but resources are astoundingly stretched). How did you come to understand that this was recommended? The school should be supporting your ds by building in consideration for his dyslexia into planning for every lesson (chances are very good that other children in his class also have dyslexia or other learning needs). So, thinking about different ways of conveying information, visual timetables, instructions broken down, use of coloured overlays and larger, sans serif fonts, etc etc. (none of things get in the way of other children learning, so shouldn't be hard to implement).

Thank you all for your experience and advice.

This has been very helpful and we are grateful to you. We will speak to our GP for a referral and also liaise more closely with the school to request reports and follow up.

We'll update this thread on any key events or more likely when we might need further guidance.

Many thanks.