Don't take this as a criticism, Iain, but your comments need expanding
and qualification. I share your impression that the younger the
students, the more likely that their dyslexia has been noted by
teachers. A further condition seems to be where the students went to
school: some LEAs seem far more willing and able to support pupils
than others; historically, differences between Authorities were even
more marked. I suspect this is all about money and available resources
(gasps of amazement and surprise from the astonished readers). There is
little point in a teacher recommending a pupil be assessed if there is
not effective support available in the school. Again, many schools
seem to operate a triage system: if students are not actually failing
courses, no matter the margin by which their results fail to reflect
the effort they invest in their work, those students are hardly a
priority.

Several years ago I was speaking to a woman with regional
responsibility for supporting pupils with disabilities in schools,
perhaps hinting that I was less than impressed with the general
standard of help some students reported receiving at school. She
observed that for any one student, by scraping around and hustling, I
could probably find around £1500 a year to pay for support; she had £95
a year, no matter what level of disability the student had. This
seemed to explain a great deal that had previously been obscure to me.
Unless disability support in schools begins to be funded directly by
central government (in the way of HE), the situation seems unlikely to
change.

Regards, Bernard

On Mon, 3 Mar 2003 10:36:01 +0000 Iain Hood <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Don't take this as a criticism, David, but I want to look at your work
> from another angle.
>
> The group you see is selective: they need to see you because they have
> no previous assessment, or have a previous, but a more recent or
> updated version is needed. An averaged out 70/30 split seems reasonable.
> (The gender difference remains, as ever, worrying.)
>
> But students who have a full and adequate assessment from school or
> college will go forward for DSA, needs assessment etc with guidance
> from someone with a job like mine without reference to someone with a
> job like yours.
>
> I'd say that over the years, as the changes in schools have progressed,
> there have been more people turning up with better, more responsive,
> flexible "school was really good about it" stories than before. This is
> my anecdotal experience. Maybe others will disagree.
>
> Hope this different aspect helps balance your views (if you want that).
> No doubt you and I will still see enough cases of "no one ever did
> anything about it before..." to stay in gainful employment for long
> enough to come. Unfortunately.
>
> Iain
>
>
> On Mon, 3 Mar 2003 09:43:20 +0000 David Grant <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > "I just want with help and assistance to endeavour to make a submission to
> > government on behalf of disabled student right to fair access into HE. "
> >
> > Barry.
> >
> >
> > In an ideal world I would not be needed. The proportion of students I see
> > who I diagnose as being dyslexic and/or dyspraxic for the first time in
> > their life, is very high.
> >
> > My analysis of students I saw over the academic year 2001-2002 reveals that
> > of those students with English as their first language, 83% of female
> > students and 59% of male students had not previously been diagnosed as being
> > dyslexic/dyspraxic.
> >
> > For students with English as a second or third language the figure was even
> > higher: 85%.
> >
> >
> > The implications are very clear. There is a significant failure by schools
> > to recognise significant signs of dyslexia/dyspraxia. When such signs are
> > recognised, boys are more likely to be recognised than girls as having a
> > specific learning difficulty, and pupils with English as a second language
> > are least likely to be picked up. There is a systematic gender and
> > ethnicity bias that influnences who is diagnosed and who therefore receives
> > support. This is highly likely to be reflected in exam success and an
> > opportunity to gain access to the higher education institution of choice.
> >
> > It is a tribute to the universities & colleges I see students from that
> > these oversights are being picked up, and a tribute to the students that
> > they have, often against significant difficulties, persisted and reached HE.
> >
> > Now if the money for DSA's was put into effective diagnosis and support at
> > primary school level..........
> >
> > David
> >
> > David Grant, PhD., Chartered Psychologist
> > dyslexia diagnosis - a specialist service for students
> > 3 Rosebank Road
> > Hanwell
> > London W7 2EW
> >
> > Tel: 020 8579 1902
> >
> > e-mail: [log in to unmask]
> >
> >
>
> ----------------------
> Iain Hood
> Senior Student Adviser, Learning Support
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Student Support Services
> Anglia Polytechnic University
> East Road
> Cambridge
> CB1 1PT
>
> 01223 363271 ex 2316

----------------------
Bernard Doherty
Student Adviser
ACCESS Centre
Anglia Polytechnic University

Tel: 01223 363271 x2534
Fax: 01223 417730
Minicom: 01223 576155
[log in to unmask]