[senco-forum] [SENco-forum] Dyslexia and general learning needs

Very many parents I advise, are reporting their children as 'having slipped through the net' all through primary phase with no identification and no additional?TA support or specialist dyslexia provision. But parents soon become much more?aware at secondary phase?-- of the serious plight their child is in -- when they come home in tears of severe stress -- early in September -- as they can't raed any of the curriculum materials, they are being teased or bullied and name called as 'thicko's' -- and increasingly with boys as being "gay" (what this has to do with being a non reader mystfies me -- but it seems it's the fashionable bullying tag in secondary nowadays). Identification then occurs at secondary due to refusal to attend school at all -- and parents then (increasingly) commission there own specialsit EP who identifies?virtually always -- significant deeply embedded dyslexia / dyscalculia.?1 in 5 is no surprise -- and fits with the high percentage of SENDIST appeals rela
 ted to literacy and dyslexia. It's a national disgrace:?see BBC news item:

Dyslexia link to school failures 

Campaigners say dyslexia could affect one child in five

Many schoolchildren could be failing reading and writing tests because they are unaware they are dyslexic, new government-funded research suggests. 

A study by Hull University academics of 1,300 children said dyslexia was a major cause of failure. 

Over half of those who did not achieve expected levels in SATS tests displayed all the signs of being dyslexic. 

The research has led to calls for more specially-trained teachers in schools as well as better diagnosis. 

'Often ignored' 

The study, commissioned by dyslexia charity Xtraordinary People, claims to be the first to firmly identify dyslexia as a major cause of underachievement in primary schools. 

It looked at seven and 11-year-olds who failed to reach expected levels of reading and writing in national tests. 

The majority - 55% - displayed all the signs of being dyslexic. 

Campaigners say the research shows many such children are being let down by schools as they could overcome the reading disorder if they received a diagnosis and specialist teaching. 

They claim the reading disorder could affect as many as one in five children and that too often it is ignored in the classroom. 

The government is piloting a scheme using specially-trained dyslexia teachers, but says it will not roll it out nationally until it is sure the teachers make a difference. 

Schools minister Andrew Adonis said the government had funded the research in question, because it wanted to ensure children with learning difficulties got the help they needed. 

He added: "The proportion of children learning to read effectively has risen significantly in recent years, and we are investing in better training for teachers in dyslexia and other learning difficulties. 

"But we intend to study the results of the pilots carefully with a view to further action." 

________________________________________________________________________
AOL's new homepage has launched. Take a tour at http://info.aol.co.uk/homepage/ now.