Assesment

[Edwilson]

I'm looking for some guidance. My son is in year one and the school have said that he is showing many traits of dyslexia. He is in the middle of the class and so the school has said that they don't want to asses him yet. We were happy with this state of affairs for a little while but now we feel it’s time to take action before it becomes a real blocker for him achieving his potential. I was assessed at 7 and my wife at 16 and so we know firsthand the difference early assessment can make to a child’s learning. So my question is really is he too young to be assed and if not can we get it done outside of school if they keep saying that they want to wait?

[Hidden]

I tend to assess children when they are a little older, say Y2 or Y3. It is a positive thing that the school is aware of the possiblity of Dyslexia, perhaps at this stage you could find out what they are doing to help support early literacy development as there are usually a variety of small group classes that are run in school that could be really helpful at that age. If you really want an assessment now then you could go to Dyslexia action or ask for the BDA or Patoss list of assessors in your area.

[DAWilmslow]

Hi

It is possible to have an assessment at this age. However, it may not always be the best course of action. If you would like to discuss this you could ring any Dyslexia Action centre - the website gives contact details and you could talk it over on the phone or face to face

[Hidden]

hi, at least they have picked it up - my son's school never acknowledged his dyslexia even with a report from Dyslexia action. we had it done as soon as he hit 7 (year 2) and it really helped us to see his weaknesses and strengths. However, he was very young and found it a really exhausting process, so it may be worth waiting a little longer. It depends if the school would do anything different if they have a report or not - keep pushing them to take action anyway. There are lots of things that can help - and the earlier the better. If he can cope with it, I would suggest some tutoring through one of the people the tutor mentioned above. Even without a diagnosis, they may be able to nips some problems in the bud with mulit-sensory teaching.

good luck - you may need to be quite firm with school.

[austinsmrs]

We waited until our son was 8 for an assessment through Dyslexia Action. Ensure though that if the school has said he is showing traits of Dyslexia is goes onto School Action where they put interventions in place to help him ie LSA support, working in small groups and that he has an Individual Education Plan stating what the learning difficulty is and what actions they are making and progress. My son was on this and eventually now in YR 4 moved onto School Action Plus which includes outside intervention. This is extremely important as when you do get him assessed and include the school with a copy of the report it builds evidence if you then have to get a Statutory Assessment to ensure that the school are meeting his needs. We have just been refused a SA and we are now appealing against the Authoritys decision. Keep everything ie school reports, examples of writing you never know if you will need them in the future. Obviously school interventions work for mild cases of dyslexia but in our case our son falls in the small minority that have extremely severe problems and local authorities dont want to assess if they can get away with it. Parents who fight for the right to an education and be heard at Tribunals are often successful, Good Luck