Mis-diagnosis dyslexia

bestpud

aliasojo wrote: »

I think you've made some good points but I honestly don't get the same interpretation as you with regards to the OP's feelings.

I see a confused parent. Not one who is afraid of labelling her child. :undecided

You may be right - I hope so!

My interpretation is based on her post saying she doesn't want a label hindering her child.

And then she refused to accept there is any issue apart from poor teaching.

I seriously suspect there is something preventing her daughter from achieving her potential and I'd hate to think this was ignored through misguided fears.

Do you see where I'm coming from? I could probably have worded it better though.

notakid

Mojisola wrote: »

My son has glasses in one very particular shade of pink which help but certainly don't make his difficulties go away.

One thing that has helped over the years is having the computer and his Kindle read to him - he tracks the words while they're read out to him. It keeps the flow going - none of that awful stilted reading while stuck on one word - and the constant feed-back has helped him to read more fluently.

Just be aware that the colour can change! Weird but true as the child ages.
I've always been abit 50 50 about Irelens probably because I have no difficulty with black and white.:p Many parents have reported to me that their child's problems have disappeared, others it has been no help at all ( but there is the need to take in peer pressure, many won't wear the glasses because it makes them stand out.)

choccymoose

notakid wrote: »

Mears Irlen is often confused with dyslexia as you say. It is also known as visual dyslexia even tho it is not dyslexia in the pure sense at all.

If the eye isn't tracking, it can cause the text to jump around causing problems similar to dyslexia.

Many dyslexics/dyspraxics/ADD/ASD can suffer from Irlen but it is separate from their other condistion.

So many people think that you can solve the problems of dyslexia with different coloured paper but it is only true in a small %.

As a parent of a child with Mears, a sister and daughter of severe dyslexics and a lifelong learning tutor I know that they are seperate conditions that sometimes overlap and are sometimes in isolation didn't mean to confuse!
I was suggesting it as something that could be looked at, as I said at first it was thought my son was dyslexic, he however following screening by Ed psych etc is not. Irleans is not solved with just coloured paper, my son wears tinted lenses to relive his symptoms and they work ( for him) As do the tracking exercises that he was set by the ophthalmologist, he can track vertically but not horizontaly. Coloured paper or overlays can work with as you say a small percentage of dyslexics but not my father and brother. Again they only work with some people with Mears Irlen too. It's a complete minefield out there. Luckily my son is only 7 so hopefully he will progress and catch up literacy wise.

Edited to say, my sons symptoms are flashing colours in front of the words and moving around the page, causing distraction s and after a while headache s and eyestrain. Opthamoligist was fab and pointed out that colours may change, and luckily peers so far have been great ref wearing the glasses, it helped that the school worked with the kids before hand and they have a picture of Johnny Depp wearing tinted glasses as background when the whiteboard isn't in use
. Nothing to do with me and my slight ( read massive) crush on Mr Depp lol

Mojisola

notakid wrote: »

Just be aware that the colour can change! Weird but true as the child ages.
I've always been abit 50 50 about Irelens probably because I have no difficulty with black and white.:p Many parents have reported to me that their child's problems have disappeared, others it has been no help at all ( but there is the need to take in peer pressure, many won't wear the glasses because it makes them stand out.)

He's an adult now and doesn't use the glasses very much because, between the computer and the Kindle, he doesn't have to read stuff on paper very much but the glasses did help when he was at school.

We had an optician who was very interested in dyslexia so she tested him for a range of colours. I'm not sure there were Irlens centres when he was little.

notakid

choccymoose wrote: »

As a parent of a child with Mears, a sister and daughter of severe dyslexics and a lifelong learning tutor I know that they are seperate conditions that sometimes overlap and are sometimes in isolation didn't mean to confuse!
I was suggesting it as something that could be looked at, as I said at first it was thought my son was dyslexic, he however following screening by Ed psych etc is not. Irleans is not solved with just coloured paper, my son wears tinted lenses to relive his symptoms and they work ( for him) As do the tracking exercises that he was set by the ophthalmologist, he can track vertically but not horizontaly. Coloured paper or overlays can work with as you say a small percentage of dyslexics but not my father and brother. Again they only work with some people with Mears Irlen too. It's a complete minefield out there. Luckily my son is only 7 so hopefully he will progress and catch up literacy wise.

Edited to say, my sons symptoms are flashing colours in front of the words and moving around the page, causing distraction s and after a while headache s and eyestrain.

Great post! I realised you knew it was a seperate condistion but I often have parents and belive it or not professionals calling me and confusing the two. So felt as it was mentioned I wanted others to understand it is seperate from dyslexia.
I've even had a leading high street eyecare company claiming they can diagnose dyslexia! :eek:

We tend to refer people to Aston Uni as it is a reseach facilty rather than a sales outlet.

