You are concerned that your child isn’t progressing at school and you suspect that dyslexia may be the reason why, but the teachers aren’t convinced. This post aims to help you look for evidence that your child has dyslexia, from the every earliest clues.   If you would like to discuss your concerns with a dyslexia specialist, then please contact me for a free 15 minute chat. Dyslexia is known to run in families, so if a close relation is dyslexic ( or you suspect that they are) or if an older sibling is dyslexic, then you should be looking out for signs at pre-school. You should also t ..read more

We all forget things sometimes but for some children, it can be very hard for them to remember things. This is a key problem for children with specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Disorder or if they are on the Autistic Spectrum. The main culprit is memory, which is a very complex thing. Memory is not made up of one thing, we have several different memories.  One is linked to language called verbal memory. Your verbal memory helps you to remember things that are said to you. There are several components to verbal memory, which makes it even more complex. I ..read more

You have looked at the signs of dyslexia, you may have completed an online screening ( there is an online one at www.nessy.com) which shows that there is a likelihood of dyslexia. What should you do next?   You should make contact with the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) at your child’s school. This is the teacher who has responsibility for ensuring any additional needs for a child are met. Request a meeting and then make sure you write down all the signs that you have noticed.   The SENCo may investigate further and offer to screen your child for dyslexia. They may br ..read more

You may have heard other parents talk about applying for an Education Healthcare Plan ( EHCP) and been advised to apply for one yourself, but you have no idea what this is.   If your child is struggling to work at age appropriate standards, then this may trigger some extra help from your child’s school. This help can be things  such as learning phonic patterns in a small group. Every school in the UK has a special education needs (SEN) budget to help students who struggle. At the time of writing this is £6000 per student.   It is quite hard to get a school to spend this on your ..read more

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School Won’t Test for Dyslexia. What Should I Do? This is a frustrating position to find yourself in and can leave parents undecided about the action that should be taken. This is also a real danger point for your child as a lot of parents don’t take any further action, believing that the teachers at the school know best. They often only receive 1-2 days training on Specific Learning Difficulties such as dyslexia so it is not surprising that they don’t always recognise what they see. This can lead to your child struggling through their school years, the BBC reported in February 2020 that some ..read more

What Age Can you Get a Dyslexia Assessment? Did you know that you can get a formal dyslexia assessment carried out at the age of 7 in the UK? However, you may not know that many signs of dyslexia show up before then and that screenings can take place from a younger age. If you are concerned that your child may have dyslexia, then I offer a free 15 minute call to discuss your concerns. Please contact me to arrange. Schools and experienced teachers can carry out a screening for dyslexia. This is can be a quick and informal process where a teacher can note down whether your child can do certain t ..read more

Does Dyslexia Affect Memory? You may suspect that your child has dyslexia or perhaps they have just been assessed as such. It may be that you’ve noticed that their memory isn’t that great sometimes and you’re just starting to think that they may be dyslexic. If you are concerned about your child’s memory then please contact me to here to discuss your concerns. The key reason for this is memory and the fact that all dyslexic’s have a key weakness in one type of memory – working memory. What is working memory? Working memory is our ability to work with information (definition by Alloway) i.e. ho ..read more

School Won’t Test for Dyslexia. What Should I Do? This is a frustrating position to find yourself in and can leave parents undecided about the action that should be taken. This is also a real danger point for your child as a lot of parents don’t take any further action, believing that the teachers at the school know best. They often only receive 1-2 days training on Specific Learning Difficulties such as dyslexia so it is not surprising that they don’t always recognise what they see. This can lead to your child struggling through their school years, the BBC reported in February 2020 that some ..read more