Educational Psychologist

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youngmum
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:08 pm

Educational Psychologist

Post by youngmum »

I have been advised by my younger dd's school to get her assessed by an educational psychologists. She goes to an independent school; hence the need to find one myself. The school has provided a list but also said I should do a bit more research myself and find someone who does not specialise in one area.

some background; younger dd is 7 in yr 3. born in August. problem seems to be short term memory as well as following set of instructions through. She does very well in a one to one environment and the school has given been giving her one to one support since year1 but she also needs to be able to cope in a classroom environment.

I live in Chislehurst area. Please recommendations will be much appreciated. you can send me a pm. Thanks a lot
anon e mouse
Posts: 40
Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2009 4:18 pm

Re: Educational Psychologist

Post by anon e mouse »

Hi,

i was advised to find one through:

http://www.bps.org.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You need a chartered education pyschologist, i found one who had previously worked with local education authorities. Good luck.

X
youngmum
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:08 pm

Re: Educational Psychologist

Post by youngmum »

Thanks a lot anon e mouse.
i was beginning to think i'd have to trawl the internet.
i will look at the site. thanks a lot
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Educational Psychologist

Post by mystery »

Yes I think that is the best way of finding one. Maybe find someone who is willing to come to your house and sounds pleasant over the phone too? I think one that has worked for an LEA is a good idea. 7 is young and depending on what your DD is like she will need to feel "at home" to be herself. But then again some children give of their best if they are not in the home environment and the parent is out of sight. Who knows.

What you need to run past the Ed Psych is if the assessment will be any use considering that your daughter seems to do OK one to one but not in the class situation. You may need someone who is able and willing to go in and observe what is happening in class. Some private Ed Psychs do not do this. You also need to be sure school will allow this.

Is your daughter like this in all group teaching situations or is it just with particular teachers at school? Do people at Brownies, dance classes etc notice the same thing?
youngmum
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:08 pm

Re: Educational Psychologist

Post by youngmum »

Thanks so much Mystery. thinking about it, she's a very articulate and sociable child. actually quite popular in most of her peer groups.

The school has suggested getting someone that will come into the school and observe her in a classroom based environment and also see her on a one to one basis.

She does, singing, ballet and musical production on saturdays and i have not had any complaints at all. She actually seems to thrive in these areas and has passed her primary and grade 1 ballet. She also plays tennis and plays very well; her tennis tutor has moved her into the 11/12 age group and she's very confident and happy with this challenge.

She is also one of the top swimmers in her class and enjoys swimming.

The problem seems to be academic. I just got her school report yesterday as the term ended yesterday she has been giving 1 for effort which is the top mark you can get but mostly levels 2a and b's for achievement which i believe is below where she should be achieving in year 3.
Its frustrating that she's a young one and i know that part of it is maturity but I cannot bury my head in the sand and I am happy to work with the school and educational pyschologist to see if there are any underlying issues.

Its kind of worrying. :?
leanmeamum
Posts: 736
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2011 4:14 pm

Re: Educational Psychologist

Post by leanmeamum »

1 quick question - how much time she spends in front of the TV, Computer, Inter-active games i.e PS/WII, etc.

We had the same problem with our daughter but realized even few minutes in front of each affected her concentration levels so do keep this in mind as well when having your daughter assessed. A period of 2 weeks away from these made a marked difference in our daughter & even the school commented on it.
youngmum
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:08 pm

Re: Educational Psychologist

Post by youngmum »

Thanks leanmeamum
We rarely watch tv actually. we make a point of not watching tv during the school week and she has singing, ballet and musical production on saturdays anyway so again we rarely watch tv.
we watch specific programs if we like and we enjoy going to the cinema

The kids enjoy being outdoor so we do a lot of walking, cycling and crafty things.
The only interactive game we have is a WII and we have not touched it since the summer holiday. I am guessing this is because I have girls, so they are not really into computer games.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Educational Psychologist

Post by mystery »

I really wouldn't worry. From what you describe it's hard to imagine there's anything really significantly wrong in any way. But a good Ed Psych should be helpful in working out what you , school, and DD need to do to achieve more, if higher achievement is a possibility (which it sounds as though it could be as she sounds very able in all these other spheres you talk about). Maybe all the other parents are doing loads of cramming at home while you are doing stimulating things with your children.

Were you talking national curriculum levels, or your school's own internal assessment measures?
youngmum
Posts: 81
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:08 pm

Re: Educational Psychologist

Post by youngmum »

Thanks mystery,
the school gives us a report every term and whilst effort is based on the sch's standards of effort; i believe the achievement is national curriculum.

The good thing is she's oblivious to most of it; she does know she needs to practice her xs tables and spelling often because she easily forgets them but she's happy to do that and we dont make a big deal about the fact that she's behind.
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: Educational Psychologist

Post by yoyo123 »

Dyslexic children often find it more difficult in a whole class situation. Work may be written on the board and they lose their place when looking down at their book and then back up again frequently.Sometimes a hard copy in front of them is helpful.
They can also have auditory memory difficulties so if the teacher gives a long list of instructions they may be still pondering the first one and lose track.

With spellings encourage her to write the words several times as the hand movements reinforce the word they are learning. For tables have you tried songs with dance or hand movements? There are some good Cds around and the multi sensory approach again helps consolidate it. Colour coding and bullet points are good for revision and don't underestimate a ruler, horizontal bookmark or piece of paper when reading to cover the lines of writing below the one she is reading. Some dyslexics complain that the words 'jiggle about' and move when they try to concentrate hard and/or are tired. It can also be very tiring so regular breaks can help.

There are quite a few books written for parents it may be worth having a look at them to give you an insight into what she is struggling to cope with and how you can help.
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