P.S Forgive my spelling, I've no spellcheck on this and its showing! :rotfl:

choccymoose

Mojisola wrote: »

My son has glasses in one very particular shade of pink which help but certainly don't make his difficulties go away.

One thing that has helped over the years is having the computer and his Kindle read to him - he tracks the words while they're read out to him. It keeps the flow going - none of that awful stilted reading while stuck on one word - and the constant feed-back has helped him to read more fluently.

Totally agree the lenses relieve the symptoms but they are still there in the background. But I have to admit to being in tears one evening just after Christmas as i sat on the landing listening to my son reading a book to himself. He used to avoid books unless we were reading to him. I knew the story but he didn't I could hear that his reading was improving and that he was getting the majority of the words right. It was great to hear and this week he has started it with writing too, he has copied 3 chapters of horrid Henry out just because he can :rotfl:
The getting stuck on the one word is so hard to watch, and totally messes up their comprehension, thank goodness for modern technology, :T

aliasojo

bestpud wrote: »

Do you see where I'm coming from?

Oh yes. And there definitely sounds as if there's a lot more to this than simply bad teaching.

I just kinda felt that her daughter was given an original diagnosis (that potentially stemmed from a poor school environment) that she didn't necessarily agree with, yet when she forwarded this diagnosis to the next school, she was all but shouted down and accused of all sorts. I'm not sure the OP's issue is with the label as such.

(OP...have to ask, was the Munchausens comment actually stated?)

It seems as thought the 'experts' cannot agree and the OP and her daughter are left floundering somewhat. A label wont help if it's the wrong one.

I have had previous experience of so called experts not knowing their backside from their elbow and it's an unpleasant and worrying situation to be in, when they hold most of the power. In my case I refused to be quiet when I knew an assessment was wrong and I got a brilliant educational psychologist onside who went against his colleague (and that was almost unheard of). Policy was actually changed after this particular issue.

I've also known several kids who have been held back (one girl was held back for 2 years) so I'm a tad surprised that this has raised eyebrows.

toerag33

I fought the system to have my daughter tested for dyslexia. It was one of the most valuable contributions I have made to her life - it has enabled her. 'there is a name for it. I'm not stupid.' was her response as she danced up the road after her assessment.

She has completed her degree and was fast-tracked to do her masters' which she successfully passed with a distinction last year.

I know of others where the diagnosis of dyslexia has enabled them.

Once you know what the problem is you can help / daughter can manage it / make informed choices....

Good luck for the future.

choccymoose

notakid wrote: »

Great post! I realised you knew it was a seperate condistion but I often have parents and belive it or not professionals calling me and confusing the two. So felt as it was mentioned I wanted others to understand it is seperate from dyslexia.
I've even had a leading high street eyecare company claiming they can diagnose dyslexia! :eek:

We tend to refer people to Aston Uni as it is a reseach facilty rather than a sales outlet.

P.S Forgive my spelling, I've no spellcheck on this and its showing! :rotfl:

Thanks

Bet I can guess the name of said high street eye care company

And I can believe the professionals confusing the two. When you mention Mears they say 'oh so he's dyslexic'
Um No !

No worries about the spelling, I am using phone and have fat thumbs hence mine lol

notakid

aliasojo;59054425]Oh yes. And there definitely sounds as if there's a lot more to this than simply bad teaching.

I just kinda felt that her daughter was given an original diagnosis (that potentially stemmed from a poor school environment) that she didn't necessarily agree with, yet when she forwarded this diagnosis to the next school, she was all but shouted down and accused of all sorts. I'm not sure the OP's issue is with the label as such.

I read it differently as the teacher who orignally picked up on the OP's daughter must have been really on the ball as the child was obtaining all the benchmarks but the teacher must have picked up that all was not well from the child's understanding. And brought it to the parents attention. The educational psychologist confirmed this as fact. A professional who didn't work in the school. It seems she was a good teacher in a bad school.

However new school seems to have no knowledge of dyslexia, if they did the test results would make sense. She is testng okay and performing in tests but her actual comprehension is 4 years behind. Classic able dyslexic performance!

(OP...have to ask, was the Munchausens comment actually stated?

This worries me too.

It seems as thought the 'experts' cannot agree and the OP and her daughter are left floundering somewhat. A label wont help if it's the wrong one.

I think the expert has given a diagnosis but the absence of the report has given the school an excuse to not deal with the problem. And again, we go back to your previous point it seems the school feel the OP is a liar and a fantasist! (Not saying you are OP but its the schools view)
It seems from the schools position, the teachers know nothing about dyslexia and after they have been given proof no longer wish to talk to parent. And she has been left wondering if the information she has furnished is correct. (it is)