| Quote: | |  | |
| I agree the way it was done was a little strange.
I think that we would like to repeat similar tests in order to see if the same results occur. Luckily the school paid for these tests, since the guy was based out of Switzerland and the Health Insurance wouldn`t pay, because he was not accredited by them and not based here. So we need to find someone in Switzerland and have the test repeated and paid for by the medical insurance. | |
| | |
I can give you the name of the English-speaking psychologist we used recently in Zürich if you want to PM me. I was impressed with her. From what I understand the usual amount of time spent on testing of this type is actually 4-5 hours (although I don't know if this is age-related). Unfortunately, the cost is pretty high (CHF 1,500) but as I mentioned to you in a previous thread, our insurance has contributed as I got the referral through our Pediatrician.
Without meaning to sound patronising, are you sure you are interpreting the results of the tests correctly. I mention it as there were some comments on the report produced on my son which I took to be rather serious. However, when I discussed it with our Pediatrician, he was able to put things into context and told me that every 2nd child would achieve the same result. This was also backed up when we discussed the issue with the school.
As someone else has mentioned, if your children did enter the Swiss school system they would start off with 2 years in Kindergarten which doesn't include any academic learning. They would be picked up for German lessons supplied by the school and if they demonstrate any difficulties, they would also be seen by the school speech therapist and again the cost of any therapy would be borne by the school. Obviously the therapy would be in German though. I can also give you the contact number of an English speech therapist in the Zurich area, but the cost is a rather prohibitive CHF 155 per 45 minute session (this is the norm).
If your children are diagnosed as dyslexic, another point you might want to consider is that English is a non-transparent language and therefore the incidence of dyslexia is higher than in transparent languages like German (according to the research I did when I thought my son might be dyslexic). On the other hand, of course, I can well understand your concerns about introducing a second language, particularly when you have been told it could be detrimental to their development.
In any event, I wish you all the best and hope that you quickly find a suitable solution for all of you. Best of luck.