Has anyone had problems getting their kid tested for dyslexia?

pmlindyloo

Please have a look at this website specifically under 'Advice and Services'

http://dyslexiaaction.org.uk/Pages/Display.aspx?IDPost=d081fda4-71b3-44e1-81bf-2a55c7958377

I am a specialist teacher in Dyslexia and my experience suggests that most schools are not very 'clued up' on Dyslexia (apologies to anyone who has different experiences)

If you contact your nearest Dyslexia Institute they should be able to help.

It is very difficult to assess children until they are in a Year 3 as many of the indicators of Dyslexia are very common in children learning to read e.g. reversal of b and d

It is a complex area and there are still many people who do not believe that dyslexia exists. For anxious parents this can be a huge stumbling block.

Please telephone your nearest Dyslexia Institute. On their site is an online test you can use.

There are also specialist teachers in this field and the Institute might know of someone who could privately assess your child and perhaps tutor them.

It is very frustrating to have to go down the private route (and pay) when the child's school should be arranging this but I am trying to be realistic about how much and how quickly most schools deal with this.

Hope this helps.

hethmar

Did we have trouble??? We got to the point where we were being supported by the local dyslexia association to take the school governors to high court for not addressing our son's special needs. The LEA who had tried to dismiss our concerns then collapsed., conceded he had a variety of special needs which hadnt been met and funded private education at a school specialising in dyslexia.

Re autism - dyslexia has various levels, I got tired of people telling me the nephew of their cousins sisters neighbour was dyslexic "and now he is a doctor". There are levels of this condition. I wish I had a pound for every time someone told me their kid was dyslexic because he got bs and ds mixed up. If only that was the extent of it! I also used to think dyslexia was an excuse used by parents with dozey or lazy kids. What an awakening when your own child has it.

My son couldnt tell the passing of time, couldnt "hear" sounds and letter combinations and though he was brighter and much more eloquent at an early age than his brother - who acheived a first at university - he couldnt write his own name still by the age of 8. He was also messing himself to the age of about 13. I would add that dyslexia is on the autism span of conditions as is adhd. My son was finally diagnosed at the age of 9 by child psychiatrist as severely dyslexic, having adhd and autistic spectrum disorder, who said he didnt know how he (and we) had coped. Son was actually threatening suicide at the age of 9 and had begged his grandfather to let him go to live with him so he didnt have to go to school any more

At one point son was put at the back of the class in a "box" facing the wall so that he couldnt be distracted at school. When he told me this I was horrified but he actually said to me he felt happier like that as the others didnt tease him for not understanding how to write things down. For nearly a year he was placed in a "remedial" class doing things like making glove puppets whilst his peers were doing "proper" subjects.

Oh and yes, we had him tested for Irlens, which he did have. He was actually one of the test groups at Cambridge for this condition and the use of coloured glasses We paid for specialist glasses and informed the school about them. He came home in tears because one teacher had confiscated his "silly sun glasses" at school.

The teachers and head of the schools did everything to avoid him being assessed because it would mean funding for special teaching and they wanted to avoid that cost. The head, who had been very matey with us when eldest boy was star of the school even intimated it was due to bad parenting! 4 years earlier my other son was the top pupil!

Basically you will have to fight, fight fight and I would say to you now get a parent supporter. Find your local dyslexia association contact and call them asap.

ladybez

My DD1 was in her last year at 6th form college when she was tested and diagnosed as being dyslexic. We had never thought about this as her senior school just put her down as being lazy and not putting the effort in. As a consequence, her GCSE grades were not very good and she was unable to get into Uni. As she is now 22 and has a job she enjoys, it is not worth trying to do anything about her schools lack of earlier diagnosis. We have mentioned it to the schools which our other children are at and they do not think any of the others have a problem. We will see. Obviously we will push for testing, paying if needs be, if any concerns are noticed.

Indie_Kid

hethmar wrote: »

Oh and yes, we had him tested for Irlens, which he did have. He was actually one of the test groups at Cambridge for this condition and the use of coloured glasses We paid for specialist glasses and informed the school about them. He came home in tears because one teacher had confiscated his "silly sun glasses" at school.

