Dyslexia - is average the best it gets?

[oldenglishspangles]

DS is in the process of formally being assessed for dsylexia. There is almost an acceptance that being a year behind is acceptable / expected and that his academic success is likely to be limited to being 'average'. I am sure he will have other exceptional skills so I am not worrying on that point. However, do dyslexia children only perform averagely at school or does it depend on the support that they are given?

I am dyslexic myself and although I am acadamically average with 12 GCSE(s) which consisted of 2 bs and all Cs. 2 ASlevls at c grade and an NVQ3 in childcare, the area that I have found that I am good with is early years, here I excel. I am v articulate and can talk and discuss things for britain.

These are the things I find hard:

1. I HAVE a terrible short term memory, it is so bad sometimes that I will put something down and literally 2 mins later will forget where it is.
2. I am an awful speller but sometimes I can spell other times I simply can't.
3. I find expressing myself on paper hard and my ideas do not always link.
4. I forget dates/phone numbers.

Your son will find his nack it may not be in academic studies but in something

Thankyou thecloudhopper - I do think he will find his nack . What concerns me is people seem to have give dyslexic children / adults a glass ceiling. Apart from the token exceptions ie richard branson, that they trot out. Surely there is a risk it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy?

I think that if you let your son belive in himself this will give him the strenghth to strive, have you talked to the teacher about your concers?

Yes - she and the head know me quite well now...... they -dread- value my input.

we are not average. we are ourselves, some of us are not academic, some are very much so. Some work well on practical subjects, some are as clumsey as tehy come and will glue own fingers toghether with a prit stick.

Some dyslexics can type well, I cxan;t. I'm deliberatly not spell checking this, tho I am putting teh spaces in for you. I do have a job I like, that uses my post 18 training and is artisticly satisfying.

as a child in primary school I was considered dull and behind my peers but I scored very very higly in IQ tests. Once I was taught to write legibly I earned a good clutch of GCSEs , 2 A levels and the B-Tec/ NVQ I required for the career I wanted.

If you get back your son up, research the help that is avalible in your area and let him beleive in his own abilities he can acheieve a lot. What that lot is... is for him to find out.
Good luck to your Son.

Son of 21 at top Uni, predicted a 1st (in his last year at Uni) in Civil Engineering. Dyslexic - gets 25% extra time in exams. Diagnosed at age 7 by private EP, had 1 hour per week specialist tuition privately (not at a good school for SN then). Failed 11+ but got best results in year at reasonalbe comprehensive of 8 x A* plus 2 x A and 1 x B for GCSEs and then 3 x A in his A Levels (Science/Maths subjects).

Needs tons of support by me checking most of his written work (including Uni stuff by email). Extra hard work can achieve miracles. IQ of son is 142 so proof that dyslexic is not necessarily average. Some are and some are not. Parental support is vital!

i'm badly dyslexics and similar issues to cloudhopper (except 4) and a terrible time expressing myself, usually have to find an already written text and adjust to my meaning if that makes sense. regardless of this i have a PhD in engineering, as i picture things and luckily had a fab maths teacher that gave me the confident and joy in maths. still a struggle but get by just alot slower than others.

I'm impressed i got dx nearly 30 years ago, but nothing was done about it.

DS 14 has the same problems as cloudhopper. He got extra help with spelling because although he was below average at writing, his writing is a long way behind the rest of himself. His primary told me if this was his all round level he would not have been given the extra one to one, but because he has such a good potential that they invested the extra time with him.
He is at secondary and considered one of their high flyers and has been predicted oxbridge.
His actually attainement is highish, but would be higher if he could puts his thoughts on paper as well as he could express him verbally.
He did manage a level 7.5 in history the other day which is a positive step forward.

forgive my typing!

Thank you all for your input. Its really reassuring. We are just really at the beginning of getting to grips with his dyslexia / specific learning difficulty but it infuriates me that it is spoken about with a glass ceiling. There is almost an implied getting them throught school should be considered an achievement. I dont mind whether DS is academic/ Artistic / practial etc as long as his opportunties to find out are not limited by narrow minded education professionals. We will have to provide specialist tuition, school is pretty crap with dyslexia, but he is settled socially. The irony is they may not have funding but they are not allowed to help you help your child by advising you of what routes it may be worth considering in the private sector ie specialist tutors etc

Have a good read of the Lamb Inquiry report (easy to find online). It says very clearly that schools must not set lower expectations for someone just because they're disabled. Every child has to be given the same chance to excel and reach the very best that they can do, no matter what that level turns out to be. Doing otherwise is disability discrimination, and many schools have been getting away with it for far too long.

Thanks Amberlight - will have have a read