Want an evaluation for dyslexia or dysgraphia
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
Thank you for your feedback. As I am trained in O-G, I am familiar with what this means. However, I am not a tutor. I am a clinician who specializes in all areas of speech, language, swallowing, and cognitive linguistics. I was asked what specific training I have in the area of dyslexia. I am able to diagnose and treat based on my training and experience. SLPs are extensively trained in phonology,encoding, decoding, and word retrieval. The latter three are encompassed in neurolinguistics. In fact, I have a sizable caseload of individuals who are working on word retrieval alone! I maintain that I would start with the testing I mentioned. The CTOPP includes multiple measures of RAN to assess word retrieval. The language and writing sample target spelling, syntax, and morphology. There is no need to test exhaustively unless this initial testing suggests that deeper assessment in a certain area is needed. To do otherwise of the bat may be a waste of time and money and the child would be miserable. Start conservatively and adjust the plan along the way. I would also suggest a hearing and vision screening before any testing begins. I would encourage parents to bring their child to a practitioner with whom they are most comfortable. |
Anonymous
|
To the SLP poster - can I get your contact info? We are looking for a private SLP to supplement outside of school. I TOTALLY agree with everything you wrote in your responses to the pp. Your training and expertise does make you more than qualified to diagnose and treat kids with dyslexia! The connection between language and reading cannot be overlooked. The importance of integrating both by someone with expertise is both and neurolinguistics is sooooo important! That was the missing piece for us while our son was in public school - even with an IEP for SLD - and receiving OG instruction (but not with fidelity another extremely important key), he was also not getting the integrated and intensive language therapy he needed. He was 3+ years behind in reading and writing when we pulled him out after 3rd grade. He now attends a private school school for children with learning differences and gets one and one, group, and integrated (with the reading specialist) speech/language therapy. The problem we are currently facing is he has more critical goals that can be addressed in one school year - he is already being pulled everyday between Speech/language and OT and we and his team agree he needs one or two more therapy sessions a week but don't want him to miss anymore classtime. Availability for before and after school hours are on a waitlist. We are in the process of looking for an outside therapist that he can see to supplement as well as carry him through breaks and summer. He was so far behind and his needs are so great that he backslid tremendously over the summer even with sporadic tutoring (our fault for too busy of a summer!) and a lot of the significant progress he had gained by June in his new school last year, was lost. He just needs that daily intensive intervention all year long. So if you are taking new clients, I would love to get your contact info!
But back to the OP question... and where I think the disagreement the last PP has with the qualifications to diagnose dyslexia - it may be a question between the difference between DIAGNOSING and QUALIFYING for services. In order to be found eligible for IEP services under specific learning disabilities (where dyslexia is categorized) in the public school setting you must have a full psycho-educational evaluation (which is usually the Woodcock Johnson plus others mentioned if weaknesses are noted in certain areas such as phonological processing, rapid naming, etc: CTOPP, GORT, TOWRE, etc) Or a neuropsychological evaluation which will also include the academic side of the WJ or simlar. All testing will include an IQ test (usually the WISC). In our case, backing up a bit, we had our son privately tested tested in 1st grade by first a neuropsych and speech/language therapist and he was diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia and expressive & receptive language disorders. The neuropsych testing led to other recommended evaluations by: OT, developmental optometrist, and audiologist. All of these experts looking at him through their perspective lenses were extremely valuable in defining all of his weaknesses (and strengths I might add!) and the compounding affect they have on him and what is needed to address his unique profile and needs. In addition to the dyslexia, dysgraphia and speech/language disorders, he was also diagnosed with: CAPD, executive function, sensory processing, and binocular vision disorders. These are all things very common to kids with dyslexia. He requires a very intensive and integrated approach to reading and writing which he was not getting in public school even with and IEP for SLD and "some" related services (not enough) and even with "some" OG (not enough and not with fidelity or an expert). In 3rd grade they wanted him to go through eligibility testing again (in case we missed something?!?) and this time the school did all of it - full psycho-ed by school psychologist and special ed teacher and school SLP and OT. The school psychologist started with the WJ tests of oral language and cognitive abilities but needed further information that the GORT, CTOPP and TOWRE provided her (these were the same test our private speech/Lang therapist used two years before). The WJ academic tests did not pick up where his specific weaknesses were either so they said he was "farther along" than he really was. But all of it was enough to qualify him again for SLD, however the related services testing by the school - in particular the school SLP - was very weak only skimming the surface and she did not perform more comprehensive testing to tease out the weaknesses. Since they would not provide related services and the reading and writing interventions were not appropriate to his unique needs, after all this we pulled him out and by then was 3+ years behind. We enrolled him in the private school last year - GREAT decision for us / him - but as I wrote up front - even though he made a lot of progress last year (about 1+) he's still so far behind and we'd really like to give him more this year which would involve outside of school hours so he can make up lost time more quickly to one day be able to transition back to public. So, back to the original reason I wanted to chime in, I'm thinking the "disconnect" between some of the pps here may be a question over not necessarily who is qualified to diagnose dyslexia and what tests, but the OP also needs to know that there is the issue of what is needed to QUALIFY for services by the public school. Even if the SLPs tests, expertise and experience disgnoses dyslexia and other speech/language disorders - and even if she is able to address and remediate it through therapy, in order to get an IEP - to go through the "process" - starting with a student study, eligibility testing etc; additional data and expertise will be needed to be found eligibile under the IDEA law. |
Anonymous
| I agree that SLPs are qualified to diagnose dyslexia, but I want to throw in that in MCPS, according to school system rules, the SLP is NOT qualified to diagnose dyslexia or reading disorder. So, if you want to have an IEP, you will have to have the reading testing done by a psychologist. |
Anonymous
| Who diagnoses dysgraphia? |
Anonymous
| I can't recommend MindWell enough. We were pretty sure about our son having dyslexia (diagnosed orthographic type) but they also found visual memory issues and visual motor issues that factored into dysgraphia. And getting the IQ info that he was really bright put everything in perspective. I think only a psychologist does all this testing? We had a 2 hour debriefing after the process to explain all the results and recommendations. Insurance covered zero, which was tough BUT we got accommodations at school and academic therapy privately. Worth it. |
future10
Member Offline
Member Offline
This is not true. MCPS does not say that SLPs are not qualified to diagnose dyslexia. SLPs in MCPS are not allowed to provide service for reading disorders because their scope of practice in the public schools is much more narrow. The schools have reading specialists and English teachers. Having an SLP provide the service would be a duplication of services in their eyes. SLPs in the school system are limited to providing service for oral language only...no writing, no reading. SLPs are in short supply and are more expensive, so their scope has been narrowed in this setting. The county will look at outside testing conducted by any licensed provider as long as accepted tests are used. For instance, sometimes I get psychological assessments that included language testing. I can consider those tests in my determination as long as the tests used are accepted by the county. For instance, the CELF or CASL is accepted. The WJ tests of Oral Language are not as they are not particularly deep tests of language. Also, psychologist sometimes only give one or two subtests, which is not enough for the county to consider, so they'd have no choice but to conduct their own assessments if the screening suggests a problem. So, if your reading tests are conducted by an SLP and are tests which are accepted by the county, then that is fine. They can be reviewed by the team, which may include the SLP, but you will not receive reading services from an SLP. To get a diagnosis for a Specific Learning Disability in the area of reading, they want to see a discrepancy among your scores, that's why psychological and educational testing is often done. To compare the reading, writing, and math. They get 'stuck' when someone is low across the board, because the current guidelines don't have a category for that. |
future10
Member Offline
Member Offline
| I should add, that in most cases, you really don't need to spend a lot of time, money, and effort in getting school services because MCPS is terrible at treating dyslexia. You may find the occasional teacher who has pursued independent study of a multisensory language program, but the school system itself does not provide this kind of training. This training is very expensive and time consuming for the teacher, so there is little incentive to pursue it on one's own. |
Anonymous
I think that occupational therapists are best qualified to evaluate for dysgraphia. |
Anonymous
Dysgraphia is more than bad hand writing. IT is house the brain interacts with the hand for handwriting. OTs are more about muscle strength. A person with dyslexia can have the muscle strength- it is in the integration of the brain and the hand that causes dysgraphia. It also has to do with organizing thoughts and getting them down on paper. This is not in an OT wheelhouse. An educational psychologist can separate out what is merely poor handwriting and what is dysgraphia. We found the OT to be useless because DC has the muscle strength and all the exercises in world did nothing for his handwriting. |
Anonymous
I disagree with this poster as well. My son did private OT weekly for two years and not only did the OT not diagnose the dysgraphia, he didn't improve at all! Turns out he has severe dysgraphia and now a real hatred for picking up pens and pencils! I should have dropped OT after six months but I really believed that my son would eventually "get it" and that writing would become automatic for him but it never has. For us, the dysgraphia was diagnosed by a developmental ped. |