so what now then......

[dawnbartlett1]

My 8 yrs old daughters teacher told me today, that following assessment, it is confirmed that she is dyslexic. That the results have been passed to a specialist learning teacher who will send back suggested support techniques for the school to use.

What can i be doing in the mean time to help her?

Thanks

[Hidden]

Hello, this is just my opinion. I think what you can do is explain to your daughter what dyslexia is and I think (in my opinion) it's really important not to label her as "learning disabled" or any other label for that matter, you might do this anyway so please reject this if it doesn't apply to you! It's just when I was younger people said all sorts of things and from a personal experience, it doesn't do you any favors when you are growing up when people go on about what you can't do, instead it should be what you can do. For me someone with dyslexia is usually using the wrong learning statergy and are usually more intelligent. So I think it's important to explain to her what's going on because kids are very curious and want to know "why". I think the main thing is, just be there for her and project confidence to her because this is where problems could potentially lie... hope i've given you something to go on.

[wgiles Volunteer]

Hi l am a mum of 4 children all of who have dyslexia.

The one thing l would suggest to do in the mean time is to keep her self esteem and confidence as high as possible. l found that the best way to do this is by finding something outside of school that she is really good at or as l say find their gift it can be anything that makes them feel good about themselves and keeps them positive through the tough times.

My eldest son 19 is fantastic at computer stuff !! its beyond me, my youngest son 16 is a fantastic drummer, my eldest daughter 11 is very dyslexic and finds school very tough and when she was younger she quite liked her art work and now loves her dance, my youngest daughter is 6 and has just started to like dance so we will see where that takes us.

As a parent its very frustrating and upsetting to see your child deal with dyslexia but l have found that finding your childs gift is very ful filling and encouraging for us parents as well as the child. Just remember your daughter will get to where she needs to go try and relax and go with her. It sometimes takes a little longer. Wendy

[mathewlisett]

right ive decided to add my write up i did on the subject today simply because you have asked for guidance, so here it is

scribd.com/doc/97539169/Dys...

please tweet, fb like it, print and share, email etc

its about 8 pages long, but then again its a much needed bit of guidance that anybody you know may be grateful for you reading it. and then again you may know whats in it.

and as a side note, from my own experience and that means also talking to others that have siblings or kids that have been at school with dyslexia, just because the specialist gives some ideas to any school doesn't mean good things come of it.

as its been widely reported, many schools to this day still have no clue what it is or how to give guidance and understand what that person is going through. they may have all good intentions, but unless they personally know from experience what its like , then all they will have is "sympathy" and not "empathy"

where its the latter that is most needed.

I am planning on doing a "smaller" but interactive ebook with my writeup so that kids and even adults that need that help, can also read and learn from whats said .

oh and as a second side note. ever had somebody say use spell check to you and you don't even have a learning disability. well think about how a dyslexia sufferer goes through when they may not even know how that word is supposed to be spelt. after all spell check gives you many words to correct the error, so if you thought the way you spelt that word was how it was supposed to be spelt, how are you to know otherwise.

[WeeDude]

If she is suspected of being on the dyslexic scale then you as the parent should be invited to a joint consultative meeting with the school to discuss the history of your child and to decide what needs to be done going forward. Unless an actual assessment has been carried out by a qualified individual then they cannot actually confirm that your child is dyslexic. It is essential to identify your childs needs and this may involve an educational psychologist - the needs assessments need not be intrusive weither which can be a concern. As a parent you have the right under the ASN Act 2005 to request a formal assessment to be undertaken of your childs needs - make sure this is done in writing. Your school/local authority has to repsond in writing within 4 weeks to comply with legislation and must give reasons for their decisions. Their are some great books out there on the subject too and lots of websites - try Dyslexia Scotland and have a look at their toolkit. Also a book called The Gift of Dyslexia was a real eye opener for me.

[millie2]

I think to reiterate some of the points made it is essential to identify strengths and individual talents to encourage and empower your child to help them realise their own unique potential, and yes raise their self esteem and confidence. It seems that some schools concentrate so much on academic ability that other skills and abilities go unnoticed. Clearly our communities and indeed the world is made up of people with diverse strengths and skills without which we wouldn't prosper. From experience once a child has discovered a unique talent or ability which makes them feel good and fulfils them, there is less emphasis on the things they cannot do as well as others. People with dyslexia offer the world creativity, abstract thinking, innovation, persistence, determination and the ability to overcome. It maybe worth doing an intent search on people from history and celebrities who are dyslexic or have other learning differences which can often illustrate the ability in people with dyslexia, for example experts believe Albert Einstein was dyslexic... not abad role model. Vive le difference.