Are the glasses really worth it? My concern is that due to other eye problems, my prescription changes yearly.

The teachers and head of the schools did everything to avoid him being assessed because it would mean funding for special teaching and they wanted to avoid that cost. .

I've had this. They were trying to convince me that I'm dyslexic and that my GP and consultant were liars! (I was diagnosed at the age of 4 as having a visual impairment - that diagnosis hasn't changed) They only backed down after my dyslexia report came back as "impossible to test - memory and logic are too good. IQ is impossible to work out". (because at the time, I had a reading age of a 15 year old - I was 19 when tested and my logic and memory are too good. The Ed Psych said in his report that this is due to being visually impaired)

charlearose

i had my son assessed privatly when 2 of his teachers mentioned that they thought he might be dyslexic this combined with my own feelings and the fact that he found reading difficult yet his maths and general abiltily for other things was way above his age group this was several years ago he is 16 now and i think from memory he was maybe 6 years old when i had him assessed

although it cost i think it was around 150 it was worth it as it meant that as soon as the school got the letter from the
child psychiatrist/assessor within 2 weeks He was then statmented as needing extra help/special needs and got this all the way through the school once you have done this you wont have to do it again the school will assess every few years my son was just recently assessed for 6th form his school though is very very good and understanding

i think from memory from the teacher mentioning it to having my son assessed to getting the extra help took around 6 -8 weeks without it it could have been 6month -2 years who know
its worth bypassing the school in my experience and going private if you can afford to as with this letter they cant ignore it otherwise you will have to fight for the funds and it can take a long time from other peoples experience which was something i wasnt prepared to let my son wait and during that time

he also spend 2 hours a week at a school which specialised in helping kids to read /write with dyslexia this as well i paid for myself so that he was able to keep up

my son has done his gcse did 10 and got 2 A He is now doing alevel pe and maths and science and he gets a scriber for his written exams which he thinks is brill as his friends are really envious that he dosnt get a cramped hand

also for your child confidence tell them of all the famous people who are dyslexic such as richard branson tom cruise orlando bloom ect
http://www.dyslexia.com/famous.htm

caris

I noticed my GS was having problems at school not long after he had started with reading and writing so I asked his then teacher if she thought he cold be dyslexic, she was very short with her answer saying that if he was she would know!!!, anyway as he was already under the eye specialist after having an operation for a squint I asked the specialist if he could be, she said she would refer us to the dyslexia clinic to be tested. It was confirmed that he did have dyslexia, his teacher was not pleased when I confimed that he was. He did receive follow up appointments at the hospital to keep a check on him bt it was another 2/3 years before he got any extra help in school, this came after someone from the county came in and tested him, and he was given extra help with reading and writing, but this only lasted for about a year, since then he was not been given any extra help and has been left to cope on his own. We are not in a position to pay for private help for him as the hospital said thats all that would be available where we live as the local authority does not see it has a "problem".

He is now at junior school and I mentioned it up there and they had not even been told by the primary school that he had dyslexia, they have said they will follow it up and take it from there.

Mankysteve

bonnarwumin wrote: »

iThe optician referred my son to the local hospital and they confirmed that he had Meres Erlen Syndrome and prescribed coloured overlays that he used when reading! i then informed his school of this and they did a Dysexia screening test, this comfirmed his dyslexia!
.

I'm Dyslexia but don't have Erlen Syndrome so it depends. You need to get your school on board really, luckily I had a dad who was a social worker and supportive school so got picked up at very young age. Although my lavage skills were never poor and had above average reading age my spelling and short term memory was exceptional poor and still is tbh.


I would complain to LEA if you'll feel there being overly difficult. On a side note this why we should appose academy schools no one to complain too.

Gingham_Ribbon

hethmar wrote: »

Oh and yes, we had him tested for Irlens, which he did have. He was actually one of the test groups at Cambridge for this condition and the use of coloured glasses We paid for specialist glasses and informed the school about them. He came home in tears because one teacher had confiscated his "silly sun glasses" at school.
.

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Your story horrifies me. Well done for continuing to fight for what he needed and I'm sorry you had to struggle like that for him.

There is NO excuse for a teacher behaving like that.