I'm interested to read that Jonathan Ferrier found in his previous experience that dyslexia tended to be picked up more readily in the private educational sector than in state schools. Our family's experience was very different. My son, now an adult, went through to GSCE's in a high-profile public school. He had been reasonably successful in state primary school and began secondary school well. His reading and writing was slow but accurate. However, as the work towards GCSE's became more concentrated he became slower, disorganised, depressed, had daily headaches, and the school accused him of laziness. We asked several times for an educational assessment but he was given nothing but 'handy hints for note-taking'. Before his exams he was told that if he did not achieve 'C's' in the results he would not be allowed into the 6th Form. By the time he took his exams he was almost physically unable to write. He became very unwell and was subjected to invasive neurological procedures to find the cause of his symptoms. He was finally diagnosed with stress. He moved to a state 6th Form College and was immediately formally assessed and diagnosed with a form of dyslexia, which was confirmed later during employment. Although he suffered years of depression during his late teens and early twenties through the neglect of the private educational system, I shall always remain grateful for the high standard of state provision.
