Late dyslexia diagnosis in Yr 6 - what do we do?
Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:57 pm
Hi All,
It's my first time on the SEN section of this forum. Our son has struggled with writing throughout his primary school, he finally caught up with his class mates two years ago with his written work but I was always concerned that his spelling and grammar were poor. His school has always dismissed my worries and told me not to worry, that spelling isn't really looked at its more the creative idea they are putting forward and just as long as he's spelling phonetically - i shouldn't worry.
But i did worry. We had a recent parents evening and i was told by his teacher that DS was achieving well, really excelling at maths and that he was pleased by his overall work. I questioned his spelling again and said i was really worried. I was that, he as a teacher wasn't concerned. After this fobbing off again, i just couldn't get rid of that little niggle in the back of my head. I phoned the dyslexia helpline explaining i was probably worrying about nothing but I wanted to know one way or another if my son was dyslexic or whether he was a poor speller. They directed me to find an ed pyschologist.
So we trundled along to the appointment, me really worried i was going to be laughed out of the building for bringing my bright son to see someone about just poor spelling. Turns out (and i love typing this) I WAS RIGHT, ALL HIS TEACHERS WERE WRONG. He has been assessed and very bright - top 1% but severely dyslexic. He's only been able to stay on level at primary school because he is so clever and had his own coping methods, but he is under performing in his school work when you take in his high IQ assessment.
It was great to hear and get a proper evaluation, at least we know now that he is capable of so much more. But what now? He's in Yr6 and wants to go to a grammar school, but he hasn't been taught how to work with his dyslexia so won't really be able to show his true potential. Has anyone else had an experience like this? We'll be speaking to his primary school SEN and passing on the ed pyschologist report but what should we be expecting his school to do to match his needs? Any information/help would be gratefully received.
It's my first time on the SEN section of this forum. Our son has struggled with writing throughout his primary school, he finally caught up with his class mates two years ago with his written work but I was always concerned that his spelling and grammar were poor. His school has always dismissed my worries and told me not to worry, that spelling isn't really looked at its more the creative idea they are putting forward and just as long as he's spelling phonetically - i shouldn't worry.
But i did worry. We had a recent parents evening and i was told by his teacher that DS was achieving well, really excelling at maths and that he was pleased by his overall work. I questioned his spelling again and said i was really worried. I was that, he as a teacher wasn't concerned. After this fobbing off again, i just couldn't get rid of that little niggle in the back of my head. I phoned the dyslexia helpline explaining i was probably worrying about nothing but I wanted to know one way or another if my son was dyslexic or whether he was a poor speller. They directed me to find an ed pyschologist.
So we trundled along to the appointment, me really worried i was going to be laughed out of the building for bringing my bright son to see someone about just poor spelling. Turns out (and i love typing this) I WAS RIGHT, ALL HIS TEACHERS WERE WRONG. He has been assessed and very bright - top 1% but severely dyslexic. He's only been able to stay on level at primary school because he is so clever and had his own coping methods, but he is under performing in his school work when you take in his high IQ assessment.
It was great to hear and get a proper evaluation, at least we know now that he is capable of so much more. But what now? He's in Yr6 and wants to go to a grammar school, but he hasn't been taught how to work with his dyslexia so won't really be able to show his true potential. Has anyone else had an experience like this? We'll be speaking to his primary school SEN and passing on the ed pyschologist report but what should we be expecting his school to do to match his needs? Any information/help would be gratefully received.