Professional Practice Paper 3826 February 2010(1st Revision)

MIDLOTHIAN ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING STAGED SYSTEM (MAPSS) FRAMEWORK FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DYSLEXIA

Guidance issued by: Director, Education and Communities

1. INTRODUCTION

DefinitionThe following working definition of dyslexia has been developed by the Scottish Government, Dyslexia Scotland and the Cross Party Group on Dyslexia in the Scottish Parliament. This is one of many definitions available.

Dyslexia can be described as a continuum of difficulties in learning to read, write and/or spell, which persist despite the provision of appropriate learning opportunities. These difficulties often do not reflect an individual’s cognitive abilities and may not be typical of performance in other areas.

The impact of dyslexia as a barrier to learning varies in degree according to the learning and teaching environment, as there are often associated difficulties such as:

auditory and /or visual processing of language-based information phonological awareness oral language skills and reading fluency short-term and working memory sequencing and directionality number skills organisational ability motor skills and coordination.

Terminology‘Dyslexia’ is the preferred term for this area of difficulties and is now widely used by professionals and parents alike. The term ‘dyslexia’ is interchangeable with Specific Learning Difficulties.

2. BACKGROUND

Dyslexia has been researched from the following standpoints:

Behavioural – Observing how the child’s learning is affected, particularly in respect of reading, writing and spelling, has given rise to the discrepancy theory.

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Midlothian

Cognitive – Focusing on identifying a cause, for example poor short term or working memory, auditory or visual processing difficulties.

Neurological – Focusing on the differences in brain formation and function, and the relationship between right and left hemispheres of the brain.

Dyslexia exists in all cultures and across the range of abilities and socio-economic backgrounds. It is a hereditary, life-long, neurodevelopment condition. Unidentified, dyslexia is likely to result in low self esteem, high stress, atypical behaviour, and low achievement.

Learners with dyslexia will benefit from early identification, appropriate intervention and targeted effective teaching, enabling them to become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens.

3. EFFECTS ON LEARNING

Dyslexia represents a continuum of difficulties and needs. It ranges from mild to severe, and tends to cluster around such areas as organisation, word finding and phonological awareness. In its severe form, it can cause a learner to have considerable difficulty trying to access literacy and so fail to read and write. At the other end of the continuum, the learner may seem to have little or no difficulty reading but, despite great effort, will still struggle with spelling in written work. No two learners will present the same set of difficulties.

STAGED SYSTEM OF ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING (MAPSS) TO REDUCE BARRIERS TO LEARNING FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DYSLEXIA

Learners and their parents are actively involved throughout the process of assessment and planning.

It is Midlothian’s policy to have a whole school approach to making all staff aware of effective practice in literacy development.

Stage 1

The class/subject teacher recognises that a learner has a problem in acquiring literacy and could be on the dyslexic continuum. With advice from the Support for Learning teacher and within the classroom setting, the teacher carries out observations using a list of indicators (see Appendix 1).

Assessment information and any other relevant documents in the Pupil Progress Record (PPR) should be referred to, for example evidence of spoken language difficulties at the pre-school stage and involvement of the Literacy Support Service in the primary. In secondary a subject teacher would discuss any concerns with the subject Principal Teacher and then usually consult with the Principal Teacher, Support for Learning.

Together, the teachers draw up a profile of strengths and barriers to learning, and discuss strategies, which could be used to inform planning for future learning. The manager, with responsibility for Support for Learning in the school, is informed of this assessment and planning, to add to the pupil’s records.

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Discussions with parents should provide additional information to assist planning and support.

Stage 2

The class teacher in the primary and Support for Learning or subject teacher in secondary completes an Identifying Concerns Form (see Appendix 2) and collates associated evidence. Following discussion with the class/subject teacher, the Support for Learning teacher will carry out any further assessments. Appendix 3, focussing on reading and writing skills, is a useful tool but may not be relevant for some secondary pupils. Appendix 4 lists some of the current assessment tools available.

This assessment process should provide information in many of the following areas:

Self esteem Spoken language Phonological processing Auditory/visual processing Following instructions Co-ordination Handwriting Reading Organisational skills.

The results of these assessments will help the class teacher and Support for Learning teacher to plan and differentiate to meet the needs of the learner. Where further advice is required, the first point of contact should be the locality Principal Teacher, Support for Learning in the primary sector and the Principal Teacher, Support for Learning in the secondary sector. Thereafter consultation with the following services may be useful:

Literacy Support Service (consultation session) ICT Service – Additional Support Needs Educational Psychologist Speech and Language Therapy Occupational Therapy.

For those learners requiring highly individualised support an Individualised Educational Plan (IEP) identifies long and short term targets based on strengths and barriers to learning. As the learner and the parents are central to this process they are encouraged to participate as full partners.

Where barriers to learning persist, referral to the above Support Services may be made.

Throughout Stage 2 it may be useful to consider and review any alternative arrangements which may be necessary to enable the learners to attain their potential in National Assessment.

Stage 3

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At this stage, the barriers to learning will be multiple and complex, requiring in-depth multi-agency assessment and planning.

If a learner has significant and continuing support from agencies external to Education, for example, Social Work or Health, a Co-ordinated Support Plan or Children and Young Person’s Multi-Agency Plan (CYP/MAP) may be required.

