do you think the schools are doing en... - The Dyslexia Comm...
do you think the schools are doing enough to support dyslexic students
Hi sdrayton37
I think it really depends on the school and the teacher to be honest. What I would add is that people often see questions like this as a change to "teacher bash". While I no doubt agree that like all professions, you get people who are good and not so good at their jobs, I have to say that I don't think teachers get the support THEY need to support dyslexic students to the best of their ability. I (personally) believe it needs to start from there. We are campaigning to make training in dyslexia part of initial teacher training. Currently it isn't so newly trained teachers have to educate themselves, go on CPD's, have an interest, or learn from experience. I (personally) don't think this is fair on either the pupils or the teachers.
I'm currently a retired teacher who helps my nephew's daughter at school. Why do I help? Because there is NO support for her-she is dyslexic & has dyspraxia! The school told her mother she was an over anxious parent when she questioned why the child wasn't progressing. Si I took a course with Dyslexia Action as I realised she may be dyslexic & I wanted to help her.
The class teacher has No knowledge of dyslexia, no-one in the school has any training on dyslexia! I'm currently awaiting the Local Education Authority to send in a Dyslexia specialist to address the issues of dyslexia with the staff. Meanwhile she has help from an LSA who has No knowledge of dyslexia, and myself, for just 2 mornings per week.
It is shameful that the education system is letting this child down. i would also like to say the school has recently discovered 3 more children with dyslexia in Year 5-how many more has or have been ignored in this school?
When I did the Dyslexia Action course it was mentioned that colleges would introduce new entrants to special needs with dyslexia in particular-as yet I haven't come across a college that includes dyslexia in their programme!
When I was a teacher I often asked to go on a course for dyslexia but was told that it was the remit of the Senco-she did go on a course but didn't complete it, so nobody in my old school had any idea about dyslexia. I wonder just how many dyslexic children passed through my hands because I didn't have the knowledge or training. Some Heads I've spoken to,even question if there is such a thing as dyslexia!
Teacher's don't know everything and unless they are interested in Special needs, have little or No knowledge about how to teach children who have learning difficulties- the system has and will fail countless more.
If you have concerns about your child DON'T wait for the class teacher or Education Authority to do something quickly. You know your own child-if dyslexia is a concern get your child assessed. Then, look for a school thatis dyslexia aware and that has staff trained in dyslexia
Yes I am bashing the teacher's, including myself! There should be far more training both in colleges and at school regarding special needs-after all every child deserves an education- children only get one chance at it and we shouldn't fail any of them!!!
I can echo this experience as a home educator with a daughter who was at school one day a week. It is frustrating that they offer no strategies and have little insight whereas because I have read and engaged my brain i understand what her problems are, what her brain is doing and therefore how to help. It is even more frustrating that the LASS report they put her in for concluded she is not dyslexic and they expect a dyslexic profile to be super bright with low scores on everything else. Hvaing looked at the computer games they use I couldn't take anything the LASS assessed as worth knowing, methodology seemed poor and expecting all dyslexics to have similar profiles is crazy, it is a spectrum with various areas of difference in how teh brain operates, you can have all of them going wrong or one or two of them going wrong. Just because my daighter can read doesn't mean she isn't dyslexic, I work with her and all the observations I have made are not covered by a LASS report, such as writing problems etc
Agree with above post - imperative that you get your daughter assessed - the schools are absolutely failing children. Remember that they only teach to averages - they are not there to help your child achieve their full potential. If you daughter is mildly dyslexic it is enough for her to fail her benchmark GCSE in later years, but it won't be recognised until it is too late, particularly if she is not showing severe difficulty. The schools ignore mild dyslexia because of the expense of testing they will tell you that nothing was seen on their screeners. Their screeners are inadequate. Secondly, unless the CLASSROOM TEACHING is dyslexia aware and friendly your child will not succeed. LSAs are not of any help unless they have been specially trained - the majority haven't but the school can point to them and say they are giving extra help because they are in the classroom. It is down to the teachers and I am really unhappy with the first post above with the usual excuses: teachers it is your job to teach ALL that come into your groups not just teaching to the converted (the top achievers). If you lack knowledge: read and get some training - you get paid enough to do this. Ask for training to be built into inset days. The benefit to you is less class disruption and better results.
