Dyslexia

Savvy_Sue

loopylass wrote: »

and as her maths is really bad level2 at the age of 13 im wondering if shes got something else(cant remember what someone said it was called) as well

dyscalculia?

BigMummaF

:mad: My family are all grown, but suffered in much the same way because of the ridiculous attitude of our LEA[local educational authority or loada effluented (r)assoles as we call them here!] I tried to get my mp involved, but because the area he covers is predominently green belt communters & I'm not one of them s/he was as much use as a chocolate fireguard!

IMHO-get hold of the latest edition of the Childrens Act, & see what it says about LEAs providing adequate & appropriate education; make a few notes on exact wording & where it appears in the Act; write a letter to the Head of your child's school, sending copies to the board of governors AND the LEA
and asking them what their policy is for SEN. Give them a deadline to reply.
eg Dear Mr Head,
Having read the Childrens Act, Section (?) I would be grateful if you would forward a copy of your policy reguarding SEN and the process you implement to assess such.
I look forward to your reply within 21 days from the date of this letter.

When you get the reply/ies, do the same again requesting your child be considered for an LEA Statement for Educational Needs, as stated in Section (?) paragraph (?) by another date-eg end of the September term.

If they still don't want to play fair, threaten them with High Court Action, the media, Court of Human Rights & removing your child from school to educate at home. THE LAW SAYS A CHILD MUST RECIEVE APPROPRIATE EDUCATION BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT HAS TO TAKE PLACE IN A PARTICULAR BUILDING!
There used to be a very good organisation called Education Elsewhere to help with home tutoring if you are interested in that route.

I wish you the very best of luck, & dearly wished I knew as much then as I have found out since. Each child is a precious individual with a mind that will not and should not, conform to Government Policies.

jacquij123

Anyone that is really concerned that their child may have a special need that requires a Statement can apply themselves to the Local Authority for a Statuatory Assessment. Every LA has to provide a Parent Partnership to help and advise parents and they will go into school with you for meetings. Ring up the LA and they should be able to give you the number.
There's also

http://www.ipsea.org.uk/

who have loads of advice and case studies and campaign for better support for children with SEN.

xxdeebeexx

jacquij123 wrote: »

One company that I have come across and I was quite impressed with is DORE, may be worth a look.

Have you had first hand experience of children/adults using the Dore programme? I'm quite intereste in this.

TIA

Dx

poppyscorner

Hi everyone,

I am not after medical advice of any sort but the child in question has been suspected of having dyslexia for about a year she moved to a new school for autumn term and it has also flagged up here the mum says they are bringing in an educational psychologist but says that school asked about homelife and mum told school that they are tip toing around as if they raise their voices she can't handle it allegedly school said that if child was dyslexic that would explain the temper personally I would disagree but tbh I havent really got a clue.

Dont know whether to point out or not this child is my stepdaughter and my DH is going to go to school next week as he wants to be involved in school life and not just rely on the ex as she is known to bend the truth !

So does anybody have any experience of these matters and generally what is going to happen

Thanks
Poppy x

msmicawber

It's a few years ago now, but my son was assessed by an Ed. Psch. for dyslexia. She spent about an hour with him at school going through a battery of tests and talking to him. He didn't find it upsetting or difficult. Afterwards she wrote a report confirming the diagnosis and making recommendations for what assistance he should get from the school and at home.

I don't quite understand some of your post - does the little girl have a lot of temper tantrums at school, and is the school trying to establish the cause of this? It could very well be related to her educational problems as she may be very frustrated. It just sounds as though the school is trying to provide support and wanting/needing to know exactly what support is required.

poppyscorner

msmicawber wrote: »

It's a few years ago now, but my son was assessed by an Ed. Psch. for dyslexia. She spent about an hour with him at school going through a battery of tests and talking to him. He didn't find it upsetting or difficult. Afterwards she wrote a report confirming the diagnosis and making recommendations for what assistance he should get from the school and at home.

I don't quite understand some of your post - does the little girl have a lot of temper tantrums at school, and is the school trying to establish the cause of this? It could very well be related to her educational problems as she may be very frustrated. It just sounds as though the school is trying to provide support and wanting/needing to know exactly what support is required.

Hi Msmicawber thanks for your reply yes there are home issues but only when she is at home with mum I had a thread on it a few weeks back will have a search for it

Here it is http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=573602

msmicawber

Thanks, Poppy. Poor little soul, though this sounds as though it could well be positive for her.

I can't find my son's report at the moment, but I remember that it included remarks about his low self-esteem and how the Ed. Psych. believed this to be related to his inability to do things that his peers could do and his awareness that he was different. Your step-daughter may well be offered other support - such as counselling - as well as assistance in class to help her get over whatever is causing her this pain.

She's had a lot happen in her short life, so probably feels insecure. From memory, the assessment is intended to look at all and anything that can impede their educational success - physical, mental or emotional. I wouldn't worry about it as it looks as though the school is keen to help. I had to fight with the school to get my son assessed and to provide the support recommended and have come across more parents who have those sorts of problems than parents reporting strong support from primary schools. Secondary schools tend to be more pro-active, though I appreciate that's a bit of a sweeping generalisation based on anecdotal evidence.

Mojisola

A lot of children do have behaviour/emotional problems as a result of the frustration of not being able to do school work. The child is usually well aware that they are not able to make sense of squiggly lines that their friends can interpret quite easily! If the behaviour only shows at home, maybe there is some taunting going on about her not being able to read.

It's brilliant that the school is being pro-active. It's much more usual to hear of parents having to fight to get their child's problems looked at.

The Ed Psych will do a series of tests which will show which areas in particular your stepdaughter has problems with. For some things, like comprehension, my son was years ahead of his age group; for others, like spelling, he was well behind. She will probably enjoy the tests - they'll be things like puzzles (putting things in order), some spellings, a bit of reading and some writing.

Learn as much as you can about dyslexia - it will help OH and you to help his daughter. Bear in mind that because the dyslexic brain works slightly differently, dyslexics might have problems with words but are far better then the rest of us at other things. The dyslexics I know are very original thinkers, often artistic in some form, have brilliant spacial perception and usually have a very quirky sense of humour! They interpret the world in a slightly different way and can often 'think outside the box' and come up with solutions to problems that the rest of us can't see.

If the tests do result in a diagnosis of dyslexia (or more likely, a 'specific learning difficulty' as most Ed Psychs seem to hate the term 'dyslexia') then remember to emphasise the positive things you can see in her. Most dyslexics have had years of feeling stupid before they get diagnosed and need some positive praise to counter all that.

Good luck and best wishes.

MadDogWoman_2

Hi Poppy,

My DH was assessed as having Dyslexia at the age of 35!

He could write, but not spell or read at all. He went to school in the 70's and was picked on by teachers and pupils rather than given support.

But after a year of help at IDL (Indirect Dyslexia Learning) he went from nothing to a reading age of a 12 year old.

Have a look: https://www.idlsystem.co.uk/

By doing this he has gained confidence along with a promotion at work as he can now cope with the paperwork.

Have a look here for more information about dyslexia in general:

[SIZE=-1]www.bdadyslexia.org.uk[/SIZE]

HTH

MDW