worried

[marianavs2003]

hi! i have twin girls born at 33 weeks now 5y4months. I was expecting development delays as speech delays but now my concern is much bigger.

one of the girls after being 2 years in nursery class, one year in reception class and now 1 month in year 1, after practicing on sounds, phonics and numbers from over 3 years she still doesn't remember them, she seems to find it very difficult to recognise any of them, still don't know her tricky works or any words, mixing up numbers and writing them sideways. The reception teacher was always putting the point on her being summer born child and the littlest in her class ( June born) when her twin sister was doing perfect. I had a chat with her teacher a week after she started year 1 and she said same that she don't do nothing in the class room and to keep practising at home with her. I do practice at home on daily basis but i don't know what else to do, she can't remember anything, i use flash cards some with pictures some without with same word, she recognise the one with picture but as soon i put it underneath she won't know the next card. I don't know how to help her if i don't understand her problem. I hope i made myself understood and not disturbing with my post. thanks

[austinsmrs]

Hi - Sorry to hear of your troubles. My son was the same in early years at school and when trying to read with him he would see a word, we would sound it out etc and turn the page and it was like he had never seen that word before! His diagnosis in Year 5 was dyslexia and from Year 2 onwards he was having private reading lessons etc which didnt really make much difference. He now attends a private dyslexic school after being statemented with dyslexia, disgraphia and dyscalculia and finally making progress. My advice firstly would be to speak to the SENCO at school and follow up with a letter highlighting your concerns. In year 1 children should do a phonic test to see if they have grasped the idea of phonics. It would be interesting to see what the results are for her. Discuss these results with the SENCO and ask for intervention and maybe further tests they can do in school. It is never to early to start looking at getting help because your childs self esteem is very very important and especially being a twin she will probably always compare herself to her sibling let alone her peers. If you are still concerned and school are not prepared to do anything the next thing would be to go privately to see an Educational Psychologist. Two tests that should be done are the WISC and WIAT test. Tests are very expensive expect to pay in excess of £500 but there is a Ed Psych in Birmingham who charges £300 and is an ex Local Authority Educational Psychologist and she is used by the school my son attends. Schools come up with ridculous excuses like - born in the summer etc Ive heard it all before and as parents we look at the teachers as the experts but they are NOT experts in the field of dyslexia, austism etc etc. You as a parent are the best judge of your child and if you think she needs help start asking. Make appointments with the class teacher and SENCO. Where is she on meeting expectations? Below, on target or exceeding. Lots of things can be put into place at school and they have to keep evidence of her progress and if you can prove that all the interventions have not enabled her to make progress then you can ask for her to be formally assessed for an EHCP. Look at lots of social medium ie net mums, IPSEA web site, SOSSEN, Talking Sense based in the midlands. I dont know where you are in the Uk but Im midlands so thats where all my contacts are. There is lots of help out there its just knowing where to find it. On a final note, remember to be patient with your daughter remember is she is struggling at school the last thing is she will want to struggle at home too and kids dont want their parents to see them at their weakest. Give her praise for the smallest of achievements and Im sure she has other qualities other than academic that she is just brilliant at.

[Giosang in reply to austinsmrs]

This is an excellent response - spot on in every way. However, I would add that you must keep a detailed written record of every meeting / phone call/ email etc, that you have with the school. This is because you will need evidence for an EHCP ( Education Health Care Plan). You need to ask the school in writing what they are going to do to help your child that is extra and you must INSIST on having the answer in writing. You need to be able to prove that you asked for help and the school have to show that they have tried to help and whether the help was successful or not. Follow this advice to the letter. Keep us informed. Good luck.

[marianavs2003 in reply to Giosang]

Hi! thanks for your reply, i will make sure will keep a written record of every meeting and conversation.

[marianavs2003 in reply to austinsmrs]

thanks for all informations, Ive talked to her teacher again and she told me that my daughter is not doing phonics with her as she have a higher group but on Monday she will have a chat with the teacher which have my little one and will tell me her results, on the other hand she is having her on maths group and she said she need extra work at home because she don't know the numbers ( . what the teacher don't wanna understand that from last 3 years I'm working with my girls on daily basis( 2 years nursery , 1 year reception class), i was always there for them and we've been practising very single day. I'm waiting for Monday meeting and i will take it for there. We are in Slough, Berkshire but for my kids i can anywhere in Uk , even abroad if i have to.

thanks

[LDMOM]

Have you considered a psychological educational test? I believe this test can be administered to a 5 year old. This will give you clear understanding where her weakness is and give you insight of her percentage of strength in working memory and processing speed. This information is critical to figure out how to approach this. In the meantime, you will need to take a multi-sensory approach in introducing phoneme, phonics and use a scientific proven methodology. Note Orton Ghillingham approach has been proven scientifically for over 75 years. There are many other methods out there but from my terrible experience of trying to figure out my child's reading issue since pre-K, I have learned the hard way and paid so much money for little results. In hindsight, I wished someone shared with me about OG certified trainers and look for a trainer that has a proven track record. It is critical to get the psychological educational test now to have a clear action plan to resolve your child's issue. My child is dyslexic with expressive/receptive disorder and auditory processing disorder. The second with ADHD/subset of Dyslexia (cannot spell but was always an advance reader) and dysgraphia. ALL sounds scary but there is HOPE!!! Both boys are now successful in school. We closed the gap on reading issues for Dyslexic child and the second child with ADHD/dyslexia is in high school and taking AP classes. I will look for your post if you need further insight of what worked for my boys. One more note, the reason why flash cards and pictures alone do not work is due to the fact you must use VAKT technique from OG. You have to take a Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, Tactile (VAKT) approach to getting the phoneme, phonics into a child with Dyslexia to store the information successfully in to long term memory. Hope this makes sense and is not overwhelming.

[snakehips666]

The child is still very young. Do you have any dyslexia in the family? Either way, my advice is: don't waste your money on psychological educational testing. Get hold of Toe by Toe and teach them both to read yourself...

[Giosang in reply to snakehips666]

Toe by Toe comes after diagnosis. I suppose it's worth a try while you are waiting for things to get in motion, but I wouldn't stop fighting for proper professional intervention. Professional help is worth every penny.

[UaLiathain]

You are only disturbing if you are a troll. I haven't run into any here.