Dyslexia?

plosh

Hey, was'int really too sure where to put this question.
Ok so I'm 16 and pretty much certain that I have some form of dyslexia.
I looked up the symptoms online and it basically described my life ever since I was a kid. No point in going into detail really.

So I'm wondering how I would go about getting tests because I would really like to get it off my chest.
I would also like to do it before I sit my Leaving cert but thats not really too necessary.
I've already sat the Oral Irish and French and I did horrific, I shut down completely
I'm horrible with languages and Maths.
I also never finished a test on time in my life I ALWAYS run out of time!

So can anyone help me out because I'd really like to shed some light on the matter.

JuliusCaesar

moved to PI from Psychology
JC

solerina

Schools get allowed a small amount of tests per year, go to the guidance councellor in your school and he/she may be able to get you tested, if not he/she will definately be able to tell you where to go. It may cost you if the school have used up their allowed amount this year.

diddlybit

Hey OP. Go to your school and your parents and try get tested asap. Once you have a diagnosis, there are plenty of tips and pointers to help you out and in general, third level institutions have support services if you decide to study further.

I spent years frustrated until I finally bit the bullet and went for a test two years ago and was told there is a pretty high chance that I have it. No one had really noticed because I don't have all the symptoms, but when I showed the results to my family and friends they were like "Yeah, I always thought ther was a reason you couldn't spell." It was pointless going further as I was at the stage in my studies where there was no real point in using up their resources. Just wish I'd known all those hours I wanted to beat my head against a wall trying to edit and proof my papers.

mikemac

plosh wrote: »

Ok so I'm 16 and pretty much certain that I have some form of dyslexia.

Research is good but trying to confirm something isn't always so good

plosh wrote: »

I've already sat the Oral Irish and French and I did horrific, I shut down completely
I'm horrible with languages and Maths.
I also never finished a test on time in my life I ALWAYS run out of time!
.

Yet the standard of English in your post is excellent, better then most of mine
So you're capable of doing well

plosh wrote: »

So can anyone help me out because I'd really like to shed some light on the matter.

The school career guidance councillor will have info

Ebbs

Quota is very small and usally already allocated directly to 6th years.

Tests can range in cost but I think around the 200 euro mark. I've been done and re-assesed a few times and think they were all around 200 mark.

You're in 6th year so need it done asap. There is a deadline to apply for a "specific learning disability" cert or something but I've no idea when it falls, very soon id imagine.

The actually benefits of getting the allowence isn't much. I got reassed in 6th year and despite being 4 years behind in spelling, and very low on speed proccessing, I was only offered a grammatical allowence. In english and Irish 10% of the marks are given on spelling, so thats taken out of account and instead every other percent is worth 1.11%. This only applies in languages, no other marker will be aware of your dyslexia. The other options are a reader, reader and scribe, or just scribe. While they are great in theory just wouldnt work for me.

I may sound negative but in the end I think it's really worth it. Sure, I declined the allowence but for myself personally it was good to know. Plenty of online tips on coping methods and such.

CD.

if your guidence counsellor isn't much help, you could try contacting
http://www.dyslexia.ie/
the site itself is kinda crappy, but they are really helpful. i had night classes with them when i was younger to help me to catch up with everyone else/to learn to read/write in general.
they should be able to help you with information that your guidence counsellor may not be aware of.

I had a lot of help for the leaving, i didn't have the spelling waiver (i was told it would mean i would lose ten percent and that ten percent wouldn't be made up anywhere else. so i would automatically be down ten percent. helpful eh?)
i had a word processor which really helped me lots, i was able to finish everything before the time was up and it made my exam was legible.

even if you don't get a word processor or something, you might be eligable for extra time (don't know if this is an actual thing, but something along those lines is probably in place)

And i am pretty sure the test is in the range of the 200 euro mark.

if it's mainly maths you might have dyscalculia which is specific to maths rather than dyslexia or even symptoms of both.

as far as i know, with dyslexia, you can have a lot of different symptoms of a lot of different things. the person who diagnosed me told my parents it wasn't worth defining the other symptoms to other disabilities as the labels could hold me back in later life.