I agree with the above statement it is important that all teachers should be aware of the condition of dyslexia in order to enable children to reach their full potential.Teaching should not be about the normal child but also those who have leaning difficulties. Therefore it should be addressed in the training of new teachers. As you said children only get one chance at education. The children who are dyslexic are eager to learn it is just the education system who is failing the children with lack of funding and resources to help children with dyslexia.
I am a adult who has dyslexia and it was not until I reached university again at 38 years that I was diagnosed it has greatly effected my opportunity's in life. In order to achieve it has just taken me a little bit longer with a lot of persistence and determination that I have achieved and I would like to think that the education system will not fail my children who are also dyslexic.
I feel that the Senco at the school is very helpful in helping to address their needs in school. The school now holds the budget which has got to help all the other children in school not just my son's. Therefore it is up to the school to help with my children's education, but the staff have little awareness which means as my son's gets older the gap will increase and the education system will have failed my children.
The Government say that every child should be able to enjoy and achieve there full potential. Well it appears that only if you fall into the category of normal that you can enjoy and achieve your full potential.
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In my experience it depends on the school, the teacher and the attitude of the education authority. I was a parent govenor at my sons school who picked up his dyslexia and and did their best to support him with it, - given their experience and resources. However when I went on SEN trainning for govenors run by the local authority the trainers attitude was that there was no such thing as dyslexia; it was middle class mothers who couldn't accept their children couldn't read and wern't as bright as they thought they were.- This was only about 7 years ago! Therefore the school and the teachers were hampered as there was no funding, training and Ed psych support for children with dyslexia. When he moved to secondary school - into another borough and ed. authority - they picked up his dyslexia, his need for support, and what type of support he needed immediately. - consequently he has done really well at GCSE and is now doing A levels. But through it all our home Ed. Authority have continually fought the funding of his support.
Generally I have found that most schools and teachers want to be able to do something but often don't know what to do as they are not trained and also Educational authorities set the tone and can place enormous constraints on what schools can do.
I left school in 1998 I had a really bad time at School I have friend's now who have children at School and who are dylexic and there not getting the help that they need and deserve.
SO no don't think School's are doing enough!
Absolutely not!
I agree with other posters that it's not necessarily the fault of individual teachers or even individual schools but it is the fault of the teaching profession and individual LEAs not to have done something to deal with this issue.
Dyslexia and the whole spectrum of learning difficulties is incredibly complex and not easy to assess.
My son was first seen by a local education authority ed. psych. at primary school, who came to no particular conclusion about how to deal with his unusual problems at school. He was then seen by someone from the SPLD unit who assessed his IQ at 124 and therefore could not explain his under-achieving, especially with reading. He was referred to a paediatrician by the SENCO at his secondary school as it was felt he had autistic behaviours (which is true). However the consultant listened to what we had to say, that he's quirky and has dyslexia, and she decided that he wasn't autistic. He was seen by a specialist optometrist who decided he didn't have word blindness so wouldn't benefit from inlays. He was also assessed during a study carried out by Cardiff University to look at hereditary factors. They decided he had semantic or deep dyslexia. I don't fully understand this but I think it's to do with processing.
We have two big issues: he is generally uncommunicative (which is why the school thought he was autistic), and due to his reading/processing difficulties he is very slow to complete work. In maths he regularly gets 70-90% in assessments but in timed tests he struggles to even pass.
We have asked the school to provide him with extra time but this isn't happening.
I feel really panicky about the constant turnover of young teachers at my son's school and the general air of disorganisation. They seem to put more effort into concerts and expensive school trips than the learning experience.
The lack of training by the LEA's and the 'assumed' traits of dyslexia by society imply that the teachers are not qualifed (unless they have specialist training) to recognise dyslexia.
Question: How many types of dyslexia are their?
Dyslexia is a spectrum disorder that affects around 4 distinct areas of functioning, hence the variety of ways that it can manifest and affect an individual. If you want to read a good experience and science based book read The Dyslexic Advanatage it covers the neuro science as well as the authors vast experience of supporting dyslexics.
I think schools fail all children who are different, speaking as a mum of a wonderful 10 year old son who has many challenges, ADHD, dyslexia and possibly Aspergers. My son was let down very badly by his last school. Who said that there was nothing wrong with him he chose to misbehave? My son has an IQ in the top 2% but they failed to teach him to read! We paid privately for tuition for his reading etc and now he reads constantly. He has Irlens glasses again something we paid for, we paid for his dyslexia assessment and have fought (some times literally) with the school to get him support.
