Hi IMs,
I am looking for some guidance from others that may have or currently are working through a situation similar to our.
A few back points:
*We live in Victoria's western suburbs.
*My son just turned 8 (eldest of 2)
*There is a strong family history of dyslexia on his dads side
*I have been pushing the school for an assessment since early/mid grade 1
*My son is now in grade 2
*I work full time and have no support to fall back on. All my family live interstate.
My questions are:
1) If the school/Education Department wont support him, how can I?
2) What can the school actually do?
3) Is there any groups that I can put him in to help him realise he isn't alone?
4) At this point in time I am struggling with the cost of his tests and appointments, will these costs be on going? is there support in place financially?
5) Do you have any advise or words of wisdom? I'm at a loss, I simply hate seeing my baby struggle.
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IM SORRY, I TRIED TO KEEP IT SHORT
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My son is a very bright boy, I know, we all say that. However this seems to be the perception of everyone he comes in to contact with. He shines on stage in performing arts and is incredibly bright in math.
Mid-Prep, I realised he wasn't really working up to the same standard of his peers, I spoke with his prep teacher about this and she said he was just lacking confidence and he would soon improve.
By the end of prep, there was no improvement, after reading with him frequently at home, I began to wonder if he was having difficulties with his vision. Early grade 1, I took him to the optometrist who noted that he was very slightly long sited, to the point that had I not told him of my Son's learning difficulties, he would not have prescribed glasses for him. None the less, we got the prescribed glasses and unfortunately they still brought no improvement.
He was also placed in a reading recovery program at school for 4 terms which brought no improvement.
As my son had the same teacher from prep from grade 1, at our mid year parent, teacher meeting I brought it up again, this time touching on the subject of dyslexia. His teacher expressed that she was not concerned and again said he was simply lacking confidence and that he would pick up.
This wasn't good enough for me so I enrolled my son in private tutoring for his reading, we spent 6 months and thousands of dollars trying to catch him up only to see next to no improvement.
When we learned he would have a new teacher for grade 2 we became hopeful that she may be just what he needs.
However, during parent help in my daughters grade 1 class, I realised that the children in grade 1 that were struggling we still leaps and bounds ahead of where my son was at. I know we shouldn't compare children but it heightened my concerns for his education. So I made an appointment with the Education Coordinator at his school.
During our conversation, she told me my son was only 6 months behind and they were not concerned for his education, basically expressing that he was lazy and if he wanted to improve only he was capable of making that happen.
That night I sat down to do his homework with him and thought instead of offering the usual assistance, I'd take a step back and see how he managed on his own. He flew through the math work, as he always does. However, when he turned the page to literacy his face dropped. I didn't step in, I told him he could do it and continued to watch as he stared at the page with a look of fear and confusion... My heart broke watching the pain in his eyes, I could see myself that he was trying and yet it just didn't sink in for him. After about 15 minutes of trying to figure it out himself, he started sobbing and crying, telling me he was dumb and that he would never be able to do it because the words don't look like words.
Still the school insisted he wasn't that far behind and there was no cause for concern.
The next day I sent him to school and made an appointment with our GP, as I was leaving parent help from my daughters classroom my son came running over to me in tears begging me not to make him go back to class. So I signed him out and took him home, where he told me that he had asked his teacher for help and she had told him "If you tried as much as you complain you would be able to do it".
At the appointment with our GP I was in tears explaining it. Of course he wasn't confident, of course he'd given up because after 2 years of trying your hardest and being told that the only way to do it was to try harder, I would give up too! Our GP calmed me down, told me I had done all the right things at this point and referred us to a Pead.
Fast forward 3 weeks, we had our appointment with the Pead. He asked questions, spoke with my son and had him read and write a few different things. He was almost immediately convinced that my son is in fact dyslexic. For the first time I didn't feel like a crazy mum. He told me my son's handwriting is actually quite neat however his spelling, reading and writing are significantly behind where they should be. My son was able to tell the doctor in detail about his morning "I woke up and had a shower, then mum made me a toasted cheese sandwich for breakfast..." and so on. However, when asked to write that down it came out "i woc ap" (after about 10 minutes of writing).
The GP gave me a few tasks. Get a psycho educational assesment done as well as an IQ test. I also had to fill out some forms and have his teacher do the same. We will meet back in the new term to reach a diagnosis. (Pead wants to rule out ADHD)
So I spoke with the school because to Pead said they could do the IQ test however, the school told me my son was not far enough behind and that they would not do the test.
I was furious at the though of how far behind my son would be if he hadn't had tutoring. I sent a lengthy email to the Education Department and just yesterday received a phone call back from them to tell me that my son is 12 months behind in reading and 6 months behind in writing.
The school are however saying, that he still may not be far enough behind to asses him through the education department...
11 Replies
I don't have any advice, but I felt I had to comment.
I could have written the exact same thing about my 8 year old son. I have been at my wits end with the school and have been voicing my concerns for well over 1 and a half years. Basically all last year I was told 'he's a boy, they tend to be a bit slower' or 'it'll click for him'. I however have thought otherwise. Now this year the school is finally picking up on my concerns last year. They have apparently been doing numerous assessments on him. Although I'm yet to formally hear back.
I can't quite put my finger on it but I am thinking on the lines of dyslexia or a sensory processing disordered.
Like your sweet little boy, my son excells at math but struggles with literacy. He attends private tutoring once a week and has so for the past year. I have however seen slight improvement (he jumped 6 reading levels in a term).
