surviving third grade with dyslexia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - the answer to the question of why we haven't done testing: (1) because she ultimately met her benchmarks, the school strongly steered us away from testing (to the extent they would have done the testing); (2) the private testing is very expensive; and (3) denial / fear of stigmatizing her with a diagnosis and somehow inviting a clinical dynamic into something that just needs a little more focus at home. That's the honest answer. I recognize it's not an awesome answer and we're obviously avoiding some difficult realities, but there you have it.

Testing is expensive. However, it's worth it to find out what is going on. You are right, the school is not going to test because your child is at grade level.

This is NOT true. You as a parent have a right to request full testing done by the school psychologist at any time. You need to put your request in writing (an email is fine) to your child's teacher and principal. Once you send that email they have to get the testing done within a certain time period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - the answer to the question of why we haven't done testing: (1) because she ultimately met her benchmarks, the school strongly steered us away from testing (to the extent they would have done the testing); (2) the private testing is very expensive; and (3) denial / fear of stigmatizing her with a diagnosis and somehow inviting a clinical dynamic into something that just needs a little more focus at home. That's the honest answer. I recognize it's not an awesome answer and we're obviously avoiding some difficult realities, but there you have it.

Testing is expensive. However, it's worth it to find out what is going on. You are right, the school is not going to test because your child is at grade level.

This is NOT true. You as a parent have a right to request full testing done by the school psychologist at any time. You need to put your request in writing (an email is fine) to your child's teacher and principal. Once you send that email they have to get the testing done within a certain time period.

NP....and, if the school declines to test, you can invoke your right to an Independent Education Evaluation. You pay for it and the school must reimburse you the reasonable cost unless they take you to due process. Based on the OP, I doubt this would go to due process. There are enough red flags.

As an aside, had I known how easy it was to go the IEE route, I would have done it YEARS ago.

[Anonymous]

OP what remediation/tutoring method or program have you been using with her?

[Anonymous]

Our DD is dyslexic and was reading/testing at or above grade level. We just knew there was something wrong. As others have mentioned, telltale signs are inserting appropriate but not correct words (puppy vs dog), repeating or missing lines, headaches, complaining about reading, poor writing, etc. We inquired about testing through APS and were deterred because she was on grade level. Although we probably could have pushed it, we ultimately felt the time it would have taken the school to accomplish the testing would have been at least 1 school year, which would have put DD further behind. In the end, we opted for private testing. Now, we're working through the 504 process, although that's been like pulling teeth too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DD is dyslexic and was reading/testing at or above grade level. We just knew there was something wrong. As others have mentioned, telltale signs are inserting appropriate but not correct words (puppy vs dog), repeating or missing lines, headaches, complaining about reading, poor writing, etc. We inquired about testing through APS and were deterred because she was on grade level. Although we probably could have pushed it, we ultimately felt the time it would have taken the school to accomplish the testing would have been at least 1 school year, which would have put DD further behind. In the end, we opted for private testing. Now, we're working through the 504 process, although that's been like pulling teeth too.

OP here - the difficulties you describe are consistent with the things we see in our DD (substituting different word, repeating and missing lines etc.). I've been reading up on this for a little while and the thing I can't put my finger on is what distinguishes a struggling reader from a child with dyslexia. Presumably a "struggling reader" also complains about reading, guesses at words etc. Or are most struggling readers probably at least a little dyslexic??? I go back and forth on whether we're overreacting to a normal developmental process or underreacting to a condition that needs specialized intervention. Can I ask what the 504 process entails????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DD is dyslexic and was reading/testing at or above grade level. We just knew there was something wrong. As others have mentioned, telltale signs are inserting appropriate but not correct words (puppy vs dog), repeating or missing lines, headaches, complaining about reading, poor writing, etc. We inquired about testing through APS and were deterred because she was on grade level. Although we probably could have pushed it, we ultimately felt the time it would have taken the school to accomplish the testing would have been at least 1 school year, which would have put DD further behind. In the end, we opted for private testing. Now, we're working through the 504 process, although that's been like pulling teeth too.

OP here - the difficulties you describe are consistent with the things we see in our DD (substituting different word, repeating and missing lines etc.). I've been reading up on this for a little while and the thing I can't put my finger on is what distinguishes a struggling reader from a child with dyslexia. Presumably a "struggling reader" also complains about reading, guesses at words etc. Or are most struggling readers probably at least a little dyslexic??? I go back and forth on whether we're overreacting to a normal developmental process or underreacting to a condition that needs specialized intervention. Can I ask what the 504 process entails????

I think you are at risk for underreacting.

