I agree with everything that you are saying and feel strongly that this is
why the WAIS III should be included in the training od SpLD Dip training and
not just be given as an exclusive right to Ed Psychs.
Mark Boyce
Dyslexia Support Tutor (UWIC)
-----Original Message-----
From: David Grant [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 24 June 2003 10:00
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Educational Psychologists reports for prospective students
I have been following this thread with interest.
I do have a serious concern about the narrow focus of this discusion.
Implict in the discussion is the concept that specific learning difficulties
are synonymous with dyslexia. This may be an indavertent oversight, but it
needs correcting.
I've looked back over my records for the academic years 2000 - 2002. Of the
students referred to me for assessment approximately 25% were either
dyspraxic, dyspraxic with signs of dyslexia, or dyslexic with signs of
dyspraxia.
I would argue that dyspraxia is a more hidden learning disability than
dyslexia. It is paradoxically more impairing in higher education at the
point where the characteristic soft signs of clumsiness have often become
muted. In such cases it is only through using the WAIS-III that the hidden
cognitive deficits can be clearly exposed [usually a weak work memory, a
pronounced slow speed of visual processing, plus sometimes a dificulty with
3-D visualistation and/or a weak short-term visual memory].
The important point to remember about ed psychs is that they have ben
trained to recognise a range of specific learning difficulties. It is not
obvious to me that tutors with a SLD diploma have been provided with this
breath of knowledge, or provided with training in how to quantify visual -
as opposed to verbal - difficulties.
If we are serious about serving the best interests of students then a full
psychological assessment has to be the pre-requisite. There are a range of
specific learning difficulties. A skilled WAIS-III is central to ensuring
that the best interests of students are best served.
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]
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