How did you get ADHD inattentive type diagnosed? School evaluation below average working memory

[Anonymous]

My DD is in 3rd grade and has been behind her peers in reading and math since K. COVID was K and 1st back in person mid year. She had bdpq letter reversal, which is now b, d and less frequent. She gets 5 days a week reading intervention after 2nd grade year of only getting 2-3 days. I supplemented since 1st 1-2 days a week with OG certified tutor plus reading at home guided by tutor. They are noting improvements with this intervention. This summer I will do 3 days a week intervention. (Thankfully we can afford it) she also doesn’t know right from left — we think we taught her but it was so “off” that we honestly thought she was playing games and being silly with us. She struggles to pay attention at home especially with anything she is not really interested in “you’re not listening” or “please listen” comes out a lot. The school evaluation shows below average working memory but average spatial reasoning. The belief is that spatial reasoning would also be low if dyslexia. She is competitive at a sport and she has said “sometimes I hear the corrections but then I forget” coaches have also said she is easily distracted. She doesn’t show hyperactivity but inattentiveness - yes. She loves her sport and her dance. She can learn skills and choreography. Mostly so far it’s that she needs a lot of extra time. Extra privates for her sport, extra school practice. I mean for 3rd grade I’m talking like average of 45-60 min a day broken up. We have a doctor appointment next week. I’m going to read the school report and I’m considering paying for a more comprehensive evaluation if needed. I feel like from 1-3rd I’ve been “optimistic” about catching up from COVID but it just feels like more. Anyone have any experience that could help me? Advice? I feel like I’m failing at being her advocate. I know the school will not IEP her (we haven’t had the meeting yet). I’m worried about finishing 3rd successfully but also 4-5th and beyond. Is the doctor the next best place to discuss?

[Anonymous]

You need a full, comprehensive evaluation to find out if there are learning disabilities, inattention, language processing, something else. A school evaluation is unlikely to be good enough.

[Anonymous]

And my dyslexic kid has excellent spatial reasoning. Your school is wrong if they are making that part of the diagnostic criteria.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need a full, comprehensive evaluation to find out if there are learning disabilities, inattention, language processing, something else. A school evaluation is unlikely to be good enough.

This. You need a neuropsych evaluation. They will help give you recommendations. Do a search on DCUM for psychologists who do neuropsych evaluations. Waitlist is typically 6 months to a year.

[Anonymous]

We took our daughter to developmental pediatrics at Kennedy Krieger after we got the run around from Childrens DC. This was several years ago, and it took a few months to get an appointment, but the dev ped at KK let me sit in on the testing, and she didn't rely on the teachers filling out Vanderbilt surveys. My kid was diagnosed ADHD inattentive type based on the 5 manual tests administered in our several hour appointment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And my dyslexic kid has excellent spatial reasoning. Your school is wrong if they are making that part of the diagnostic criteria.

I’m OP: thank you… this helps my assumptions to not just follow what they are reasoning. She is magically going from a 2 to a 4 in writing. I agree improvement is happenings but it seems so odd that her grades are going up now that I am taking action on evaluation. It’s seems weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We took our daughter to developmental pediatrics at Kennedy Krieger after we got the run around from Childrens DC. This was several years ago, and it took a few months to get an appointment, but the dev ped at KK let me sit in on the testing, and she didn't rely on the teachers filling out Vanderbilt surveys. My kid was diagnosed ADHD inattentive type based on the 5 manual tests administered in our several hour appointment.

OP: thanks I will call them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And my dyslexic kid has excellent spatial reasoning. Your school is wrong if they are making that part of the diagnostic criteria.

I’m OP: thank you… this helps my assumptions to not just follow what they are reasoning. She is magically going from a 2 to a 4 in writing. I agree improvement is happenings but it seems so odd that her grades are going up now that I am taking action on evaluation. It’s seems weird.

Classic response from some schools. My child's reading levels always jumped the week before an IEP meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: The belief is that spatial reasoning would also be low if dyslexia.

OP this doesn't make sense. I don't know whether your child has dyslexia or ADHD, but ask them what they mean by this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The belief is that spatial reasoning would also be low if dyslexia.

OP this doesn't make sense. I don't know whether your child has dyslexia or ADHD, but ask them what they mean by this.

OP here thank you very much. I will definitely ask this question and our review meeting.

[Anonymous]

My dyslexic kid and my dyslexic self both have fine spacial reasoning and rock bottom working memory. I was dreamy and inattentive as a child, and my son was hyperactive and inattentive as a small child. We've had him assessed multiple times with psycho-educational testing (he is 16 and you re-do it every 3 years or so) and he's never met the criteria for ADHD. Mostly it's that when things are hard, discouraging, and intense you need a break, and so you daydream, space out, or wiggle.

ADHD and dyslexia do "travel together," though - people with one are more likely to have the other than people without one of the disorders. And on this forum you'll find lots of people who say they were told their child had dyslexia, or at least reading disabilities, and those magically went away when the kid was treated for ADHD. So it's pretty hard to parse them out. The best way, as PPs have said, is to get a full evaluation so you know you are treating the right root cause.