Testing for dyslexia

[viz48]

I have a friend whose youngest son shows signs of dyslexia. His school has recognised this and makes some allowances for it but he has not been officially tested for dsylexia as the " child phycologist was too busy" .

I have been told that every child suspected of having dyslexia is entitled to a test ( we live in scotland). Is this so?

[froggequene]

I can't really advise because there are differences in some areas between England & Scotland but in England, parents can also contact the Local Authority's Educational Psychology Service to request that the child be tested for dyslexia not just the schools. Your friend should contact her Local Authority & ask to speak to the Educational Psychology Section, she should also ask to speak to the Special Educational Needs section as they may be able to advise on alternative organisations that offer dyslexia testing.

Also contact the Parent Partnership for independent help & advice for parents of children who may have special educational needs:
http://www.enquire.org.uk/pcp/index.php

Also try:
http://www.dyslexiascotland.org.uk/index.aspx? sid=5

And for Special Educational Needs in Scotland:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/documents4/ edu-00.htm

[ladyalex]

Have a look at this website, it may help.

www.dyslexiascotland.org.uk

[amonty1144]

It depends on the age of the child, they do not formally test for dyslexia until the child is 7. They may do informal tests in school, usually by the special needs teacher but an educational psychologist must make the formal diagnosis. They are reluctant to do the tests as they can put a lot of pressure on the child.
My son is currently going through the process and it does take a long time. He had his first test a year ago which was about vocabulary and verbal skills, this indicates whether the child is a slow learner or has dyslexia.
I can recommend the reading programme 'Fuzzbuzz', available on Amazon, includes reading books and workbooks, my son is growing great guns with it.
Let us know how you get on.

[blondytops]

My son was tested for dsylexia when he was 8, junior school gave him 1 hour per week with a special needs teacher, at secondary school he was put in the special needs class and forgotten, no help whatsoever, he clawed his way up with my help and a lot of hard work, by the time he did his g.c.s e's they give him an extra 30 mns. to do the exams, but only because I pushed for the extra time. he obtained 11 passes nothing under a c,went on to get 3 A levels with no extra time and no help, he is now at university in his 3rd year doing biological sciences, going on to do his masters next year, by the way the uni has given him all the help he needs, and both his father and myself are really proud of him and all he has achieved, i hope what he has achieved will hope to parents of dyslexic children. by the way I think that from what i have heard scotland give more help than England.

[sandbach99]

I know this sounds crazy but my daughter [ now 40] and grandson both had dyslexia. She had no help at all all through school, virtually unheard of then, grandson was told he was not dyslexic until the age 10 STATS when to help the school he was told he was, previously the school insisted he wasn't and they had tested him..

When daughter was 21 I saw a programme on sky this said black is made up of all colours in the spectrum, some dyslexics don't see a colour thus the words all jumble up together.
To retrain the eyes/brain to see all colours glasses can be obtained with the missing colour, within a few weeks the glasses are rarely needed.

Daughter had bright orange, grandson a dark purple.

Go to an optician and ask if they do the tests for missing colours and dyslexia, if this is the reason for your childs dyslexia get the cheapest glasses possible only needed for a few weeks and their reading age will increase years within a few weeks.

I know how crazy this sounds but it is wonderful to see your child read even if they look rather strange,

If you can change the background colour on yor computer and type black words you may notice he can read some better. You have nothing to loose by going to the opticians.

[viz48]

Thanks to everyone for these responses. they have been really helpful........Viz