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I think my child may have dyslexia, what can I do?

If you suspect that your child may have dyslexia you could look into having a full diagnostic assessment which a qualified specialist teacher or an educational psychologist will be able to carry out.

The assessment will look at your daughter/sons whole cognitive profile, outline her/his strengths and weaknesses and the assessor can make recommendations of how best to help and support her/him. They will then send you a report which you can then take to the school to use as basis to get support and interventions in place.

Ever since my workplace has changed to hot-desking I find I am very distracted by my colleagues talking around me; I don't want to be a spoil-sport as I like to join in, but they interrupt me and I can’t get my focus back on my work. Also my desk is often by the photocopier which is an extra noisy area.

Lots of people who are neurodivergent have challenges with concentration. Hot-desking can be an added problem as you don't always get a desk situated in an area that suits your needs. You could request a 'priority desk' that is situated away from distractions, this would give you first choice on the desk. Wearing noise-cancelling headphones or taking a laptop to a quiet area for focusing on work that requires a high degree of concentration can also be useful strategies. Working at home for parts of the week is also an adjustment that some workplaces can accommodate.

My daughter/son is struggling at school and the school is not helping. What can I do?

If you not already done so have a look at your schools SEND policy that will be published on their website. This should layout the way that they identify and support pupils who have any additional needs. See the link below for further information, http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/parent/code-of-practice.

Once you had a chance to read the information you can book an appointment to speak to the school SENCO.

Under the Code of Practice 2014 a school has to support a pupil who is falling behind in one or more areas regardless of an assessment of, for example, dyslexia. If the school puts in place support and the pupil does not catch up the support is not meeting their educational needs and the school should then contact the Local Educational Authority for specialist help.

Please look at the School Information Report and the SEN Policy, available on the school website or from the school secretary, to see what the school says it will do to support pupils and when the intervention takes place.

We do however need to let you know that an independent assessment of dyslexia will not guarantee support for a pupil. Schools do not have to implement the recommendations of the report as they frequently do not have the special support available or the resources, however a report can be used as a basis for discussion with the SENCO to see what support and interventions can be put in place.