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When I wrote about dysgraphia, I was so frustrated. My lovely boy is about to sit his GCSEs and ever since he has been at school I’ve asked for help but received nothing more than broken promises (you can catch up on how it all came to a head here).
That was a mere two and a half weeks ago and there are already major changes.
I left school on a Thursday evening, consumed by a white heat of anger. I really felt that the english department was failing to accept the gravity of the situation – and I was also mortified that it had all come to a head with the wrong person.
Bank holiday weekend gave me the opportunity to relax and assess things from a distance – time with my boys is precious and I also looked forward to a day off in the week with my hubby.
The following Wednesday morning saw Mr six and I singing our hearts out on a car journey when I received a text. My son wanted to let me know that he’d been removed from a lesson to be tested by the new SENCO (special education needs co-ordinator). He had some basic writing, reading and spelling tests and was then sent back to class. Then in the afternoon he text again to let me know that he’d been re-tested but this time was able to use a computer.
I guessed that the tests were to give some base lines in his ability and to compare the difference once he had a keyboard.
And just a few days later we were informed that the results were back in and the SENCO had applied for my son to sit his exams on the computer.
The SENCO rang me to give me a full update:
- She said that he had a reading age of 18 yrs+
- The quality of his writing was very poor
- He has poor formation of letters
- His sentence completion is below average
- He scored 99% on his spelling
- He types fast and accurately
- He was able to include more detail when he types
And crucially, he would be able to sit the first round of exams (this week) on the computer, in isolation (this is a real bonus as he can be easily distracted by noise due to his Asperger’s).
I cannot express how happy I am that we finally have such support. My boy is a bright student (who has been scouted by Cambridge University at 14 years of age) but was looking at failing his exams due to a condition that few people know about.
And I will be eternally grateful to the teachers within the history department who recognised that there was a problem and who sought to get help.
My advice? If you have a problem and you’re not able to access support, try a different route…