Verity and our struggles

[lilsamsam]

Hi my daughter is 8 and has dyslexia and the learning as of a year 1 child.The test she had indicates a level of dyslexia.How do I get a full assessment of this ? To show where the problems lie.She goes into year 4 in Septembereorry everyday .She is a lovely lil lady who is very social and caring.She is said to be a passive learner,easily distracted,loses concentration and fails to complete work unassisted.Hums alot a doddles constantly and fails to focus.What other help

[Clairetreadwell]

I was the same. Help and support are what she needs. What are school offering?

[Kanani]

I agree with Clairetreadwell that you need to find out what the school are offering. Also, I suggest you keep copies of any written observations and comments by her teachers and others. This will help to give an assessor a picture over time. You will probably need to keep going back to the school and talking with them about the support she needs, and stay in touch with them. And keep learning more yourself! Best wishes!

[rosetinted]

Some special educational need departments are very good and some still treat these children like they are a nuisance and will grow out of it. It is very difficult to get a full assessment without paying for it. I waited too long to get my son diagnosed and I paid 250.00 will an extra £100 paid for by an educational charity.It was worth it because it pinpointed the kind of troubles my son was having and gave me the ammunition to push for extra help. Having a full diagnosis is incredibly good for your child's self esteem as it gives them a reason why they are not doing as well as their friends.

My son is sixteen now and will always have huge troubles with spelling, the awareness of sounds within language and the visual processing of text. But he gets by in life really well and has made the most of his creative talents. Keep insisting on diagnosis to anyone who will listen. Assisted technology can help some people with speech to text software. Get in touch with dyslexia charities as they are very useful and helpful. Just be very patient with her and never tire of spelling out words for her just keep going, and be understanding.

[lilsamsam in reply to rosetinted]

can you advise me on a charity 😊

[purvis64]

My daughter doodles too. She now is in first year and her drawings have turn into cartoons. She does her home work in a undisturbed space. We have all her week on the calendar and a whiteboard in the kitchen. She was having trouble getting ready in the morning so we made a list. I call it the command centre.

[Giosang]

Look up these sites: bdadyslexia.org.uk/ and dyslexiaaction.org.uk/ - they are full of advice and information. Also, make sure the SENCO at your school is putting the right accommodations in place. eg all teachers needs to know her SEN, she needs an individual education plan (IEP), her concentration issues need to be addressed by her teachers in class, she needs to be assessed etc. The best advice I can give is to keep calm in meetings ( I found that very difficult gulp!), keep a record of all meetings you have with the school, stay in touch with the SENCO and report any signs of bullying or any struggles your daughter may have immediately, ask what the school is going to actively do about the issues you raise. Hope this helps.

[lilsamsam in reply to Giosang]

thankyou for your kind words at times,I feel so alone with this.I worry for everyday

[Giosang in reply to lilsamsam]

It can feel very lonely and scary especially when you see your child struggling. Your daughter will learn all sorts of coping strategies as she grows older. There are so many practical things you can do together at home, for example, use ebooks/kindle. Focus on what your daughter loves or is drawn to, in my son's case it was music, and follow that route. My son spent hours on his music and now he's ready to study Music at FE level and he will go on to Uni. He is dyslexic, dyspraxic and has dyscalculia too. When he was in primary school he had to use a wobble cushion to keep still on his chair! Here's an article I wrote about how I worked with my son through his school years. wehavekids.com/education/dy... I hope you find it useful. Keep in touch.

[Clairetreadwell in reply to Giosang]

I love my kindle, I can change the size and shape of the font to something I can read. But if you do buy a kindle, you want a normal kindle, such as a paperwhite. Kindle fire or kindle apps, hurt my eyes because of the bright back light.

Dyslexia is tough. But once you've accepted it, work with it, you can do wonderful things! I can paint, make anything.

After years of work a rounds, I can write management reports, I manage a team of 30+. I couldn't read until I was 10!!! Help, support, a computer and purple glasses changed my life. Don't worry! Xx

[Giosang in reply to lilsamsam]

You're welcome. Check this out - it's a great site for kids about dyslexia! It's fun and informative for all of us. Lots of research has gone into it. dyslexiaville.com/

[snakehips666]

First port of call should be Toe by Toe: toe-by-toe.co.uk If that simple but effective approach doesn't work (it usually does...), try something else. Best of luck. Frank

[ahiett]

You can go to your local council to have a free test and you will need to show documentation to the school. However in secondary school i had to re take the test so i could have extra time in my GCSE year and i have just re taken the test so i can still continue having extra time in my A-Levels- (stil severly dyslexic) However i was the exact same, each child as they get older will find their own unique way to cope, however i would look into overlays. This helped me massively on my concentration and helped me get A*'s with my GCSE's. The school should also help with this, however some are better then others, when looking into further schools i would look to see what each school can provide.

Hope this helped!

[susanne1980]

I also have an 8 year old who is working approx 3 years behind. My school have (after years of bagering from me) done a Dyslexia assessment in which she came out as severe in all three areas. She also had some input from speech and language therapy as she seems unable to comprehend pretty much anything she is being asked or told to do. She has been discharged from speech and language as after a year of therapy there has been no improvement I have (just yesterday) put in a parental request for an EHCP with my local council. For this I needed her medical history, all her IEP's (Individual Education Plan) the reports from speech and language, her Dyslexia assessment results and a form I filled out with my little girl as to what she likes and things she finds difficult. So I would advise you to speak to school about starting her on an IEP as this will show her improvements or lack of them (my daughter in fact had learnt some new targets then had to re visit them a little while later) request they do a dyslexia assessment and see if they can refer her through school for an EHCP but if not you can request one yourself. I had to request one myself as I live in England but she attends a Powys school as we live on the border and Powys declined the teachers request. I really hope you get support from the school as it makes it so much easier. My daughter was never really concerned about her abilities until this year and she has unfortunately started fretting about school and has started noticing how far behind her friends she is. Its heartbreaking when they start to doubt how amazing and special they are. Good luck to you and your amazing little girl xx

[lilsamsam]

thankyou susann1980 this so helpful,Verity had a physiology assessment this week as she struggles with memory too.Ots been confirmed as aa known problem related to dyslexia.She has no been put on a SENDS register so help with education will always be in place.What doesEPHC stand for many thanks 😊

[lilsamsam]

ehpc sorry 😊