[senco-forum] Assessing and diagnosing for dyslexia

being an expert, I thought that the softly softly approach may be a better

Sorry you were let down so badly, Sophie.  In my former school (I retired
last summer), we always took parental contributions seriously and I
sometimes assessed a child when I was reasonably certain that dyslexia was
not the problem.  If it was excluded as highly unlikely, parents were
usually delighted, as we then went on to try to get to the actual specific
difficulty involved.

I can still see the joy on one mother's face; her daughter already had
hearing problems, which accounted for some of her difficulties, and she
felt that both she and her daughter could cope better knowing that
daughter had mild general learning difficulties as well as the hearing
loss!

I hope that your son is now getting the support that he needs and is
making steady progress.

Regards

jean

 On the flip side, I used the term 'Dyslexic tendancies' to a school - not
> being an expert, I thought that the softly softly approach may be a better
> way to approach the staff.
>
>   Apparantly he was just a late developer - after a shamefully long period
> on a 'late developers table'  I paid for a private assesment and
> discovered that not only is he severley Dyslexic but with a very high
> cognitive ability and possible APD.
>
>   I think the danger of saying a Dyslexic Processing Style is that it
> could rule out the possibility of a specific disorder being considered.
>
>
> Jean Dowding <jeanld at fish.co.uk> wrote:
>   Good suggestions, Stuart. I stuck to the one phrase so that any
> parents/pupils who compared notes would have the same result to discuss.
>
> As a teacher, it is so easy to say the same thing in two or three
> different ways without realising that parents may be unaware of the jargon
> and think we're talking about something different each time!
>
> Jean
>
>
> Sounds good Jean -
>> What about the terms:
>> 'Dyslexic characteristics' and 'Dyslexic processing style'- usually
>> covers
>> the working memory and processing speed difficulties ... and others!
>>
>> When it comes down to it is it not generally an 'information processing
>> difference'????
>>
>> Stuart
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk
>> [mailto:senco-forum-bounces at lists.becta.org.uk] On Behalf Of Jean
>> Dowding
>> Sent: 18 March 2008 19:29
>> To: Michael Davies
>> Cc: senco-forum at lists.becta.org.uk
>> Subject: Re: [senco-forum] Assessing and diagnosing for dyslexia
>>
>> I have a Diploma in Special Education, including a qualification in
>> Specific Learning Difficulties, from the University of Wales, which
>> enables me to assess and teach pupils (and adults) with dyslexia. I have
>> assessed children in the primary school in which I taught, since I was
>> awarded the diploma in 1994, with no objections from anyone.
>>
>> In most schools in the LA the Senco does not have a relevant
>> qualification, so assessments are done by the Pupil Support Service
>> Specialist Teachers, who have the same qualification as me. Whenever the
>> EP and I came to the conclusion that a particular child needed a
>> cognitive
>> assessment, it was not primarily to assess for dyslexia, although we
>> usually compared our results.
>>
>> In common with the Specialist Teachers and other Sencos, I always used
>> the
>> phrase "dyslexic tendencies" when discussing my findings. I found that
>> this softened the blow somewhat with parents (and children) who thought
>> that having dyslexia was the end of the world and helped them to accept
>> and be receptive to what we needed to do next. It also seemed to cover
>> the wide range of difficulties a little better than just using
>> "dyslexia".
>> After a while we all used the one word anyway!
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Jean
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>> Can anyone confirm that holders of Practising Certificates (PATOSS
>>> and/or
>>> Dyslexia Action) are allowed to assess and diagnose pupils--Primary,
>>> Secondary and F >E. for dyslexia.
>>>
>>> I have just been told that ONLY ED.PSYCH's are allowed to diagnose
>>> individuals for dyslexia.(and give the label ¬!!!!)
>>>
>>> Michael
>>> SENCO
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
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