Secondary school support for dyslexic son

[wonhisspurs]

(I posted this but forgot to put dyslexia in the title so started a new thread!)

My 12 year old has a dyslexia diagnosis.

Has anyone got any advice as to what support /adaptations I can expect the school to make? They said they would give him more handouts (as his writing is slow) but they do not appear to have done this, according to my son.

Does anyone have any advice about what support I can request for him?

Thanks

The school must make reasonable adjustments. If it is a state mainstream school, they must make their best endeavours to meet DS’s SEN. Does DS have an EHCP?

Support is based on needs rather than diagnosis. Not all DC with dyslexia have the same needs, so the support they need will vary. Did whoever diagnose not make recommendations?

If DS struggles with handwriting, they could provide handouts (either with all the information there or with some spaces DS fills in) or electronic notes beforehand. If the school hasn’t put this in place, have you spoken to the SENCO? If you have the email addresses of DS’s teachers, have you contacted to them directly? The school could try a laptop of iPad and assistive technology including speech to test software or scribe.

Depending on DS’s needs some other examples of things that might help include not pressuring DS to read aloud to the class, not cold calling for answers, trying a reading pen or computer reader/text to speech software, pre-teaching new vocab, movement breaks, not giving multi-step instructions, if homework isn’t already put online then either doing that or ensuring DS has recorded the task correctly, reducing the homework load &/or a homework club, and a mentor to help with study skills/organisation. They could look at placement within the classroom and access arrangements for tests/exams.

However, without an EHCP, what the school will be able to provide will vary. Not all schools will be able to provide all the above all the time (or even at all).

Thanks for this. That's very helpful.

it very much depends on what your son’s individual needs are as there’d be no point putting in place a ‘general dyslexia’ package as there can be a lot of differences.

The most basic thing you can insist on is 25% extra time in assessments. He must be given this not just formal exams, but class tests and similar.

Depending on need he can ask for coloured overlays to help with reading or work printed on a specific coloured paper. This is quite common. Might need a bit of prompting to get in the habit for staff, but it should be ok. Coloured overlay he can keep in his bag. Some students prefer reading from paper rather than from the board.

I’d focus on finding out how the dyslexia affects his learning and then work from there. Sometimes students resist as they don’t want to stand out which makes it doubly hard, but I’d encourage him to make it his normal way of working.

Not all with a diagnosis of dyslexia are eligible for 25% extra time in GCSEs etc. and most secondary schools use the same JCQ rules for lower years because it helps to build a picture of need.

Ok…. In preparation for the likelihood that if his handwriting is slow, and dyslexia means he is likely to have a low score in one other area of learning speed he may well need a form 8 so probably want to look into getting some extra time in assessments to show his full ability as his normal way of working.

If he has an EHCP he would get 25% anyway.

Thanks everyone. That's really helpful Does anyone know how I got about getting an EHCP?

You can request an EHCNA yourself. An EHCNA is the needs assessment you first request as part of the EHCP process. IPSEA and SOSSEN are charities who have lots of helpful information on their websites and they have model letters you can use.

Be aware, even with an EHCP, there isn’t an automatic entitlement to extra time. You still have to meet JCQ’s criteria. Although for extra time for those with learning difficulties, it means a Form 9 rather than Form 8 is used.

That's so helpful. Thanks so much for this!

My son's school have done nothing for his Dyslexia this year other than agree that he shouldn't be asked to read aloud in class and that they will look into exam arrangements. Unfortunately, even if they want to, the reality is there are minimal adjustments they can reliably make for 'just' Dyslexia - if the children don't have behavioural problems or are not massively behind where they should be academically they don't have the resources. Plus the large number of lessons being covered by random staff who don't even know the kids' names let alone what adjustments they are supposed to have. I would spend time looking into the free assistive technology solutions to use at home for homework - Natural Reader is good for read aloud for example, and the dictation function in Microsoft is now pretty good. And private specialist tuition if they need it.

Thanks @lastintheQ That's really helpful : )