Daughter diagnosed with dyslexia - help!!!

[poppynurse]

My daughter started college last week, yesterday she sat tests for dyslexia and was found to be severely dyslexic. I am absolutely furious - she has been struggling at school for years but no-one has picked this up yet within a week of starting college they diagnose her. Why has the school system let her down??? Not to mention the fact that school put her in for GCSE's where the highest grade she could achieve was a D......she feels that her future is hopeless.....

[miss muppet]

Her future is not at all hopeless although I understand your/her anger. My daughter was diagnosed at primary school, did not receive any extra help except from a kind teacher who advised us that he felt she would not benefit from any extra help as she was inclined to feel that as she had dyslexia, it could be counter productive i.e. she couldn't do things because she had dyslexia, she only came out with 3 GCSE's but went on to technical college where they knew of her problem and came out with 5 A levels, 4 with good grades and got a degree at Uni and now has well-paid job. (She felt she should retake her GCSE's but college said No, take A levels but also do Maths GCSE, this one she failed because she has Discalclia - sorry this is prob wrong spelling - maybe I have dyslexia!)

[gwyther]

Hi

 

My son has had problems at school since day one, he is now 15 and in his final year.

 

All through school we have said he is disclexic but the special needs teacher and the locla co-ordinator for special needs said no he isnt disclexic. That was all in primary school.

 

We are now faced with paying for extra tuition after school to try and get decent grades.

 

It is my view that local authorities dont like to accept this problem as they will then have to spend so much money in helping the children. ie one to one lessons a reader for exams etc

 

We eventually had enough with the primary school and decided to move to a better area where we thought he would get more help. His reading age went up by 2 years in our first year here and we can actually read his writing now. I and my son feel let down by the way he was dealt with as if he had recieved the help he needed from day dot he would not be so afraid of learning or A levels!!!!

[Bookworm]

I have a strong suspicion that my husband (in his 40s) is dyslexic, but he won't do anything about it now. I have always been amazed that no-one picked up on this when he was a child, as it was obvious to me within weeks of us meeting, and I am no expert on dyslexia, I can assure you!

 

The important thing is to reassure her that her future is not hopeless. The deputy head of my son's previous mainstream school is dyslexic.

Show her this list:

Famous People with the Gift of Dyslexia

to show her that one can be dyslexic and still have a successful life.

 

Have you been given any literature on available help?

 

As for the fact she wasn't diagnosed before, you may have a recourse for negligence, but then again, I would imagine your chances for success might depend on how much evidence you have that you maintained there was a problem and yet didn't get heard, if that makes sense.

 

I'm sure there was a case a couple of years ago about someone who had been let down by the education system and got compensation, but I can't remember the details right now. I'll see if I can dig out some info on this.

 

In the meantime, hugs to you and your daughter. She may have only had "D", but I know of plenty of non-dyslexics who can't even manage that. And she's at college, again, plenty of kids I know are not managing that.

[GlasweJen]

Sorry to hear about your daughters late diagnosis, it's appalling that these LEAs get away with not diagnosing, I was diagnosed at 19 years of age because the uni realised that I physically can't get my words on paper in exams, I have considered taking this up with North Lanarkshire as I was in their schools and then a tech college there since I started school. I wanted to do medicine, if you talk to me you'd believe I could, i know my stuff inside out but writing it down and reading questions is completely beyond me.

 

I saw my guidance teacher so many times because I was so frustrated, i sat higher music twice and got pulled out the class both times because I couldn't focus on listening to the tape and writing in the boxes, music teacher labeled me as lazy even though I got a good standard grade for it. Failed higher english spectacularly, C for higher maths, Bs for all my best subjects and for every one of my exams I was estimated at an A. I'd love to ask North Lanarkshire what happened, why did I slip through the net? But it's unlikely they'll answer, I considered going through the courts for them to fund my medical degree which would have been funded through SAAS here but wont be because i'm already on a degree course but I wouldn't know how to be honest and it's all a bit daunting.

 

Aiming higher in North Lanarkshire my butt.

 

Good luck to your daughter, make sure she gets disabled student allowance.

[zaffie]

Hi

I was diagnosed dyslexic as an adult. Had a horrible time at school. Eventually got professional qualifications and a science degree. Never did manage to get o level maths. In my day Dyslexia wasn't even recognised There is always hope and a lot more help these days for students with difficulties. I believe that the Dyslexic brain needs longer to mature then if you have the ability anything is possible

 

good luck

zaffie

[tiredandangry]

Dyslexia can be helped. My youngest is dyslexic and receives no support from school. We had to go to Dyslexia Action (who train adults as well) to get proper tuition to help her, its been fantastic, she can now read and spell with all the phonic sounds she has been taught. We received a bursery for her tuition as we are on benefits. She also has cerum glasses, tinted lenses help dyslexics to see and read better and write more legibly. Rayners opticians do them, the test is £60.

