Child going to Child pscycologist

Katzy

Hi,

My 4 year old is going to a child Pscyologist in a month or so to get diagnosed to see if she has dyslexia .......not sure what to expect anyone out there have any ideas of what to expect cause i need to prepare her cause she is really really quite around people she does not know and i'm afraid she wont even do what he asks and it will make it look worse.

Her montosseri teacher first brought it my attention - not remembering nursery rythmes and songs they have been doing for the last 2 years. attention span and other little things but been my first i did not have a clue. Anyways i wont batter on.......any advice pleeeeeeease!!

Nevyn

It is a good thing that she has been caught so young and that if she needs help it will be there for her as she progresses through school.

Most likely she will spend a lil tiem getting to know the person and then be asked to play some 'games', if she gets distraught another appointment can be scheduled.

I suggest talking to her about going to the appointment and that there will be games and she has to do them and will get a reward afterwards.

You can pretend and role play with her going to meet the person and get her to sit down and colour in and copy drawning letters ect.

Lizzykins

I had to bring my now 14 year old for much the same kinds of tests when he was about 7 or 8. The psychologist was marvellous with him and if they are testing children will be well up in how to get them to cooperate. They'll give you a written report later that you can pass onto school if you like. I did this as it gave the school a lot of information as to what my lad's needs were. He didn't test as dyslexic but has definite difficuties with sequencing which affects his maths. Even though he's in secondary school now he still gets help in school which is marvellous.

di11on

It's amazing what a little prep work can do and the importance of not conveying your anxiety cannot be overrated.

My OH pulled off the best trick ever... our DD gets excited when she has to go to the dentist and it was all down to my OH preparing her and telling her about what it was going to be like.

Kids have no preconception of these things and 9 times out of 10, it's us parents who are providing the reasons to be anxious whereas there is no real reason to be aprehensive about the situation itself

Us parents think too much :-)

babyboom

My son was tested about 6 months ago and diagnosed with a very severe form of Dyslexia. He's 7. I am surprised at a child as young as 4 being tested, I was told it wasn't possible to have my son tested until he was 7 or 8 and would be expected to have some reading abilities. What I mean is, most 4 year olds can't read so testing is usually left until an age when most children would be expected to be able to read a certain amount in order to have something to measure them against. Anyway, he too is a very shy and sensitive child and initially, when the Psychologist came to the school to test him he wouldn't co-operate at all and sat in a corner. But later in the day the Resource Teacher coaxed him into the room and once he got the swing of it apparently he was very co-operative and quite enjoyed himself. Most Psychologists dealing with children have many tricks up their sleaves to get around even the most awkward child (like mine!). Hope it all goes well for you.

raemie21

Katzy wrote: »

Hi,

My 4 year old is going to a child Pscyologist in a month or so to get diagnosed to see if she has dyslexia .......not sure what to expect anyone out there have any ideas of what to expect cause i need to prepare her cause she is really really quite around people she does not know and i'm afraid she wont even do what he asks and it will make it look worse.

Her montosseri teacher first brought it my attention - not remembering nursery rythmes and songs they have been doing for the last 2 years. attention span and other little things but been my first i did not have a clue. Anyways i wont batter on.......any advice pleeeeeeease!!

Like what other poster said, it's not usual to assess a four year old for dyslexia - in fact I wouldn't think it's possible at all. Has your child started leanring about sounds and letter recognition? Even if he is slow pickking it up initially, he's only four so next year in primary school would be a far better indicator of his progress.

Are you clear yourself why you are bringing your child to see a psychologist? What exactly were the teacher's other concerns? Have you any concerns yourself? It's best to reflect on these questions before the assessment, as well as the fact that the psychologist will probably ask you them him/herself. Also, is it a private assessment or how did you send in the referral/make the appointment?

More than likely, the psychologist will use a developmental checklist with you and your child or/and perhaps assess your child's learning ability (in typical terms, 'an IQ test'). Just best to be prepared for this to happen if it's going to happen - I think sometime parents don't know what to expect in these types of assessments and then it's not a very positive experience e.g. if a child is asked to perform different tasks with block designs or answer verbal questions that may see quite 'easy,' it can be quite difficult for parents looking on, that's all.
All the best anyway, hope it goes well

littlebitdull

You are best advised to simply let the professionals do the job here. Dont try to prepare your child to "pass" the test in any way. Let the doctor see your childs level for him/her self.

But reassure your child that there is nothing to worry about, that you wont be out of the room, that there is no right or wrong, that there is no possibility of failure in any way.

I am extreemly suprised at a child this young being assesed for dyslexia, again speaking as a parent with a child with dyslexia I would have though 4 was too young to tell...or to test for really.