Dyslexia and sixth form interview

[2childmum]

DD has an interview for a sixth form place in a couple of weeks. She is dyslexic, and as part of her dyslexic profile can have work finding problems, particularly under stress and when tired. She can become very disfluent, and needs time to calmly think through what she wants to say so that she doesn't sound flustered. She then panics and the whole thing becomes worse!

The school know she is dyslexic, but I'm not sure whether to say anything to them in advance. We are not sure if this school is the best place for her - she has other options. I'm wondering whether to leave it and see how they deal with her in the interview, as an indication of how well they might meet her needs at the school.

I don't want it to sound like I am making excuses for her! She doesn't know whether she would prefer they know in advance either!

Any suggestions?

[kenyancowgirl]

I am assuming this is for a private school as any interview for a state school is less critical (as it is a certain standard she would have to reach to gain admission, rather than a stellar performance at interview).

Why not get her to practise a mini script (write it down and take it in with her if necessary), saying pretty much exactly what you have just told us? Once she has got through the initial "hellos" she could ask them if she could just say something before they start. Then she can say her piece - this will then mean they have to think on their feet too, as they are then aware that she has these "issues" (and I have put that in inverted commas!) so they need to make sure they try and accommodate her too.

I think most interviewers would be mighty impressed with that!

[2childmum]

Thanks for the suggestion - I'll run it past DD and see what she thinks