 

We are now requesting a statement from the LEA so her needs can be met in school.

 

For those who would like a legal solution, a family in Leeds recently sued the LEA for over £145,000.

 

Hope this is useful.

[poppynurse]

Thank you for all your support!!!

[debtsurvivor]

Hi all, - Poppy

 

How does your daughter feel about her diagnosis does it make her more optimistic, dislexics learn lots of copeing strategies. My daughter now 26 was assessed twenty year ago when she was failing at school it was decided that after paying a high fee that she was not dislexic but as her my I was since by that time I had already passed me professional exams with a great deal of effort and time I declined. Now with word processing I manage quite well but give me a blank paper and pen and I'm back aged 7 terrified to make a mark and get it wrong.

 

Good Luck to every one.

[welderjoe]

My daughter started college last week, yesterday she sat tests for dyslexia and was found to be severely dyslexic. I am absolutely furious - she has been struggling at school for years but no-one has picked this up yet within a week of starting college they diagnose her. Why has the school system let her down??? Not to mention the fact that school put her in for GCSE's where the highest grade she could achieve was a D......she feels that her future is hopeless.....

 

happend to my daughter, found at college she was dyslexic ,and irlens syndrome, went through her entire school life without knowing and she was on the sen register and as parents we diddent know,i wrote to the schools for all documents relating to her education and the teachers had put her down a s learning difficulties ,so like you i was so angry ivbe found a solicitor to take on her case, on a no win no fee,the college has told me that only a handful of kids are assessed at school and the others are put into reading groups, basically to please ofsted and their league tables? but it really comes down to funding and where the schools allocate them, such as if an immigrint child comes into the country and cannot speak english ,when they go to school they are automatically put on the sen register, and have funds thrown at them ,until they leave school, if you want to know more contact [EDIT].

Edited April 19, 2012 by ims21
Personal details

[Nystagmite]

What good is suing going to do? If you were that worried, why didn't you mention your concerns to the school much sooner? And it's not always that obvious either - especially if the child isn't struggling that much at school.

[welderjoe]

What good is suing going to do? If you were that worried, why didn't you mention your concerns to the school much sooner? And it's not always that obvious either - especially if the child isn't struggling that much at school.

 

listen firstly we did ask the school to assess her ,and was told she was lazy, diddent try, her mind wanders but was told as well by the teacher thats all it was.

since then ive found out that the same teacher had my daughter on the sen register as learning difficulties, and at the vhigh school, if you,d take the trouble finding out your facts before making stupid childish comments you would know that the parents have to be involved in this , we werent told , and the teachers are only trained to look for the sighns of difficulties in a child ,not to assess them ,that has to be done by a professional, which is supposadley paid for by the school, that diddent happen, we had two older daughters go through the same school with no problems, i have spoken to the people who assess children ,and theyve told me that the schools dont like using money out of their budgets to do this.

so the next time you feel like being holier than thou, get your facts right, this is a country wide disgrace, that children are not being assessed when they should be, its only fools like you who come out with crass comments that hold kids back.

i,m suing for my daughter, negligence is something that i dont like in schools, neither should you or anyone else.

[assisted blonde]

Welderjoe agree with above what on earth do you hope to achieve from suing except money.

Too many people expect the education system to do everything, if i was concerned about my child to that extent I wouldnt have left it to the school, at the same time if the problem wasnt causing a great deal of damage then prehaps you are better off not having an official label.

If you hadnt got a no win no fee solicitor to take your case would you have felt strongly enough to persue it through the courts out of your own pocket? Just a thought.

[assisted blonde]

I think you will find that most people who comment on this forum are polite and are neither stupid, fools or holier than thou and have loads of common sense. You are welcome to dissagree with anyones opinion but no need for a vitriolic diatrade about it.

I support anyone who has problems with the education system but at the same time a lot of people seem to have the idea that Schools can do everything that at one time was the responsibility of the parents.

I have no question over your parenting skills I just think that there is far too much" lets sue them" in our culture today and to a large extent I blame the rise of no win no fee, have you had an accident etc etc firms.

Great you have so much back up and support, but money paid out in compensation would be better spent on Education.

 

Irlens syndrome is not identified by std educational assesments, so I dont think the school can be blamed for not picking up on this. it is a sad fact that there are a lot of children in schools who dont concentrate/play up/struggle etc and parents are in a lot of instances quick to look for a diagnosis of dyslexia. Schools cannot possibly fund the testing of so many children who in a lot of cases are just not as quick at things as others and sadly there is often an underlying cause but they do slip through the net.

