Dyslexia

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mumamia

Dyslexia

Post by mumamia »

My son is bright but dyslexic. Has anyone's child had extra time etc for the Bucks 11+ ?

His school says it isn't possible - nobody from the school (state primary) has ever had any special arrangements. However, the LA say it is possible.

Any here with actual experience and whose child got more time?
Guest

Post by Guest »

Anyone from this thread still around to update us as to what happened with appeals etc?

My son is bright but dyslexic. He can't spell for toffee so a verbal reasoning test is just the worst.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Post by Guest55 »

Yes my child had extra time - you need to ring Admissions - can someone move this to SEN section please?
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Post by Sally-Anne »

Guest55:" Your wish is my command".

Nice user name, Mumamia! A close second to HermanMunster in my hall of fame.

Sally-Anne
patricia
Posts: 2803
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2006 5:07 pm

Post by patricia »

Dear Mumamia

For your information....

http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/schools/docum ... idance.pdf

Patricia
NT10
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:34 pm

Post by NT10 »

Hello,

I am currently preparing for the appeal process for my child who was recently diagnosed with dyslexia. Having read through other peoples experiences in this extremely useful forum and trying to take an objective view of my childs circumstances I can see that we are going to have a real mountain to climb to convince the appeal panel of our case ( particularly after reading Marks story in his post 'Dyslexia and reasonable adjustments' where Mark had done everything humanly possible to put together a compelling case but was unfortunately unsuccessful).

Here's the background…..

(1) Child returned excellent marks for NVR (140) and VR (128) and fell 11 marks short on maths (equates to 6 correct answers away from the pass mark).

(2) Their history is that since reception class the school have suspected a problem. They were originally referred to the local NHS trust who concluded they 'presented with a language delay problem and suffered from poor concentration'. At every following parents evening we were told 'there is something wrong but we can't put our finger on it' and eventually in Summer 2006 was referred by the school to the LEA specialist teaching service due to 'suspected dyslexia'. After testing the LEA confirmed that they met the LEAs criteria of dyslexia.

(3) Sat the 11+. The School/LEA did not put in place any 'reasonable adjustments' and they sat the 11+ with the rest of the class with no extra time granted. My feeling, although I am no expert, is that we possibly have a case here with the DDA, but for example the Bucks DDA policy document uses phrases such as "in very exceptional circumstances" and "severely dyslexic" when talking about the granting of extra time. Any ideas how these terms are defined and measured? (all I know is that my child meets the LEAs criteria of dyslexia).

(4) The School did not do an appeal and therefore will not now provide any letters of support. My feeling is that they see my child as 'average' and not as I do as highly intelligent, with a learning disability which masks their true ability and potential for success in a Grammar.

So knowing that we will have only one shot at this and the odds are stacked against us I guess I am looking for any advice as to how to position the appeal, what to focus on, what to avoid and any thoughts along the lines of 'if you want to stand a chance you really need to be doing x,y and z'.

Many thanks in advance,
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Post by Guest55 »

NT10,

I think if the VR had been low you would have a better chance of a successful appeal. Maths is not usually affected by dyslexia - but VR is.

You could ask the Head why they did not appeal -

It will be hard to prove that extra time would have made the difference -
Guest

Post by Guest »

Hi NT10

Firstly, I have to agree with Guest 55, you do have a difficult task ahead.

Secondly, Maths is affected by dyslexia- far more than is generally recognised. .

You do not say whether your child has an Educational Psychologist assessment to identify dyslexia. To gauge whether your child is dyslexic and to what degree, some formal assessments should have been undertaken. You should have received a report from the specialist service who diagnosed your child. Make sure you understand fully these reports and the results. They should identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses and ideally give an I.Q. or banded level of achievement.

Half of the population have IQ’s of between 90 and 110, while 25% have higher IQ’s and 25% have lower IQ’s:
IQ Description % of Population
130+ Very superior 2.2%
120-129 Superior 6.7%
110-119 High average 16.1%
90-109 Average 50%
80-89 Low average 16.1%
70-79 Borderline 6.7%
Below 70 Extremely low 2.2%
The higher your child’s ability, the greater your chance of success. Your son is clearly bright as reflected by his NVR score, what you will need to demonstrate is why the Maths was so low and why he is nonetheless suitable for grammar.

Dyslexia or SEN does not preclude children from attending Grammar:

This link gives stats of children on individual school roll and no of children with SEN who are supported at KS4 at School Action Plus (SAP) and School action (SA)

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetable ... s_06.shtml

Select your region and look up the school you are appealing for to get the exact stats.

How is Maths affected? Basically, short term memory problems can cause difficulty with retaining information, comprehension may be immediate but methods of problem solving may not be retained. Difficulty with the ‘language’ of maths can occur also. Dyslexics learn by concept rather than by rote, this is how memory problems are overcome. Basic mathematical functions may be understood but the method forgotten, (my daughter cannot sometimes remember basics such as how to do long division or say the formula for volume) difficulties with sequencing affects times tables – see this link for section of DFES document on Dyslexia relating to Maths

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/readwriteplus/un ... fectmaths/

Regarding “reasonable adjustments” to have a case under the DDA, your child needs to be covered by the Act. Reports, correspondence from medical practitioners or LEA specialist teaching service identifying areas of difficulty will help support a claim under the DDA.

However, you will not only need to prove that additional time should have been given but that this would have enabled your child to display his/her true potential and you will have to demonstrate this. Again study your reports carefully to see if there is any supporting evidence here as to what your child’s ability is.

You do not state if any intervention has been given to support your child in remedying the difficulties identified by the LEA specialist service, if so it seems strange that concessions were not applied for. If no support has been given then, given that his difficulties have been identified then you have to question strongly why no remedial action has taken place.

If you feel that your supporting documentation is weak then you may wish to consider an Educational Psychologist assessment of your own. Bear in mind that they are expensive, are often seen as overkill, and you may not be able to obtain one in time for your appeal hearing. If you do want to go ahead, EP details available on :

http://www.bps.org.uk/e-services/find-a ... oindex.cfm


Any more question just ask..

Good Luck

HP
HP
Posts: 438
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 2:06 pm

Post by HP »

Hi

above post from me - forgot to log in :roll:

HP
unsure mum

Post by unsure mum »

Hi HP

Thanks for your above posts.I was very interested to see the IQ table. My eldest child has gained a place at an essex grammar without a tutor, we did do the bond books and the csse practice papers. My yougest has great difficulties at school and is unable to 'output' with pen and paper, recently took year 5 maths test, scroed only level 2, re-took test 3 weeks later with a reader and scribe and scored 4A.The school are allowing him to scribe now as he needs to be 'trained' to use this skill for year 6 sats. I think that there is not a great diffrence in the verbal academic abilities of them but can't see how the youngest could attempt the 11+ without support. He is due to be assessed in May,we are paying as he doesn't perform badly enought to be assessed by the LEA, can I use the results to decide whether he should take it, if so what IQ level are we looking for and would he be able to cope at a grammar school anyway? Thanks in advance
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