Fiona never gave in

It became apparent that Fiona’s son was dyslexic when he was 7 years old. He was refused a statement of special educational needs. Sam was receiving a bit of help at his primary school, but he became “very frustrated” and slipped behind the other children. “He was depressed and wouldn’t sleep. He was a very unhappy child.”

Sam couldn’t read until he was 9. He struggled to cope when he went up to secondary school. Fiona “wouldn’t take no for an answer” over the lack of a statement of Sam’s special educational needs. She tackled her Local Education Authority (LEA) but admits she “wasn’t clued up”.

She decided “enough was enough” and went in search of help on the internet, where she found IPSEA’s website. An IPSEA adviser went through her case with her. “He was absolutely fantastic,” says Fiona. When her case went to tribunal, she was accompanied by her IPSEA adviser. “I was very stressed, but having someone from IPSEA beside me gave me more confidence. I was able to argue points I wouldn’t have known about.”

Ten days later, Fiona found out that she had won her tribunal. Sam was given 13 hours with a teaching assistant every week, two and a half hours with a specialist dyslexia teacher, and a laptop. “I’d been told that Sam wasn’t going to pass an exam, but he took a GCSE one year early, and I’ll never forget when he rang to tell me he’d passed.”

Sam has now gained six GCSEs, including English, and received a C grade for Higher Math’s. “It was the best thing I ever did, pursuing the statement. He is a different child now. My IPSEA adviser did everything for me, and I’ll never forget him. I found it all so hard, but I never, ever gave in. It’s very disappointing that you have to fight for your rights.”

* Names have been changed.