Dear Sir/Madam,

Why is it that dyslexic children are put into special needs classes at schools, when everyone within the education system knows this will only make matters worse?

Like all dyslexic children my son is a bright child. However, he is struggling to make progress at school. Some time ago the school placed him into a special needs class. He is one of six children who attends this class for one hour a week. The other five children are not dyslexic and are described by the school as a mixture of children who are under-achievers and academically challenged children.

Since attending these classes my son has become very unhappy indeed. He is withdrawn and depressed and continually crying. He tells me that he is 'thick' and that the other children pick on him and call him 'Dumbo',

By committing the single act of placing my son into a special needs class, the school has simultaneously destroyed my son's self-esteem, his self-confidence and has stigmatised him in the eyes of his peers.

I have been told that every school in the UK operates in a similar way. It is difficult to believe that schools could be so cruel.  What justification is there for placing a bright intelligent child into a remedial class designed to help children who are academically challenged?.

Mrs M Jones

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Dear Sir,

I would like to share with you the concerns I have for my children and for all children with learning difficulties in general, with a special emphasis on dyslexic children. I believe no one knows a child better than a concerned parent. They know by instinct and living with that child when something is wrong. They may not know the exact cause of the problem but they know there is one. When this concern relates to a child's education, their first point of contact is naturally the school. To be told by the school that your child is a "slow learner", "just does not try hard enough", or "will catch up later", is of no help to the parent or child, especially when the parent knows their child is trying their best and working very hard. This, to me shows that the school does not acknowledge that there may be another reason for the child not excelling at the level expected
for their age - The child may be dyslexic. By not acknowledging this as being the problem, the school do not have to do anything about it. The 'burying their head in the sand' and 'hope the problem will go away' approach seems to work for the school because the children will leave one school to go onto another school or to try to find employment. Unfortunately, this attitude does not help the children as the problem will not just go away, it only gets worse. Local Education Authorities and the Government are no better because if they acknowledged the fact that certain children have a learning disability then they would require to spend money to help them. I wonder how many parents are aware of how much extra money the school receives for a child who has a Statement of Educational needs and how that money is spent. If it is just combined in the general school budget, how does the parent know whether the money is spent on their child or on other school business e.g., redecorating the staff room. No matter how often the government say that they are committed to helping Education, all we hear about is "there is not enough money to go around", and the first groups to be affected are the ones that are most vulnerable i.e., the dyslexic child. This is because it is a legal minefield. Trying to understand your rights and trying to convince the LEA to act, especially if you are a single parent is an extremely difficult task.

If a group of parents throughout the country could be heard as one voice then the politicians would have to listen and do something. This must be done as quickly as possible. The Government wishes to be seen as succeeding and to do this they plan on reducing the number of children with Special Educational Statements. There are only two ways they can achieve this. One way is by investing money in effective teaching for dyslexic children so they no longer require extra help, and the other way is by making the process and qualification to receive a statement so complex fewer children will qualify. The latter is a quick fix approach, which achieves nothing other than making their figures look good. It certainly does nothing to help children with dyslexia.

Nothing hurts me more than seeing my children suffer. Watching them struggle to learn a list of spelling or battle to read or write for hours at a time knowing other children can complete the task in half the time is agony for me. Knowing my child's self-esteem is constantly being crushed by the feeling of failure, verbal bullying and ridicule they suffer at school only aggravates my pain. I am not prepared to sit back and let the Education system fail my children. Other countries acknowledge that, if they invest money in meeting the individual educational needs of dyslexic children, these children go on to become productive, self-supporting individuals rather than a burden to society. All children can learn if they are taught the way that they learn. Our Education system say our children must learn the way they teach and for the dyslexic child that does not work.

I urge all parents to support each other, but seek the help and advice of someone who understand their needs and who is not suffering the painful, emotional involvement of watching their child being victimised by the Education system.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and allowing me the opportunity to express my feelings.

Yours faithfully