My son is also a year behind in literary.
My son wears a very slight prescription glasses to for long sighted.
We have our pead appointment next week, so hopefully we will get a better understanding of what is going on.
Have you had your little man's hearing tested lately? Just another thing to rule out.
Best of luck with it all. Sounds like we are in similar boats.
It's a long hard road and I am learning that those who have not walked it do not understand.
I hope you and your little one get some answers soon xx
Just get the test done privately, get the diagnosis over with so then you can move forward with treatment, it's probably stuff you can do with him at home, you don't need to fork thousands more on a tutor. Most therapists give you the tools to do it yourself (like speech and OT, the hard work is done at home with you). Also, if you were spending thousands on a tutor, I presume she was working one on one with him, so surely she would have recognised and pushed you to get a diagnosis? The fact the teachers weren't concerned either, it all sounds a bit odd to me, just wait and see what the doctor says and if he does in fact have a learning disability, become an expert and read all you can to help him.
Thanks for your response!
If the test cannot be done through the school I will have them done privately as soon as I can afford it.
I do understand that a lot of the hard work will happen at home.
My question was really about where to start :)
Thanks again.
Holy crap, didn't realise it was 1200, no wonder you are pushing the school. Good luck, it sounds like you and your son have had such a hard time,at least someone is listening to you now.
My nephew is dyslexic and I used to tutor dyslexic children.
This story is all too common. Happens all the time.
Do you have SPELD in your state?
You might be able to get the educational assessment and IQ test covered under a mental health care plan.
It's worth the money to get the assessments done. i know it's expensive but waiting for the schools to do these things is such a waste of time.
Thank you!
We are off to the gp tomorrow to set up a mental health plan.
My understanding is they will be able to the psycho educational assessment with the mhp however yhe IQ test needs to be done privately and is $1200.
I have looked in to SPELD however I admittedly don't completely understand what they offer.
I know in south Australia is SPELD offer courses in how to teach literacy to people with dyslexia. They also generally know how to work the system etc so worth getting in contact with.
You might find the courses they offer useful, learning strategies that you can then use to work directly with your son would cut costs.
I'm currently out of 'retirement' working with my nephew. It's not a quick fix by any means. His reading has improved ten fold in 12 months, although he finds it tiring. His writing has a long way to go but is improving. I've had to look at alternative methods for writing in the meantime and his school has been happy to implement that for now. He's currently using an app usually used as a communication device. But we are also working on hand writing and typing.
U can get him tested for dyslexia and irlen syndrome yourself. In NSW it only cost me 200 for the original consultation.. Another 200 for the second consult and then the cost of the glasses and lenses all up aprox $1000.. My daughter has dyslexia and wears glasses witch have coloured lenses these help 100% and she is now reading and writing sooooo much better. In the mean time printing any reading on coloured papers may help... light blue paper works best for my daughter. Dyslexia isn't a problem with the eyes it's a problem in the brain when translating what they see... And fluorescent lights (usually in class rooms) and bright white paper make it harder for someone with dyslexia. Or reading through coloured plastic may also help till u get a diagnosis.
U can get him tested for dyslexia and irlen syndrome yourself. In NSW it only cost me 200 for the original consultation.. Another 200 for the second consult and then the cost of the glasses and lenses all up aprox $1000.. My daughter has dyslexia and wears glasses witch have coloured lenses these help 100% and she is now reading and writing sooooo much better. In the mean time printing any reading on coloured papers may help... light blue paper works best for my daughter. Dyslexia isn't a problem with the eyes it's a problem in the brain when translating what they see... And fluorescent lights (usually in class rooms) and bright white paper make it harder for someone with dyslexia. Or reading through coloured plastic may also help till u get a diagnosis.
Unfortunately, specific learning difficulties/delays (SLD) such as dyslexia, auditory processing disorders, sensory processing disorders DO NOT attract funding nor resources. Also, the NDIS will not fund anything like dyslexia, that is deemed to be covered under 'education'.
It is a battle, as you've already experienced, with teachers and other 'professionals' fobbing you off. Meanwhile your child's self esteem gets lower and lower. My years of frustration with trying to access help and support, was that doing the 'reading recovery' type programs never worked, one on one tutoring will never work, not unless the way they are teaching your child is different. Our kids need to be taught differently, because they think and learn differently.
My sons were recently diagnosed by an educational psychologist as having severe dyslexia. I'm yet to start them on it, but have purchased an online program called 'the ten minute tutor'. Previously, we were going to a specialised tutor (trainee teachers) who worked with the ed psych's program. It was a 45 min session once a week, then we did 5-10 minutes a day.
A good paediatrician is your first point of contact. Then they should refer you to others for assessment. The school counselor can do a psychometric assessment which will measure IQ and highlight different areas of ability. I'd keep pushing for it. Email the principal outlining your concerns. NB always communicate in writing as a record for yourself.
Irlen Syndrome is separate to dyslexia. Some people benefit from Irlen (coloured) lenses. Usually a cheap easy way of testing is to try a few different colours of cellophane over some text and ask your son to read and see if it makes a difference. A behavioural optometrist can test colours as a part of their regular testing. Just ask him/her about it.
Focus on your son's strengths and build on those skills. Join support groups and do all your own research and reading. Dont wait for doctors, teachers, etc to offer suggestions and come up with answers. You have to drive this bus. You know your son best. He is not lazy. He is not slow.