Bucks appeal, dyspraxia
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Bucks appeal, dyspraxia
Hi,
My 2nd attempt to post, not sure what went wrong 1st time.
My son scored 118 and 116. He has been diagnosed with dyspraxia and has used a word processor at school since year 4. The school head has said she will strongly support an appeal. The school doctor service did a WISC assessment in 2004 and placed his verbal IQ in the 99.6th percentile but his processing speed in the 34th percentile. There are other figures - it is a detailed report. Can we use this as evidence at appeal even though it is a couple of years old?
ANY advice welcome.
Thanks, Clare
My 2nd attempt to post, not sure what went wrong 1st time.
My son scored 118 and 116. He has been diagnosed with dyspraxia and has used a word processor at school since year 4. The school head has said she will strongly support an appeal. The school doctor service did a WISC assessment in 2004 and placed his verbal IQ in the 99.6th percentile but his processing speed in the 34th percentile. There are other figures - it is a detailed report. Can we use this as evidence at appeal even though it is a couple of years old?
ANY advice welcome.
Thanks, Clare
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Sally-Anne
- Posts: 9235
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
- Location: Buckinghamshire
Hi Clare
Yes, I am sure that this information is relevant to an appeal. It may be a couple of years old, but your son has been using the WP at school since, so the problem is ongoing and the school recognise that.
It will surely have affected his ability to complete the 11+ test paper, and I am very impressed that he achieved the scores he did!
What you will need to demonstrate is that, with the help of the WP, his academic performance is very good, i.e. that he will cope at a grammar school.
Attach a copy of the report to your appeal letter (as an appendix), and highlight the key points in your letter, in the same brief way that you have in your post on the forum.
You may like to get the Head to mention the dyspraxia/school support as well in his/her form.
I am sure that Etienne will be able to give you more advice on the handling of special needs at appeal. In the LEA rep's statement at the appeal hearing they state whether a child has special needs or not. Does he actually have a formal statement of special needs as a result?
Good luck
Sally-Anne
Yes, I am sure that this information is relevant to an appeal. It may be a couple of years old, but your son has been using the WP at school since, so the problem is ongoing and the school recognise that.
It will surely have affected his ability to complete the 11+ test paper, and I am very impressed that he achieved the scores he did!
What you will need to demonstrate is that, with the help of the WP, his academic performance is very good, i.e. that he will cope at a grammar school.
Attach a copy of the report to your appeal letter (as an appendix), and highlight the key points in your letter, in the same brief way that you have in your post on the forum.
You may like to get the Head to mention the dyspraxia/school support as well in his/her form.
I am sure that Etienne will be able to give you more advice on the handling of special needs at appeal. In the LEA rep's statement at the appeal hearing they state whether a child has special needs or not. Does he actually have a formal statement of special needs as a result?
Good luck
Sally-Anne
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Sally-Anne
- Posts: 9235
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
- Location: Buckinghamshire
Hi Clare
I'm afraid "school action plus" means nothing to me - the appeal panel may understand it, but it would be worth just explaining it very briefly at the appeal for the benefit of the lay member(s) of the panel.
I hesitated to suggest a further report as Julia did, simply because of the cost (ca. £400 privately) and the time pressure. However, a more recent report, especially a full Ed Psych report, could be helpful. If it isn't possible, use what you have.
Even though he had enlarged answer sheets you may still be able to argue that they would not compensate entirely for his dyspraxia - after all, there are degrees to all these things. The sheets might be fine for one dyspraxic child, but not be sufficiently helpful for another.
Eitenne is going to be around later, and she may have a view on that.
Sally-Anne
I'm afraid "school action plus" means nothing to me - the appeal panel may understand it, but it would be worth just explaining it very briefly at the appeal for the benefit of the lay member(s) of the panel.
I hesitated to suggest a further report as Julia did, simply because of the cost (ca. £400 privately) and the time pressure. However, a more recent report, especially a full Ed Psych report, could be helpful. If it isn't possible, use what you have.
Even though he had enlarged answer sheets you may still be able to argue that they would not compensate entirely for his dyspraxia - after all, there are degrees to all these things. The sheets might be fine for one dyspraxic child, but not be sufficiently helpful for another.
Eitenne is going to be around later, and she may have a view on that.
Sally-Anne
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Greta
Hi Clare
Firstly sorry for you and your son that he didn't get the result he wanted.
One thought re a further Ed psych report... the results of the WISC as I understand things are very reliable and don't change over time. (our son too has dyspraxia and for various reasons has had 3 WISC asessments over the last 5 years; results have been almost identical on each occasion with very similar results to yoru son). Therefore the results from year 4 would still be valid.
Our son too shows a huge gap between VIQ and PIQ. My understanding is that Verbal subtests have a very high correlation with academic potential and outcome. It might be worth seeing if this is explained in the summary of the report you have or if not consider going back to the person who did it and ask if they would be willing to explain the results he achieved. I don't know what the experience / knoweldge of the appeal panels is about things like this but I would have thought having the results clearly explained could help.
Having said all that the WISC was revised in 2004 and was updated - is now WISC IV. From what I have seen the new version includes a section on verbal reasoning and I suppose that might help, so an updated report could be useful. So it might also be worth checking which version he was tested on as it would presumably have been around the time the new version first came out.
I have to add I am saying all this as a parent - I am not an Ed Psych! but as a parent who has spent a lot of time trying to demystify some of these things I have found the best use of any tests is if they help you / the child / the school and, in this case, the panel, to understand your son's individual situation.
Good luck with your appeal.
Firstly sorry for you and your son that he didn't get the result he wanted.
One thought re a further Ed psych report... the results of the WISC as I understand things are very reliable and don't change over time. (our son too has dyspraxia and for various reasons has had 3 WISC asessments over the last 5 years; results have been almost identical on each occasion with very similar results to yoru son). Therefore the results from year 4 would still be valid.
Our son too shows a huge gap between VIQ and PIQ. My understanding is that Verbal subtests have a very high correlation with academic potential and outcome. It might be worth seeing if this is explained in the summary of the report you have or if not consider going back to the person who did it and ask if they would be willing to explain the results he achieved. I don't know what the experience / knoweldge of the appeal panels is about things like this but I would have thought having the results clearly explained could help.
Having said all that the WISC was revised in 2004 and was updated - is now WISC IV. From what I have seen the new version includes a section on verbal reasoning and I suppose that might help, so an updated report could be useful. So it might also be worth checking which version he was tested on as it would presumably have been around the time the new version first came out.
I have to add I am saying all this as a parent - I am not an Ed Psych! but as a parent who has spent a lot of time trying to demystify some of these things I have found the best use of any tests is if they help you / the child / the school and, in this case, the panel, to understand your son's individual situation.
Good luck with your appeal.