DONALD S MACKAYDirector, Education and Communities

26 February 2010 (1st Revision)(Original document 20 April 2007)

Contact Person: Theresa MacVarish, Manager, Support for Learning 0131 271 3939 e-mail theresa.macvarish@midlothian.gov.uk

Paper Circulated to: Senior Managers (Education and Communities), Teacher Unions, HMIE District Inspector, Children’s Services Planning Group, Partnership Nurseries

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Appendix 1

OBSERVATION INDICATORS

A younger learner (up to 8 years) may:

Find it hard to learn letter/sound relationships Confuse letters or words with similar shapes or sounds Find it hard to sound out simple words Reverse, insert or omit letters and numbers Have difficulty spelling very simple regular words Muddle the order of letters and words Keep losing the place while reading Read and do written work very slowly Have difficulty pronouncing longer common words Have difficulty hearing rhymes and sounds within words Have poorly spaced, poorly formed, large faint or small heavily indented handwriting Have difficulty memorising sequences (especially in number work) Be slow to learn to tell the time Be slow to learn to tie shoe laces Have difficulty memorising alphabet, days of the week, months in order Confuse left/right, up/down Have delayed or idiosyncratic speech and language development Have word finding difficulties Have persisting difficulties pronouncing some speech sounds Have difficulty carrying out a spoken instruction or, more commonly, multiple spoken

instructions Have difficulty organising himself Have poor co-ordination and depth perception.

The learner who is articulate and able in non-literacy based tasks, and yet displays persistent difficulty in several of the above areas, may be on the dyslexic continuum

An older pupil may:

- Still have difficulty with reading Read adequately but slowly, making careless errors, and tiring in extended reading

situations Have considerable spelling difficulties Have difficulty copying from the blackboard or a book Have failed to accumulate a core of common words Still confuse some letters, for example b and d, and words, for example was and saw, in

reading and writing Still have difficulty pronouncing longer common words Continue to have difficulties with rhyme and phonological awareness Do written work slowly Miss out sounds or syllables in words, spoken or written Have difficulty memorising number bonds, tables, etc

Reverse letters, numbers and order of numbers, for example 36 and 63Page 5 of 9

Appendix 1

Still confuse left/right or up/down Still have difficulty with the sequence of days, months, the alphabet Have poorly formed, poorly spaced immature handwriting Have difficulty remembering spoken instructions Frequently appear confused and process only parts of a lesson Have word finding difficulties Lack self-confidence, have poor self image Have fear of new situations Appear tired because of the huge effort needed to complete fairly ordinary tasks that

others find straightforward Try to hide their difficulties to avoid embarrassment.

These lists are not checklists: rather they enable class teachers and Support for Learning teachers to draw up a profile of strengths and areas of needs which will help to focus planning for future learning.

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Appendix 2

Identifying Concerns Form Date……………..

Name …………………………………………… DofB ……………………….. Class …….

Age …….. Years ……... Months Class/Subject Teacher ………………………..

Are you aware of any repeated stage in primary/nursery education? YES/NO

Are support services involved?

Support for Learning Speech and Language Therapy

Occupational Therapy Educational Psychologist

Other (please specify) ……………………………………………………

Areas of Strength – please highlight

Verbal Skills Art Drama

Mathematics Sports

Other observed areas of strength

Have you observed difficulties in any of the following areas?(Use highlighter pen to identify them)

Self-esteem Gross Motor Skills Fine Motor Skills

Following instructions Concentration Lethargy

Behaviour Daydreaming Avoids starting work

Social skills Memory Organisation

Other areas of general concern

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Appendix 3

Now look specifically at language skills. Use a highlighter pen but remember to collect examples of some of these concerns.

Reading Written Skills

Has not kept apace with the general development of his peers.

Written work does not match with oral skills.

Reading aloud is laborious and stressful. Work looks poorly presented with many mistakes.

Does not recognise familiar words automatically.

Poor handwriting that often deteriorates as the work progresses.

Can experience difficulty with a word read earlier in the passage.

Work is rarely finished. Bare minimum produced.

Uses initial letter sound clues to guess at words (sometimes bizarrely).

Ongoing reversals of letters, for example b and d, p and q.

Can sound out words but then cannot blend the sounds.

Letter/sound confusion, for example b and p, t and d.

Cannot isolate beginnings and endings of words.

Phonetic spelling that is not age appropriate.

Does not recognise how to break words down into syllables.

Bizarre spelling that does not appear to follow rules.

Problems in repeating the sequence of sound heard in words.

Spells the same word differently in the work (sometimes correctly).

Can decode but without comprehension. Punctuation of work presents difficulty including use of capital letters.

Cannot summarise what has been read to comprehension is poor.

Child unable to read back work produced.

The reading material in use at present appears to be inappropriate.

Small words are frequently missed out in sentences, eg the, so, if.

Does not use contextual clues. Cannot remember planned sentences/story lines.

Jumps words and lines when reading and/or loses place in text.

Does not stick to planning guidelines when story writing.

Ignores punctuation when reading. Copying from the board is slow and inaccurate.

Any other factors you have noticed.

Date completed …………………………….. By ……………………………………

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Appendix 4

REFERENCES

www.dyslexiascotland.org.uk

I am Dyslexic – site created by and for dyslexic teenagers: www.iamdyslexic.com

www.frameworkforinclusion.org/dyslexiaassessment

Count Me In – Responding to Dyslexia published by University of Strathclyde

Understanding, Identifying and Responding to Specific Learning Difficulties – Scottish Borders Council

Inclusive Practices – East Lothian Council

Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia) – A Teacher’s Guide by Margaret Crombie

Dyslexia – An In-Service Training Pack and Handbook for Primary/Secondary Teachers – City of Edinburgh Council

Literacy Support Service – Information leaflet

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