you are not dyslexic!

I recently heard that at one of the top independent schools in the UK they get almost every pupil tested for dyslexia or other that may gain him/her extra time in exams. I heard that out of my friends year (approx 150) about forty get extra time - this is a school which has a formidable entrance exam and gets top results. I go to my local comp and in my year of 220 there are about 20 boys with extra time..

I simply do not believe that so many people at this high achieving school have these disorders.

It is a trend that I have noticed when discussing this story with other people - it now seems that more and more people are being deemed as dyslexic or dyspraxic or adhd etc etc

So, do you think they are faking it? Or the tests are too lenient? Or there just are more dyslexic people nowadays? How can you explain my story - it makes me so angry!

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Zangoose

It's so easy to pretend to have dyslexia just to have an extra 20 minutes in an exam. Dyslexia is possibly the greatest student hoax known to man.

Reply 2

Lydia1234

It doesn't sound right! I go to a massive college with about 2000+ in a year and in any exams i've had there is never more than 10 people (including me) in extra time rows and they screen for dyslexia when we start. I had my dyslexia test one on one by a professional that literally tested everything! It would have been near impossible to hoax as it isn't a fail or pass system it's just seeing how you think but a lot of 'dyslexia tests' (not like the one I took) are ridiculoslu simple to hoax like with writting speed test and non verbel reasoning.
I get really pissed about this as I have severs dyslexia with dyspraxia and a lot of people like to say they have it so they can get things like free laptops at uni and extra time on exams and it does make the "disorder" seem pretend.

Reply 3

lightburns

It's immoral and irresponsible when people fake disorders, because it undermines the legitimacy in the minds of peers for those who really do have disorders.

They should test for it more carefully.

Reply 4

MrHappy_J

Original post by lightburns

It's immoral and irresponsible when people fake disorders, because it undermines the legitimacy in the minds of peers for those who really do have disorders.

They should test for it more carefully.

lol have you even done the test? if you havent then you dont know how difficult it is to fake!!

Reply 5

Jenx301

I can see how it is annoying, but I just think whatever. If anyone is that desperate that they fake dyslexia then thats up to them, personally I just worry about my own results! I dont have dyslexia but I get extra time but I do get official rest breaks and I sit my exams in a seperate room, which really helps me... I think a lot of people though arent faking so to be overly harsh might mean some of them dont get the help they need.

Reply 6

Greenlaner

I do think dylexia is over diagnosed these days. Too many people seem to get labelled or label themselves as dyslexic when they are actually just inarticulate or bad at spelling and grammar, which is most likely simply due to lack of practice, not because of a mental disorder.

Reply 7

MrHappy_J

Original post by Greenlaner

its not a mental disorder its a learning disability, get your facts right. being dyslexic doesnt mean you're inarticulate or even necessarily bad at grammar and spelling. i dont even know why youd be posting on here seeing as you have such a poor understanding of what dyslexia really is. "lack of practice"- seriously??

edit: lol at the neg rep.seriously go away and do your research.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 8

Greenlaner

Original post by MrHappy_J

its not a mental disorder its a learning disability get your facts right. being dyslexic doesnt mean you're inarticulate or even necessarily bad at grammar and spelling.

Oh whatever, you get what i mean. And i never said that being dyslexic means you are inarticulate or bad at spelling/grammar. Re-read what i actually said.

Reply 9

marcusrc

Could someone who has taken the dyslexic test please post what they were asked to do? I'm just curious.

Reply 10

MrHappy_J

Original post by Greenlaner

Oh whatever, you get what i mean. And i never said that being dyslexic means you are inarticulate or bad at spelling/grammar. Re-read what i actually said.

not really, there's a very clear difference between one thing and the other. i think you ought to re read your own post as your implications were clear.