Your daughter has now been identified which is good, the Irlens syndrome should be fairly easily dealt with and she is at college and getting on with her life.

Just dont get hung up and obsessed with suing the system it can take over your life.

Sometimes a different viewpoint can change a persons perspective of a problem which apart from advice is what i think this forum is all about.

[Nystagmite]

Irlens syndrome is not identified by std educational assesments, so I dont think the school can be blamed for not picking up on this.

 

Because of how it can present itself, it's not that easy to pick up. I was only tested because we had screenings (not the proper test) for Dyslexia and I had to change the background colour; as white hurts my eyes. It was suggested that I be tested for Irlens. I was tested and was told I have it. I was tested again a few weeks ago and nothing has really changed. It now explains why my handwriting was awful - if I write on white paper, I can't follow the lines. If I read on white paper, everything just jumps and is difficult to read.

 

Given that there are many reasons why children struggle at school, it's not always that obvious that someone is Dyslexic. When I had the screening done, it said that I might be mildly Dyslexic. I was then seen by an educational psychiatrist, who said that it's "impossible" for me to be Dyslexic and all the issues I have can be explained by the other diagnoses I have.

 

Too many people expect the education system to do everything, if i was concerned about my child to that extent I wouldnt have left it to the school, at the same time if the problem wasnt causing a great deal of damage then prehaps you are better off not having an official label.

 

Agreed. When I had issues, I informed the relevant people at school (normally the teachers) and it was sorted, sometimes.

 

You're the one who needs to get real. Don't understand what good suing is going to do - your daughter wasn't left out of pocket nor is she in the situation whereby she's so disabled she requires care from someone all the time.

[silverfox1961]

I have removed a couple of posts that were flaming in nature.

CAG is a place where people can come for advice and not get blasted for their troubles.

 

Please be polite, even if you don't agree with the opinions

[welderjoe]

What good is suing going to do? If you were that worried, why didn't you mention your concerns to the school much sooner? And it's not always that obvious either - especially if the child isn't struggling that much at school.

 

strange isent it, as soon as i mention support from the various sources of professionals in that field ,your outlook changes?,you see i think if you have been diagnosed yourself with dyslexia , maybe its jelousy that you diddent do something about it yourself?, or maybe you diddent have the courage too, either way don,t critisize other people for making a stand, or if youre talking about someone you know who has it ,you say the responibility of the parents, ok here,s one on the news the other day they reported that the goverment will take benefits off parents who,s child plays truant continuously, but no mention that some kids play truant because of bullying becase they are taunted by their school mates for being slow at learning and that some kids just do not want to face that, or that some kids even contemplate scuicide because of it, do you advocate those, you see there are a lot of people like you who complain and moan on places like this about a variety of subjects but are unwilling to do anything about it themselves.

irlens syndrome is accepted as a learning dissabillity,and has been around for quite a number of years, you see you cannot say o,h the education system dosent recognize this such as schools, when by the same token colleges do, so thats a contradiction in terms.

what this is ,the local authorities bury their heads in the sand hoping and praying that nobody will pick up on it and complain. its about league tables and pleasing ofsted that yes look at our position in that table good results, bright kids, yes were doing ok? but what they dont tell you is that some kids are left behind, and struggle, not just at school but their entire lives, you say ive got hung up on this, i,m a parent who feels ashamed that over the years whilst my daughter struggled, i was the one who attended parent evenings and was told she wasent a trier, that she was lazy, i was the one who took notice of those so called teachers and shouted at her to " buck her ideas up" look at your elder sisters and how well theyve done and got good jobs.

you have to realize that the greatest teacher in life is "life", i should know i sufferd a brain haemmorage and survived, so you see theirs not a lot in this world that can upset me ,the one exeption is what happend to my daughter whilst at school.

[Nystagmite]

Irlens Syndrome isn't a learning disability. It's to do with the way brain processes information. Whilst it's common with people who have developmental / learning disabilities, it's not a learning disability itself.

[assisted blonde]

Re truanting, there are some children who play truant due to bullying but there are a hell of a lot who truant because they just dont want to go to school and a lot of parents who think its other people responsibility to see the chidren get to school rather then their own. There is a serious lack of parental control in a lot of cases and while I dont advocate fining every parent whose child truents it could work in somne cases.

 

Historically children have tried to get off going to school, whether it is the I feel sick today mum (and 1/2 hour later wants to eat chocolate) or the bunking off because its a nice day and my friends are not going senario. Its in a childs nature to try and get away with it, but it all seems a bit too easy these days to say I am being bullied, someone called me names etc etc and get away with it.