By third grade, kids are expected to transition to reading to learn and finished with the process of learning to read. Obviously their reading skill will continue to grow but that is mostly a function of accumulating vocabulary and background knowledge. The basics of reading should be mastered by now. Anyone who is a struggling reader by third grade more likely than not has a reading disability. I wouldn't waste time waiting for the school. Find you own reading remediation tutor or even do you own reading program with her. It has to be a different approach. Not just more of the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DD is dyslexic and was reading/testing at or above grade level. We just knew there was something wrong. As others have mentioned, telltale signs are inserting appropriate but not correct words (puppy vs dog), repeating or missing lines, headaches, complaining about reading, poor writing, etc. We inquired about testing through APS and were deterred because she was on grade level. Although we probably could have pushed it, we ultimately felt the time it would have taken the school to accomplish the testing would have been at least 1 school year, which would have put DD further behind. In the end, we opted for private testing. Now, we're working through the 504 process, although that's been like pulling teeth too.

OP here - the difficulties you describe are consistent with the things we see in our DD (substituting different word, repeating and missing lines etc.). I've been reading up on this for a little while and the thing I can't put my finger on is what distinguishes a struggling reader from a child with dyslexia. Presumably a "struggling reader" also complains about reading, guesses at words etc. Or are most struggling readers probably at least a little dyslexic??? I go back and forth on whether we're overreacting to a normal developmental process or underreacting to a condition that needs specialized intervention. Can I ask what the 504 process entails????

I think you are at risk for underreacting.

By third grade, kids are expected to transition to reading to learn and finished with the process of learning to read. Obviously their reading skill will continue to grow but that is mostly a function of accumulating vocabulary and background knowledge. The basics of reading should be mastered by now. Anyone who is a struggling reader by third grade more likely than not has a reading disability. I wouldn't waste time waiting for the school. Find you own reading remediation tutor or even do you own reading program with her. It has to be a different approach. Not just more of the same.

I'm the 13:04 poster, and I wholeheartedly agree with this. The 504 process comes after testing. You're meeting with the school to ask for/establish accommodations going forward -- e.g., more time on tests, quiet room, not reading aloud, audiobooks, etc. My understanding is that the 504 process is less taxing on the school, and they're more likely to meet these requests than an IEP, where you are asking for costly things like an aid or tutor. If your DC is dyslexic, you will need a tutor too. We've just opted for private tutoring because with private tutoring you can get an orton-gillingham trained tutor versus in public school where you might get a non-OG special ed teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our DD is dyslexic and was reading/testing at or above grade level. We just knew there was something wrong. As others have mentioned, telltale signs are inserting appropriate but not correct words (puppy vs dog), repeating or missing lines, headaches, complaining about reading, poor writing, etc. We inquired about testing through APS and were deterred because she was on grade level. Although we probably could have pushed it, we ultimately felt the time it would have taken the school to accomplish the testing would have been at least 1 school year, which would have put DD further behind. In the end, we opted for private testing. Now, we're working through the 504 process, although that's been like pulling teeth too.

OP here - the difficulties you describe are consistent with the things we see in our DD (substituting different word, repeating and missing lines etc.). I've been reading up on this for a little while and the thing I can't put my finger on is what distinguishes a struggling reader from a child with dyslexia. Presumably a "struggling reader" also complains about reading, guesses at words etc. Or are most struggling readers probably at least a little dyslexic??? I go back and forth on whether we're overreacting to a normal developmental process or underreacting to a condition that needs specialized intervention. Can I ask what the 504 process entails????

I think you are at risk for underreacting.

By third grade, kids are expected to transition to reading to learn and finished with the process of learning to read. Obviously their reading skill will continue to grow but that is mostly a function of accumulating vocabulary and background knowledge. The basics of reading should be mastered by now. Anyone who is a struggling reader by third grade more likely than not has a reading disability. I wouldn't waste time waiting for the school. Find you own reading remediation tutor or even do you own reading program with her. It has to be a different approach. Not just more of the same.

There is a book called Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz where she says that dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty with reading even after two years of explicit reading instruction. Any child who has had a couple of years of reading teaching, including explicit instruction in phonics, and who does not have another challenge that explains the difficulty (like developmental delay, anxiety, ADHD, trauma, etc. etc.) should be presumed to have dyslexia. If your child is otherwise bright, has been going to school for a couple of years, doesn't have other learning issues, and still struggles to read, dyslexia is a reasonable assumption. Another way to express it that I've seen is an unexpected difference between a child's intelligence and their reading ability, even after a couple of years of schooling. The fact that your kid isn't responding to the usual way of teaching reading suggests her brain may need a different method. And that is dyslexia.

