dyspraxic children

Advice on Special Needs and the 11 Plus Exams

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Dyspraxic mum

dyspraxic children

Post by Dyspraxic mum »

Patricia, do you know whether dyspraxic children should get extra time to complete the 11+ test papers or not? Dyspraxic children are guite slow and disorganised in everything they do, and to have a time limit put on them when they are doing something more often than not causes them anxiety. They are more often than not very bright children, and would cope in a Grammar school environment providing they are given the support they require. Would an appeal for a child like this be acceptable if they dont quite make the pass mark?
Guest

Post by Guest »

My son is dyspraxic and it was a real battle to get his strengths recognised due to the fact that ability tends to be measured by output which is very slow hard to read and quite often back to front. IQ and visual preception tests highlighted the strenghts such as figure grounding and verbal similarities and the real weaknesses auditory processing and hand eye coordination showing a six year gap between the two, ie at age 8 hand eye was 5 years but the strengths 11 years, this evidence allowed for a scribe or transcribe to be used in most cases as extra time alone would not have removed the hand eye barrier. I would say you need evidence of the abilities and the barrier the exam format may have caused. Goodluck
Dyspraxic mum

dyspraxic children

Post by Dyspraxic mum »

Dear Guest, hi thankyou so much for that info, my son seems in the same catagory, his hand eye, coordination is bad, and when you say auditory, do you mean he has hearing problems, because we seem to think our son has and he is going for a hearing test tomorrow. He is very bright mathematically, and in all his subjects, he just finds writing extremely difficult, and it is pretty illegible. How to I go about getting all these types of tests done that you mention. It has taken me 3years for the school to actually recognise there is a problem there!!Did you get them done through school or privately. I have asked about him possibly having a scriber for his sats exams but they wont commit to anything, and I find it so hard to get any answers from them at school.Thanks for your help.
patricia
Posts: 2803
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:07 pm

Post by patricia »

Dear Dyspraxic Mum

See the following link, although It comes from Bucks, it's based on a legal framework.

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/get//asse" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ... idance.pdf

What part of the country are you from?

Re appeals, post again in the appeals section asking for Etiennes advice.

Hope this helps as a starter.

Patricia
Greta

Post by Greta »

Our son also has dyspraxia and auditory processing problems ( as well as visual perception difficulties). Thanks to advice from this site and from our local Parent Partnership we did get extra time for him in the 11 plus.
Like you we have also found it hard to have the impact of his difficulties acknowledged - as he has always achieved above average so we were told he wouldn't meet the criteria for help. However he was finally formally assessed this year and all professionals were clear his problems were significant and SATS scores alone should not be seen as a measure of non -disability.
Regarding assessments we have had both private and statutory assessments - by EP, OT, optometrist and paediatrician. We needed the private assessments to get anyone to take the problems seriously but it was only when the statutory assessments by LEA / NHS staff were done that he really got the help he needed (even though the results of the assessments were the same!). Hope this helps.
patricia
Posts: 2803
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:07 pm

Post by patricia »

Dear Dyspraxic Mum

Look at the following link re SATs, scroll down menu on the left, find 12.0 Access Arrangements, look at each individual section within 12.0

http://www.qca.org.uk/eara/222.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Patricia
Dyspraxic mum

dyspraxic children

Post by Dyspraxic mum »

Hi Patricia, guest and Greta, thankyou all so much for your help and advise, I now have alot of homework to do and research into getting all these tests and things done especially for when he does his SATS. The school are not at all helpful on this matter, and when I have asked for a scriber for him they say We dont think that is possile, and it is left at that. It is a private school he is in in Berks, and I dont think they are interested in carrying out these tests themselves. I believe that if he was in a state school, it would be done through the LEA is that correct? If peadatricians are involved in thses testings, do I need to speak to my sons doctor to get it arranged? If it turns out he could have had extra time in the 11+ exam, and the fact that he didnt complete the papers, would the results from all these tests etc stand me in good stead for an appeal if one is required?Thank you all once again
HP
Posts: 438
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:06 pm

Post by HP »

Hi Dyspraxic Mum,

My son is very severely dyspraxic and we are in the state sector, I'm afraid it makes no difference. State schools are so constrained by resources, as is the NHS it is virtually impossible to get support without a fight.

I concur wholly with the guest who opted for private assessments, you have to prove your child has a difficulty before the LEA will even begin to listen. You could start with your GP but if you want to short-cut the process then you could to go the private route. If you have private health cover then you could ask your GP for a private referral to a paediatrician also, although you are perfectly entitled to an NHS referral this will take longer.

To organise an Educational Psychologist assessment try www.bps.org.uk and for an Occupational Therapy assessment go to www.otip.co.uk

Make sure that you select a professional whose area of expertise includes dyspraxia.

HP
Dyspraxic mum

dyspraxic children

Post by Dyspraxic mum »

Dear HP,
Hi and thankyou for the info, I am on the case right now. We do have private medical and Im surprised they cover this area. I will ring my Doctor and arrange a letter for that. Did your child take the 11+?
sarah

dyspraxia and the 11+

Post by sarah »

Hi,
Our son has dyspraxia and before he sat the 11+ I contacted the two grammar schools in our area to see if any concessions could be made for him.They both said no extra time would be allowed and they would not take his dyspraxia into account, but if he did not pass it would definitely be taken into account at appeal.
Hope thats of some use to you.
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