 

There are children who are genuinly unhappy at school and they do need help but there really are a lot who just play up.

 

As for schools wanting the bright children to do well of course they do, sadly due to lack of streaming and grouping according to ability too many bright children are failing to reach their full potential because they are being held back as the teacher has to spend more time with the slower learners, is that fair? I dont think it is.

 

Schools are there to teach, teachers are not social workers, therapists etc but they do their best, I certainly wouldnt want their job as you cant say or do anything that might upset little johnny or his parents.

 

No I am not a teacher but I do have family who are, yes I am a parent, one of my children did play truant for quite a while until I found out then i dealt with it, she just didnt fancy going and once she had got away with it once she kept doing it.

 

There are a lot of badly behaved chilkdren around and there are a lot of children who are always going to be slower at achedemic subjects than others, there should be less emphasis on the all children are equal and must go to university, and no one can be second third or last because they might feel that they have lost school of thought, not all children can cope with acedemia some are better doing manual tasks than written work not all children should be pushed into university it should only be the brightest and then the degrees would actually say somthing.

 

In fact i do think that if there were more streaming in schools then the teachers who have the lower achievers in their classes would be better placed to spot the ones that are struggling because of a condition as they would be concentrating more on the individual children rather than having to try and deal with classes with such mixed abilities.

 

Nystagmite you are quite correct about Irlens it occurs in people without any learning disabilities as well as those who have and as such should not be classed as a learning disability.

 

To sum up I think what I am trying to get over is that Children are the responsibility of their parents not the school and if Welderjoe has the support of so many people he shouldnt be looking at suing he should be looking at campaigning far more productive in my opinion.

[silverfox1961]

In my humble opinion, I feel that to sue would not be the right way of going about this.

Complain by all means and hope someone, somewhere takes notice.

 

Why not sue?

The Education Authority have a set budget each year to help people with learning difficulties. If they have to pay out compensation from that budget then someone else loses out due to insufficient funding. While I empathise with you (My eldest is dyslexic and didn't get the help) Campaigning will have a far more productive outcome than a small amount of money

[Nystagmite]

Agreed, Silverfox. I also don't understand what exactly this money (if suing is successful) is going to do?

[assisted blonde]

Agree with above suing is not the way forward.

[welderjoe]

h,mmm well considering my daughter has dyslexia and irlens syndrome it kind of blows your argument out of the water, poor old you two my daughter is positive on both,but hey you have your moans, and groans like i said before is it jelousy that you diddent have the guts ,strength ,or even the common sense to do something about it,i dont care if you agree or not,i have the backing and support of those that test for these, my m.p.

instead of moaning on here why dont you spend your time usefully and do your own investigating like i have.

[welderjoe]

you seem to focous much on truancy, well i feel sorry for you i really do i mean you waffle on about this and that but have no real meaningful replyive allready said my daughter has dyslexia and irlens if you,d read it propperly,and if you,d read the rest propperly you would have seen i said that in some cases kids cannot face the ridicule of it from bullying,but i suppose you see what you want to see.

[assisted blonde]

Welderjoe i really dont know what your problem is, this is a discussion foum you bought up turancy i gave you my opinion, you referred to the article where it is proposed that parents of truants have money stopped from benefits, I stated my opinion. You said some children truant because they are bullied etc for being slow at learning, I dont dispute that some children are bullied and subsequently pay truant, however I dont believe that the majority of children who truant whether or not thay have a learning disabiliy truant because of bullying, they truant because they can get away with it.

 

Irlans and dyslexia are somthing that your daughter, and I reiterate what i said earlier Irlans is not picked up through std assesment and the school could not be reasonably expected to notice it.

 

I am not sure what argument is blown out of the water because your daughter has dyslexia, i must be missing somthing.

 

I am not sure where you get moans and groans from or only seeing what we want to see, the same can I suppose be said of anyone that they only see what they want to, but I have found that for the most part people on this site do give their opinion in a sensible and balanced way, they very rarely get personal and a lot of good advice is given.

 

Investigating and doing useful things is somthing that I think you will find again that a lot of people on this site do, prehaps we dont just go around telling everyone.

 

I am still confused as to what purpose suing can have except prehaps if you win giving you cash, that you will no doubt be donating to your local dyslexic society or similar to enable more research or funding for more professionals.

 

Finally stop being so tetchy about other peoples comments I am sure you are a very nice person who wants what is best for his family but being rude and abrahsive is not the way to get support for your cause as it just alienates people.