Reply 11

MrHappy_J

Original post by marcusrc

Could someone who has taken the dyslexic test please post what they were asked to do? I'm just curious.

i took mine three years ago so i dont remember much. there were six sessions in total, once per week. some of it was reading and comprehension, and they timed you on how fast you could read inside and aloud and how well you understood what you read. then there's the phonetics test where they make you repeat meaningless sounds, each time they get longer so you need to try and remember them. then there's one where you have to make shapes illustrated on a piece of paper. thats it really. theyre basically testing you on visual processing, short term memory, vocabulary, reading ability and comprehension. apparently i lack visual processing abilities (remembering and visualising shapes and colours, which can impact on facial recognition for example) and my reading is very slow.

it's basically very hard to fake the results of a test like that.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 12

Liam_G

There was a boy in my year at school who was dyslexic, and so in his English Literature GCSE he was given more time than everyone else, and he was also given a scribe, he managed to achieve a D grade. This grade was then bumped up to a B, in reflection of his condition... I was like "okay... :indiff:

" Fair enough that he was given extra time, and having a scribe is understandable, but then boosting his score by two grades? Why? So he doesn't feel bad about himself? That exam was supposed to be a reflection on his English literacy skills, and given the fact that he couldn't spell, (which I'm not saying was his fault), I don't think it was :dontknow:

Reply 13

lightburns

Original post by MrHappy_J

lol have you even done the test? if you havent then you dont know how difficult it is to fake!!

No, I'm not dyslexic. So I admit that my knowledge of this area is nowhere near brilliant.

How is it that I've heard rants where it's been a ridiculous percentage of the school/university receiving extra time due to dyslexia? Is a third of the population dyslexic? If they test everyone to an extent its near impossible to fake, then are people like the OP making it up, or what? Genuinely interested in an answer, not trying to make an argument!

Reply 14

beckylewis

Original post by marcusrc

Could someone who has taken the dyslexic test please post what they were asked to do? I'm just curious.

i had to do loads of test like reading words that have a different colour and you have to aay thename of thecolour not the word, erm spelling test, i had to read a passage outloud :colondollar:

i had a thorugh interview, I had to name pictures as many as i could in a minute. Loads of different tests it lasted ages. i dont rely no how you would be able to fake it as it is very thorough.

I work extremely hard to overcome this, definatly not a case of being lazy, just look at my gcse scores. Struggling alot more at a level but i continue to work hard :smile:

Reply 15

rlw31

Original post by lightburns

Maybe the Independent School can afford more comprehensive tests/afford to test all pupils? The OP may not be making it up, but an anecdotal story of something the OP heard is hardly conclusive.

I don't really understand why people who aren't privy to the testing of others diagnosed with dyslexia can say with any certainty that it's being mis/over diagnosed :confused:

Reply 16

MrHappy_J

Original post by lightburns

honestly this is the first time ive heard people complain about the overdiagnosis of dyslexia. and it strikes me as ridiculous and overexaggerated. a lot of students at college or university are just competitive freaks who cannot accept that some people may need extra help in case they get a better mark.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 17

lightburns

Original post by rlw31

Original post by MrHappy_J

I've heard it from multiple people in the past. But yes, anecdotes are not exactly the most reliable kind of information.
Thanks for replying both. Unless someone independently tests diagnosed dyslexics and finds out for sure, we're not really going to know. Quite possible that the whole thing has been exaggerated.

Reply 18

yertiz

Original post by marcusrc

Could someone who has taken the dyslexic test please post what they were asked to do? I'm just curious.

They are dyslexic TESTS as in more than one. My son was tested and diagnosed when he was 8 and retested at 15. His primary school said he was'nt dyslexic and would not test him through the local authority Educational Pyschologist. We arranged for him to be tested at The Dyslexic Institute (now Dyslexia Action) and we paid the fee, approx £400. This is the 'going' fee and the tests were carried out by an Educational Psychologist. They are about 12 pages long so to tell you the content would take an age. My understanding is that they look for a disparity between their reading, spelling, writing, maths and their verbal reasoning skills, amongst other things. The Dyslexia Action website may give more information.
In order to have 'recommendations' for extra time, laptops etc you must have been tested and a report produced by an Ed Psyc.

So generally parents have to cough up the fee which for some would not be possible for lower income families. Maybe that's why there are more public school students diagnosed with this.

My son btw went to a state school and we were fortunate enough to be able to pay the fee.

He has benefited from this and I am grateful but do feel that it is an unfair system.

Reply 19

rlw31

Original post by lightburns

I've heard it lots as well. I've no experience with dyslexia or anything, I just find it weird that laypersons who aren't involved with testing for it (and don't even know what the test involves), complain about the number of people diagnosed with it, especially when the entirety of their argument seems to be "I just can't believe so many people have it".

Edit: Not aiming all of this at you btw.