- Two out of my three children were diagnosed with SpLDs. Not such a surprise as our family is rife with it, identifiable through the generations! Both had very different profiles:
- Our first child was a a boy, he never crawled, was late to talk, but was gregarious with a sunny personality. Once he started school he fell behind his peers by year two in reading and spelling. He couldn’t see the board so we had his eyes tested and he wore glasses by aged eight. Normal intervention did not work.
- By year two he had an old-school teacher in her last year of teaching, who made her students line up if they needed a spelling. He was never out of the line!
- He was incredibly creative, often writing stories that were almost unintelligible unless he typed them, though the spelling was still incredibly erratic. He was given the main parts in the school productions but was put in the lowest math’s groups because he couldn’t read the questions. His reading age was well below his interest level, so we got him the many tapes of ‘The Hobbit’, which he listened to every night (over and over for a year, absorbing all the language).
- I didn’t know enough about dyslexia and dyspraxia but when I asked the Yr 5 teacher if she thought he was, the reply was “no he’s not, it’s just you are a teacher and have too high expectations!.” He was bullied by the IT teacher (unforgiveable) for his difficulties and his own frustration led to less-desirable behavior at school. It was time to move him.
- Eventually, I had him tested privately and sent him to a dyslexia-friendly school, where he was immediately put in the highest maths group (he read economics and finance at university!) and on the chess team. From then on his weaknesses were supported and his strengths celebrated. With one small ‘blip’ of a history master and a real struggle trying to get his Spanish GCSE, senior school was a great success.
- He learnt to type (essential for IT support) and he ended up head boy and with his self-esteem back on track.
- He is now an Assistant Head in an outstanding inner city school in London. He is the most brilliant teacher, not least because he knows that learning is not always easy but with high expectations and the right support, success can be achieved.
- I need to mention our second child, a girl, our non-dyslexic, as I never had to worry about her schooling, she sailed through it, was good at spelling, reading, everything in fact. However, it became clear when she was doing her A Level English and came home the weekend before, with an A3 sheet of sixty quotes to learn, that a little bit of multi-sensory, dyslexia-friendly teaching would come in handy. It did, she acted all the quotes in different locations around the garden and remembered all of them!
- In addition, at University, again support was needed when she ‘plummeted’ in her mid-year exams in the second year. It transpired that she had learnt all her English books in a linear fashion but in fact needed to compare them in themes, once in the exam, quoting examples. Of course few can make those connections under exam pressure. So with some study skill help, she prepared for the Summer exam in themes, making massive flip-charts, with the themes in the centre, placing all the book examples and quotes written in different colours and from then on achieved really high marks.
- Our third child, another girl, was also diagnosed as dyslexic, but with very different characteristics to our son. I was also a much wiser, more knowledgeable and confident parent by then! So was able to steer her education more successfully.
- She was very late to talk, read and spell but I ran her pre-school and she had a wonderfully dyslexia-friendly teacher in her first year of school. She was always conscientious and well- liked by her peers and teachers but used to panic if she was asked to read out-loud in class or have to answer a question unexpectedly (retrieval and working memory issues)
- She had one term of home-schooling prior to going in to year 5, which increased her confidence and her school provided excellent dyslexia support and had teachers who taught in dyslexia-friendly ways.
- Senior school was less of a success in terms of support and accomodations in the classroom, despite the fact that I had fought for her to have extra support rather than learn French (the only child in the school to do this) This was often the way in senior schools then, when the teachers believed it was their job to impart the WHAT to learn, not the HOW to learn (study skills).
- After disappointing GCSE results, she changed schools, study skills were included and I provided the extra support at home. She worked unbelievably hard but the study skill help meant that she could access the A Level content and went on to achieve 3As and 1B at A level.
- She went on to study Graphic Design at University and then did her PGSE at The Institute of Education in London and after three years teaching in an Inner City School and a private school in London, now teaches in Singapore. Her particular interest is in SEN children and using IT to enhance learning.
- So the ups and downs of being a parent!
- But in the end, with an open mind as to what to look for, when to assess, when to go in to battle, when to move schools, when to help and when to back off, one can influence the positive outcomes for one’s children.
- One has a few years off and then it will be the time to be the granny of (no doubt) dyslexic grandchildren!