11 Plus Exams Forum

We've just had parents evening for our daughter who's in year 4 and there has always been a few issues with phonics/spellings that has always been put down to "age" and she'll improve as she gets older. However, her new year 4 teacher thinks she's dyslexic. She's doing really well in maths, her confidence is growing all the time. So is there children at grammar schools who are dyslexic? My son is at AGS (but English was his strongest subject) and I know of boys who have aspergers/adhd but not dyslexia.
I feel the 11+ is better suited to children who have English as their strongest subject.
She would have to score 135 in maths, 125 in nvr and 110 in english and even then that'd only score a total of 120!!!!
Can a child with dyslexia succeed/cope at a grammar school?
My daughter's mental health is more important than getting her to a grammar school but she's adamant she wants to go to SHFGS.
Anyone got any advice?
Thanks.

From what I have heard (i.e. not personal experience - just musings from friends), some schools manage children with specific needs better than others.
At this stage, it might be best focussing on getting your daughter assessed and diagnosed first. I have two sets of friends whose children were assessed for similar conditions, and both turned out not to actually be dyslexic.
As your daughter is still in Yr4, time is on your side - it might be best to work on the diagnosis/ruling out certain conditions before making plans for school selections.
Best wishes for you and your daughter.

DS was diagnosed dyslexic and attended a GS - I have mixed thoughts - he had slow processing issues mostly and school did little to help. He struggled to keep up with the pace in the GS class and teachers just pinned the label "lazy" on him. The experience meant he went from being a happy lad to one with very low self esteem.

I suspect it depends on the child and the school.

BlueBerry22 wrote:DS was diagnosed dyslexic and attended a GS - I have mixed thoughts - he had slow processing issues mostly and school did little to help. He struggled to keep up with the pace in the GS class and teachers just pinned the label "lazy" on him. The experience meant he went from being a happy lad to one with very low self esteem.

I suspect it depends on the child and the school.

This is my fear.

DH and I are still sitting on the fence about a dyslexia diagnosis for our DD tbh. I'm thinking it's more of a processing disorder (auditory) but there are very few professionals who are qualified to give an official diagnosis on that condition. I think we'll need to start with a dyslexia assessment and then take it from there. The last thing I want is for DD to struggle at a grammar school.

Thanks

Hi lea2124,

It really is worth getting an assessment earlier rather than later. My DD has dyspraxia rather than dyslexia (or other specific learning disability) and getting assessed, finally understanding how she was different and why, made a huge difference to her wellbeing. I know there can be concern about labelling a DC but it can be a huge relief. My DD was first assessed in Year 5 which meant she had all of year 4 with her differences growing more apparent and being picked on by classmates (and teachers).
With understanding, we were able to put management strategies in place. Some teachers got it and some didn’t.

Not all schools are great with SEN. Some GSs will put in support strategies if they see a SEN is holding a DC back and others will assume if the DC is passing it can’t be that bad. Once you have an assessment, and have a handle on what the problem might be, have a good chat with the SENCO of any school you are interested in. Talk to other parents. Having a SENCO and a SEN policy is not in itself enough.

ETA: DD is now thriving at her GS. I know of at least one dyslexic DC at her GS who is also doing well.

HTH
PS

Our youngest's severe dyslexia was not diagnosed until the age of 15 at the start of Y10, after several years at GS! She'd been using her own coping strategies for all that time and it was only when the work and words started to become more complex in preparation for GCSEs that the problem was identified. I was surprised as I'd helped her to prepare for 11+ several years earlier, and didn't notice anything untoward at the time apart from some strange spellings (in retrospect!) and skipped words when reading aloud. It's important to get an assessment though, as once a problem has been identified there are various measures that can be put in place to help - such as using a laptop for taking notes in class, coloured filters for textbooks and worksheets, and extra time in exams. I could be wrong, but I sometimes wonder if she would have got the help she did had she not been at a GS, as she was already a relatively high achiever by general standards before she started to hit her limits and experience real difficulties. I assume the school also had a lower-than-average demand on its SEN budget, so there was no issue about getting her assessed.