We have just moved areas and his new school is dyslexia friendly so I am hoping he will have a more positive and enjoyable experience here, time will tell but one week in and he is still happy to go which for me is a novelty.
My long term plan is to train as a SENCo myself as at least I should recognise and be able to empathise with parents who have children with additional needs. I think that the problem is a lack of training and understanding, we can all read a book about a condition, but I would love my sons old SENCo to spend a week living my life and facing the challenges and issues that my sons conditions present. What's the old saying spend 24 hours in my shoes?
No, they are not. Often children are told that they need to concentrate harder, work harder, not get distracted etc. We found the Oakham School in Rutland to be absolutely brilliant and willing to look at what children can do and not what they can't. Children blossomed in that environment. Thanks to excellent teachers like the late Mrs. Hardy.
I have been a very successful SEN teacher for many years working mainly in mainstream secondary schools, and compared to the 'good old days' things have taken a nosedive for SEN teachers and pupils. Teachers are expensive and TA's are cheap, which means that SEN teachers' jobs have all but vanished. It's as basic as that!
Training student teachers in SEN work is vital, but it will not help SEN pupils because they need 1:1 teaching by qualified teachers who know how to test and devise and teach individual learning programmes. How can we expect class teachers to do that?
These days there is a lot of work for SENCOs , which are typically posts that don't necessarily include teaching. The SENCO in the last school I worked in dealt only with admin, and also supervised her 'helpers' eg ex dinner ladies, mums etc. These 'helpers' have become teaching assistants over the years, and have replaced SEN teachers, in many cases reducing the job to merely supporting in class. Don't get me wrong, they are hard working, caring, intelligent people they deserve more pay - but they're not qualified teachers! I would never employ a TA over a fully qualified SEN teacher - but then I don't run a badly managed school! We need to think again because our dyslexic students deserve more than this. It wasn't like this 10 years ago! This is happening across the board BTW. Angry, let down and disappointed? You bet - my son has dyslexia and we've had to go to the private sector!
i agree which is why as a home educator who is bright i can work best with my daughter as i have the personal knowledge of her and can devise strategies that help her. plus she is not surrounded by people ticking boxes easily and therefore reinforcing her feeling that she lacks something
Simply put - No
They lack the skills that are needed to help children.An example of this :
How many types of dyslexia are their?
If you are scratching your head, thinking I didnt even know their were different types of Dyslexia , then shame on you
How I know I don't think schools are given in real to support students at school my daughter is 10 years now and I am sick and tired of having to going to school and tell the teachers what they need to put in place for my daughter. I am teachers myself and I have dyslexia so I know my daughter's rights under the disability act the tutors are supposed to supply my daughter with an education equal to every other children this just not happen she also has colour vision where she needs all work to be placed on green paper after going in the school and continuously, learning they are just starting to use green paper to help my daughter with her to start the get extra time for her work to the teachers recognised the answer to this is no. Because dyslexia doesn't come under the statement said disability most of the schools do not train any teachers to understand and recognise what is dyslexia and what can they do to help make things easier for children to learn people ask me as things change from when I was at school my answer to that is no we still have two fight to get here and for schools to recognise dyslexia I was told by the school I was an overprotective mother and my child didn't have dyslexia just because I don't three screenings my daughter pass the three screenings and they told me in no circumstances was my daughter dyslexic. But something kept telling me they were wrong. Please understand when schools screenings school test dyslexia is only screening it is not attest to find out if your daughter or son . So please if you think something is wrong and your daughter and son has passed the screening test look for a second opinion I went to dyslexic action. Also has dyslexia you need psychologist to test to confirm and this is what I didn't then yes my daughter has dyslexia not as bad as me but she has dyslexia. I will not let my daughter go through school like I did I will fight tooth and nail so my daughter gets the education that she deserves and hopefully she will not have to struggle like I don't I'm sorry for going on but many parents out there needs to understand if your child has dyslexia you need to put things into place you need to keep going to school and making sure that they are doing what they're supposed to be doing if they're not keep complaining until they do if they get sick of you this doesn't matter it's your child is most important
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