General Chat

My Step Son apparently has Dyslexia and has just moved up to Secondary School - I don't know the ins and outs of it as he lives with his Mother and she's not good at communication, but we have our doubts as to wether he really is Dyslexic, but anyway he's having an extra class to help with his English etc. The point is, whether your Son has been officially diagnosed with Dyslexia and other learning problems or not, he should still be getting help - why on earth doesn't his new School know about his problems? It's too much Red Tape and Bureaucracy I would guess - many shools are more interested in Government figures than making sure Children get a decent grad in the basic subjects. My Step Son is about 2 years behind with a lot of subjects, yet is apparently doing well at German! I think it's crazy that they're bothering with German when he had the reading ability of a Child two years younger than he is! At least your Son has two good parents to fight his corner for him - good luck with it all. Kaye x

Vikki I understand your frustration. Please feel free to rant. I have a friend whose dyslexic son wasn't highlighted at 2ndary school and he had to go through all the assessments etc again, even though his dad showed them the report done when he was in year 6 at primary. On the other hand, I work in a primary school and often have allocated time to work with special needs children who are given the time because their parents or a professional has highlighted problems. That's fine, but there are often other children in the class with more severe problems which impact on the rest of the class, who because a big fuss hasn't been kicked up get nothing. I think the whole special needs system is bonkers and its main objective appears to be the production of paper - reports, assessments, diagnosis, observations, predictions, plans, statements, statistics. We have the barmy situation where we have advisers on how to fill in a form. My opinion is if anyone thinks it worth filling in a form - then the child should get help. nell

vikki we had the same problem with our son we knew that there was something wrong cos he couldnt read or spell at the age of 10 ever since he started school we told the teachers that there was something wrong but we were told he was just 'lazy'! hubby even told them to remove him from his french lessons and spend the extra 4 lessons a week on helping him with his english! but they said that they couldnt do that cos french was part of the national curriculum he took his 12 plus and was given a place at the local secondary school i was gobsmacked! how on earth would he cope with mainstream school? we went to the open evening at his new school and told them that we were worried because of his learning difficulties.they checked his records and said that they didnt know he had learning difficulties. we explained that we had been telling the teachers for years that he couldnt read or spell but they wouldnt listen. they offered to get him statemented when he started the school . the lady who done the statement couldnt believe it! she visited my sons middle school weekly and was disgusted to think that they hadnt even mentioned him to her. hence he didnt stay long at secondary mainstream. he was transferred to a special need school which specialised in dyslexia. my son was 12 yrs old and had the reading age of a 5yr old! i could have cried.my poor little boy was struggling. when he left school at the age of 16 he had the reading age of a 13yr old .i was so proud of him he is now 25 and still struggles.he gets embarrassed. he lacks confidence but makes up for it with his great sense of humour,everybody loves him lol i think its about time that the darn teachers listened to the parents.after all we know our children better than anyone susie

Hi Ann No they never gave an excuse - they always manage to sidetrack. I hope this gets sorted quickly now. I know its only half way thru year 8 and that he has till year 11, but its such a short time considering how long it takes to get anywhere in the education system. Fingers and toes are crossed for a speedy result. Though I wont hold my breath! Vikki xx

Hi Heather hun Yes he did - but I was told at the end of his junior year that it comes to an end, although, he will still get the help but, unless he has a physical disability(off the record, literally), he wont have the actual piece of paper saying he has a statement. Apparently, the secondary schools get allocated an amount of funding according to how many children had a 'statement' in year 6 (before moving up to the secondary school). Hope you can understand that - i get a bit messy with words when im explaining stuff. Now, the thing is, his year tutor told us that its a load of rubbish regarding that last paragraph. In fact his year tutor has never heard of that happening. So now I feel like: She kicked up a fuss, give her the statement for her son then say its not available at secondary school unless you literally have a physical disability. I wouldnt mind, but I thought I had it all sorted and we could just get on with helping him to get thru school! He dislikes school so much, its hard just keeping his spirits up to get him to go. Vikki xx

Vicky, hopefully he will have a chance now to catch up before it is too late, let's hope so anyway. Did they give any excuse for not reading the notes? Ann Glos

So are you saying that he had a Statement in force when he went there and they didnt know? What happened to the Review? This sounds dodgey to me. Please nip over to the adders.org website where Im sure you will get some advice over this matter. There is no way you should wait for another assessment if he already had one.

I apologise ahead for rambling, ranting and raving.......... My son is half way thru year 8 secondary school now. I spent his infant and junior years literally fighting to get him the help and support he needed - eventually having to resort to threatening to remove him from school and going to the Chairman of board of Govenors and The Education Authority. My son was eventually 'Statmented' for his last 2 years of junior school. Now, whilst the term 'statemented' isnt so nice (and doesnt mean he is a naughty child) it does mean he gets the extra help/one-to-one/scribes for exams etc....he has dyslexia and very poor short term memory. Why am I so damn mad? The secondary school teachers didnt know he had these difficulties - or a statement, before he went there!!! We have told them umpteen times all this (because as concerned parents we phoned the school due to him being behind and struggling). Now we have to repeat ourselves and go thru this whole thing again. Im so, so mad. Nearly 2 years he has been there, and has a file over and inch thick! I had his open evening on Monday and his form teacher passed us on to the year tutor - fair enough. Now we have to wait yet again to get him assesed -AGAIN! More time wasting that could be used to teach. The year tutor had no idea he had a statement in years 5 & 6. My god do they not read notes? He has had so many detentions for 'forgetting' homework - but he just cant remember things. Im sorry for ranting - but ive just seen the statistics on the telly - 49 out of every 50 job applications wont even be considered if there is no grade C or above for english, maths and sciences! What bl**dy chance do we have? Vikki xx (rant over)

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