3.1 The role of parents in a diagnosis
Parents play a crucial role in the diagnosis of learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, by advocating for their (young and adult) child and seeking appropriate assessments. Taking proactive steps can ensure that their child receives the necessary support and resources to thrive.
When parents suspect their child may have dyslexia, deciding how to proceed can feel overwhelming. The journey often begins with recognising signs and determining how best to seek support. Here are two common routes parents can take to initiate a diagnosis – each with its own considerations and potential outcomes.
Option one
Step one
Make an appointment with the SENCo and present your evidence as to why you think your child may be dyslexic.
Your evidence – what to look for:
- Spelling is a key area where dyslexia shows up, more so than in reading skills. If your child struggles to learn their spellings, can’t remember them the following week or spells the same words differently within their writing, then these are key flags. They may also struggle with putting their ideas down in writing and sequencing ideas correctly.
- Dyslexia can show up in reading with a child not being able to sound out words or blend sounds into whole words. They may get to the end of a passage and not be able to tell you what they have been reading about.
- In maths, dyslexia can show up with trouble in learning their times tables and being able to work out word problems.
- Aspects such as working memory or processing speed also may be evident and thus, affecting academic performance.
Older children may consistently get low exam results despite appearing to put a lot of effort into their learning, and issues with their writing might be continually flagged up. Aside from those previously noted, common traits are:
- disorganisation
- messy written work and poor handwriting
- may write a lot, without the content being fluent; or may write little (in bullet points or similar), but good-quality content
- using the finger (or some other guide) when reading
- mixing up left/right, up/down, pull/push, letters such as b/d and words such as was/saw
The BDA [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] and the NHS provide a wealth of information regarding signs of dyslexia that may be helpful.
Step two
Never take no for an answer! It can be very difficult for a school to refuse you if you provide good evidence for why you think your child may be dyslexic.
Option two
Go private. Have a formal dyslexia assessment done. Many parents may resort to paying for an assessment themselves. A formal diagnostic assessment explores your child’s learning strengths and weaknesses and checks whether the difficulties conform to a definition of dyslexia.
Most importantly, you will take away a detailed report which makes full recommendations for the steps your child’s school needs to take to move their learning forward, which also means you know what they should be doing. This makes it much easier for you to discuss your child’s needs from a position of strength with your child’s teacher and SENCo – and talk through targeted support for your child.
Once the results and potential diagnosis come back – what next?
Many parents are put off doing an assessment for dyslexia because the school says it won’t change what they do in terms of helping your child. The reality is that they do change how they help. There are many ways a school can help your child in the classroom for free – these changes can be a great help for your child, and could be all they need to help them progress at school.
Your child may need extra time in their tests and exams so that they are not discriminated against, and a formal assessment is often the most effective way of showing a school that your child does need this. Your child’s teacher will also learn from the report whether your child struggles with verbal instructions; whether they need their learning broken down into smaller parts; or whether your child takes a bit longer to process what they must do.
Your child’s teacher(s) will then be better informed about how your child learns and they can plan effective help. Once your child leaves school, they may feel more confident, or they may feel that they would like to continue in the educational journey. You will now proceed to look at the next stage in a child’s education.