Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) – Dyslexia
What we provide
Andrea is a qualified, Specialist Teacher and Assessor and holds an Assessment Practicing Certificate (APC) with the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) APC Number 24/APC12221
Currently she can advise on the information gathering and screening prior to assessment and deliver teaching sessions and training.
Andrea is an Associate Member of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA)- Accreditation Number: 21/AMB12101, a Member of the Dyslexia Guild (MDG) – 31845 and a full PATOSS member FLI9377.
Enquiries: andreamoorebst@gmail.com
If you suspect a child may have Dyslexia please arrange for hearing and vision checks to be carried out first – the waiting lists can be long.
Guidelines suggest it is unprofessional to diagnose if vision and hearing tests were more than 2 years ago as these are factors to consider.
“Symptoms of eye problems are almost identical to SpLD”
In addition eye changes can occur quickly, like growth spurts.
E Beresford (14/5/21)
Aston University can do binocular and visual stress assessments between October and March each year – here is a link to their website which has further information, booking details and prices. Aston Eye and Hearing Clinics | Aston University
The Dephi Study (Dyslexia Journal, 2024) outlines steps that should be taken as part of a process before assessing for dyslexia:
Stage 1: Consider, rule out and respond to other factors that might be the primary reason for reading, spelling or writing difficulties.
Stage 2: Gather further information and, where necessary, intervene with additional support fast and early. Be aware of warning signs and likely indicators that suggest the possibility of persistent difficulties.
Stage 3: Observe, record and evaluate response to intervention.
Stage 4: Where response to intervention is stalling or failing, refer for a comprehensive assessment by a specialist teacher assessor or psychologist with appropriate training.
Free colour-blindness and binocular vision screens can be added to the free NHS eye-test at opticians (you may have to ask though) – it is wise to include these to rule out binocular issues.
Hearing and auditory processing are different, as is vision and visual perception.
An optometrist can provide a wider assessment than a dispensing optician – often at an additional cost.
Behavioural optometrists specialise in paediatrics. The British Association of Behavioural Optometrists (BABO) has a list of practitioners who are members.
Carroll and Breadmore (2017) found 25% of dyslexic learners in their study had undiagnosed hearing loss.
BDA Guide for parents download
Useful Apps & Websites
Handwriting app Magic Letters:
https://www.educationalappstore.com/app/writing-magic-letters-kids-learn-to-write
Nessy Dyslexia Explained (Free E-Book)
https://website-nessycdn.com/darkroom/original/e617ab6d4bc15c85ec5ec8ce5fd85d50:cc0c443ac42ffe7b4fbfb0cf2e1c6143
Useful websites:
British Dyslexia Association (BDA)
Made By Dyslexia – Redefining Dyslexia
Links to DfE approved phonics programmes (Dec 2021)
Activities
Phonological Awareness Pack – Hertfordshire SEND Specialist Advice and Support
Government funded Trust
http://www.thedyslexia-spldtrust.org.uk/
Glossary of common phonological terms
Blending – This is when the child says the sounds or phonemes and puts them together to make a word. This is reading. The child looks at the graphemes c/a/t and says each sound before saying the word. To begin with blending is slow as the child perhaps does not know their phoneme/grapheme correspondences too well. Once they get quicker at knowing what the graphemes represent then blending will be much quicker. Eventually blending will be so fast that they will be saying the sounds in their head then saying the word. Eventually reading will become automatic.
Consonant digraphs – This is when two consecutive consonants make one sound. Examples are sh, ch, th, wh, gn.
Grapheme – is all of the letters that represent a phoneme so ‘s’ is a grapheme and ‘ai’ is a grapheme.
Phoneme – this is the smallest unit of sound that you can hear in a word. So the word c/a/t has 3 phonemes. The word s/n/a/p has 4 phonemes and the word r/ai/n has 3 phonemes. Two letters represent the /ai/ sound. In the word l/igh/t you can hear 3 phonemes. Three letters represent the /igh/ sound.
Phoneme/grapheme correspondences –knowing what the sound (phoneme) is when the child is shown the letters or letter combinations. So if you show the child ‘a’ they know the sound. If you show them ‘ai’ they know it makes the sound that you hear in the middle of ‘rain’.
Segmenting – this is when the child breaks the word up into its different phonemes for spelling or writing. So if a child is given the word ‘cat’ then they know that the sounds they can hear are /c/ /a/ /t/ and if they know their phoneme/grapheme correspondences they know how to write the graphemes for those sounds.
FOCUSS LTD - previously Steve Brown Behaviour Support & Training Ltd (SBBST) NEW WEBSITE : www.focuss.org.uk 