Getting To Grips With Reading and Writing

As a dyslexia specialist, I am often approached by parents who are worried about their child’s academic development – or lack of it. As children pick up skills at different rates, it can be really hard to know what is ‘normal’ and what is a genuine cause for concern. This is especially true when it comes to the tricky business of reading and writing.

With younger children who are just learning the foundation skills, it can be particularly hard to identify if there is a problem. As with crawling, walking, talking and potty training, some kids seem to pick it up really quickly; for others it can be a long, slow (and sometimes painful!) process. The same is true for literacy skills and phonics, and parents shouldn’t be too alarmed if their child is still getting to grips with letters and sounds by the end of reception year.

When To Take Action

There are a number of different factors that can slow down the acquisition of literacy skills, including interest and motivation, opportunity to practice and age. Bear in mind that some children born in the summer months are not nearly as mature as their classmates, and for the average 5 year old, reading isn’t a high priority when there’s playing to be done! However, if your child is starting to inch their way up into key stage 1 and 2 and they are still having trouble, this is when teachers and parents need to start asking questions.

How To Go About It...

As a parent, you know your child better than anyone, and if your gut instinct tells you that something is amiss, you need to raise your concerns. Your first port of call should be their class teacher... book an appointment (don’t try to have a conversation at pick up/drop off) so that you can talk uninterrupted. Voice your concerns and ask how they feel your child is progressing. Be specific: explain exactly what you feel your child is struggling with ie what they can/can’t do, and ask the teacher for advice in how you can support them at home. Even if the teacher doesn’t feel your child is having undue difficulties, it will just mean they are on the teacher’s ‘radar’ and the teacher can then take a closer look at their performance in class. Bear in mind that there are most probably 29 other children in the class, so unless a child is misbehaving, they can sometimes slip through the net and go unnoticed.

Most schools are incredibly supportive and try to work with parents, but if the term progresses and you still feel there is a problem that is not being addressed, the next step is to book a meeting with the school SENCO. Ask for the class teacher to be present and ask what is being done to help your child. If they aren’t already getting help and support, this can be the boost needed to help the school put provisions (interventions) into place. This may mean extra phonics sessions or one-on-one reading, and may just help your child become secure with the foundation skills.

Make sure you book a follow up appointment later in the school year to discuss your child’s progress and find out how they have responded to the support. Hopefully the above would have helped them catch up, but if there is still a lack of progress it may be time to delve deeper.... at this point the school should be asking “Why is this child not responding to intervention?” and “Could there be something else causing a barrier to learning?”.

Dyslexia Testing

Many people ask me what is the best age to assess for dyslexia. Whilst there is no hard and fast rule (many children aren’t diagnosed until they are in secondary school), early intervention can mean that your child can get support from an early age and hopefully overcome their difficulties. With this in mind, I usually say 9+. There are institutions that will assess learners as young as 5, but personally I feel that the assessments are much more informative in key stage 2, as most children would (or should) have picked up the foundation skills by this point. However, no matter how old a learner is – whether in primary, secondary or even higher education – it’s never too late, and can mean that your child is given the opportunity to achieve their full potential....

Natalie Spillett is the founder of Dyslexia Support Service and is based in Chessington. If you would like to know more about dyslexia and assessing for Specific Learning Difficulties, please visit www.dyslexiasupportservice.co.uk