[Anonymous]

Dyslexia is under-diagnosed so it is a reasonable assumption that many or most kids who are struggling readers in 3rd grade are dyslexic. Testing will give you the documentation to work with the school for accommodations. You do not need to have completed testing to begin working with a tutor. In fact, I would encourage you not to wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If she's at or near grade level, it's probably not dyslexia. You should really get her tested if you are concerned -- there's so many things that could be going on.

I agree OP should have her daughter tested. It's actually not true that kids who are at grade level probably aren't dyslexic - a kid's other strengths and smarts can often mask the weaknesses, and so their dyslexia doesn't show up until later (like in 3rd grade). Its true that a profoundly dyslexic kid is unlikely to be able to compensate and stay on grade level that long, but its totally possible for mild or moderate dyslexia to stay hidden by other strengths. My son is a master at listening to other kids describe plot points in a book first in a group discussion, then make some insightful comment that ties it all together and his teacher things he actually, you know, understood the book. Or he'll be able to understand enough of a sentence or page to guess at the rest, using context to make extrapolations. Cool, useful skills...but he's pretty darn dyslexic still.

This is 10:42. A big clue with DS was he would substitute words that were spelled completely different but were appropriate in the context of the sentence. Think 'Earth' instead of 'planet' or 'dog' instead of 'puppy'. He's gotten so used to guessing and looking to an adult for confirmation that his tutor has to keep directing him towards looking at the sentence instead of at her.

To answer PPs question ... we found the tutor through a DDVA meeting. She is not a homework tutor but works with him on reading, writing, and spelling. She's did a lot of initial work on getting his letter formation to a point where he's very legible. They're working on that still a little bit every session, but now they're mostly working on vowel teams and silent letters. DS is in a self-contained classroom for 70% of the day, including language arts, and the teacher is very accommodating in regards to homework. We have spelling words come home every week for review and one other worksheet, so it's really manageable right now.

But why no testing? The best way to find out what is going on is to get him tested.

This is PP. DS was tested in 2nd grade and I'm not advocating for OP to skip testing. At the very least, testing will be useful in getting the appropriate accommodations at school. I was just relating what we observed in DS that prompted us to pursue testing and how we are addressing dyslexia now.

[Anonymous]

Have her evaluated, request it from the school first.

Only go through the school if you are interested in wasting time. Go to outside professional first, Stixrud, Mindwell, etc. The price of evaluation more than makes up for what is lost down the line if you don't get the eval. Sorry to be so blunt, that is my take on the situation based on personal experience.

[Anonymous]

What is the going rate for a qualified tutor???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think you are at risk for underreacting.

By third grade, kids are expected to transition to reading to learn and finished with the process of learning to read. Obviously their reading skill will continue to grow but that is mostly a function of accumulating vocabulary and background knowledge. The basics of reading should be mastered by now. Anyone who is a struggling reader by third grade more likely than not has a reading disability. I wouldn't waste time waiting for the school. Find you own reading remediation tutor or even do you own reading program with her. It has to be a different approach. Not just more of the same.

I have to agree. I am usually one of those posters who argues that kids will grow out of things but you are obviously good parents who have thrown a lot of resources at the problem. If she were in K-2nd I would say wait it out but by 3rd reading should have "clicked" for her. It is still possible it will happen in the next few months, but it's better to start getting some testing done and getting professional help in place for her now in case it doesn't. The reason why schools tell you not to test is because they tend to ignore children who are well behaved and not causing any problems for the teacher. Am I correct in guessing your child is considered a good student from a behavioral standpoint? Don't make the mistake of being reassured by this. Sometimes it is the children who are most at risk for depression and other issues are they grow older because no one recognizes they are in a crisis until they are.

DD had a classmate like this a few years go. The parents finally got over the stigma issue and got their child an IEP (your child does not need a 504 plan, she needs a specialist to teach her strategies to read better) and they were surprised to find out which other kids had IEPs. There were the obvious hyper or unfocused boys with IEPs but also a fair amount of really bright girls with moms on the PTA who nobody would think needed an IEP. They had underlying LDs but with the help they were doing so well in class no one noticed. The only people who know were the parents of the other kids with IEPs because some of them were getting pulled out at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the going rate for a qualified tutor???

We pay $120 an hour for a retired special education teacher. I think you can get people who are cheaper but they might not have the training you want in some of the methods.

[Anonymous]

OP, As you weigh your options one thing to keep in mind is that in K-2nd there are a huge range of reading levels. You probably noticed some kids had thick chapter books and some could barely read the little leveled readers. By 3rd they still have reading groups but there are essentially two categories of kids. The readers and non-readers.

In DD's class last year there were technically five groups. In the top four everyone could read pretty fluently and it was impossible to tell which ones were "better" than the others. Then there was the last group where all the struggling readers were placed. Everyone knew that group was different. Most kids did not judge but it was surprising to me how things changed.