If it's not dyslexia, what could it be?

[KithCadson]

We were sure DC had dyslexia - poor handwriting, poor spelling, poor reading but clearly very intelligent and verbally eloquent. But they were tested at secondary school and told no, no dyslexia.

Now DC is at Uni and still struggles. They say they start to read, and jump back, so end up reading the same sentence several times so the paragraph doesn't make sense. Spelling is awful and spell checker doesn't help if the words are way out. Lecturer has said that the standard of writing, grammar and spelling must improve, it's not at Level 5 standard even though verbally they're clearly understanding and can explain.

Clearly there's something not right and some intervention is needed. Uni won't retest for dyslexia as a test was done at school. Had an eye test a couple of months ago. Was diagnosed as a child with dyspraxia, and suspected undiagnosed ASD.

Any suggestions anyone?

Thank you

was it a full assessment with a qualified dyslexia assessor at secondary school?

Has DD had an ed psych assessment?

It could be a poor previous assessment or it could be the difficulties are down to DCD (and potentially ASD if she does have that) rather than dyslexia.

Does DD receive DSA? Has she tried any specialist software/assistive technolgy?

Gosh no to all of the above! Just struggling along. Previous assessment was done years ago at school, we never got any paperwork so perhaps it wasn't a genuine assessment. I've always assumed it was correct but it makes sense that it might not have been!

It was maybe just a screener. You should get in touch with an assessor (make sure they have an Assessment Practicing Certificate (APC)). They should talk you through any difficulties with memory, processing, phonics and decide whether an assessment would be appropriate.
I am an assessor and I (and I’m assuming most others) will want a good talk through your DC’s history before advising on whether it would be worth assessing. Maybe don’t go for someone who just takes your money and goes ahead with an assessment without that.

Thank you. We'll get them assessed, properly this time.

It's still very rare for schools to do a full assessment for dyslexia rather than just a screening test so I suspect it was just that.

We paid for a dyslexia/dyspraxia assessment and then a behavioural optomotrist.
The first did banks of tests around reading memory, motor skills
The second to various things and also things like eye focussing tests, coloured filters, ability to copy patterns etc. I forget now but it was helpful.

Personally, I would go for an ed psych assessment rather that an assessment by a dyslexia assessor.

My DDs have issues with visual stress - causes issues with reading in terms of being able to "see" the text but both made it through the dyslexia screening with no issues.
There are many different areas with dyslexia and often screeners don't pick up some of the more specific things - also bright children develop coping strategies and get through the screening!

I'd definitely look into a proper assessment op. My dd was 'screened' in school and we were told she wasn't dyslexic. However we had her properly assessed a few years later as she was really struggling and it turns out she is severely dyslexic. It was such a relief for her. Best of luck.

Late to the party here, but thanks for this. I'm in the same boat with my DD and this had been my thought. I'll be pushing for this as we have a meeting next week.

Sorry late to come back to this.

DC managed to get retested by Uni, and is "mildly" dyslexic. Not sufficiently that Uni are prepared to do much, but enough to put the "I'm just stupid" thought out of DC's brain. So onwards and upwards!

Has DC looked at DSA?

Hi there, sorry to come late, but your post struck a massive chord with me. My DS was diagnosed with dyslexia age nine. The biggest improvement for his reading and writing after this came from being seen by a behavioural optometrist, who diagnosed instability in his vision. His eyes individually have perfect vision, but he has glasses with a prism either side to direct them toward lines. We also did a lot of physical exercises with him to help. He has other associated SEN, but the inability to read along lines or focus on reading/writing was massively improved by this one diagnosis and treatment.

https://www.babo.co.uk/