Mild Dyslexia and AAP

[Anonymous]

Our DD is in the process of being evaluated and I strongly suspect she has mild dyslexia. We'll get the full report in a few weeks. She's in the AAP program in FFX county and qualified with high scores. We had WISC done, and it shows no discrepancy in working memory/processing speed as compared to verbal and nonverbal abilities. Still, not surprisingly given the (apparent) dyslexia, she is struggling in AAP. She is getting by well enough that the teacher didn't notice an issue, but we had her privately evaluated because we had seen weird gaps in DD's spelling, reading, ability to process directions and speed in completing assignments. DD also has trouble remembering math facts (she understands the concepts, no problem, but her memory for facts and lists, etc. is not good).

We're considering moving her back to Gen. Ed., but I wanted to ask here if anyone else has a DC with this presentation. If so, did you keep your child in AAP and pursue accommodations, or did you move to Gen. Ed. and go from there? I think our DD would be okay with moving back to Gen. Ed. - we can supplement with creative projects at home and this would also give us more free time to remediate the dyslexia. (DD is performing at/above grade level, so school won't provide any remediation.) But I also wonder, if we pursued the right accommodations, if it's possible for a child who is mildly dyslexic to do reasonably well in AAP. DD does benefit from the depth of the language arts, science and social studies curriculum. It's just that some of the easy stuff can be hard for her, while the hard stuff (theoretical, abstract concepts) generally is easy. Has anyone else sorted through these types of issues? TIA

[Anonymous]

What does her teacher recommend? Have you asked her about general ed vs AAP for your daughter?

Also, what did her previous teacher recommend for her? Did that teacher believe that AAP was a place for your daughter to thrive, or was she reluctant to encourage you to refer her to the program in spite of high test scores?

It is is the latter, it could be that your daughter's previous teacher saw the beginnings of this type of learning issue, but maybe couldn't put her finger on it.

[Anonymous]

14:23, thank you for honing in on this - yes, the latter is the case. The second grade teacher did point out concerns about DD's slowness, spelling issues, etc. However, DD received mostly Os and a few Gs in all subjects. The second grade teacher did express concerns about the accelerated aspect of AAP for DD, but she also felt that DD was very bright. Since DD is on the younger side, she felt that DD might "mature into her intelligence" over the summer.

Third grade AAP teacher hasn't raised any issues with DD's performance, but her approach seems to be that if the child is not failing, then the child is handling AAP. However, if you look at the scatter of DDs grades (mostly Ss and a few Gs) and performance, you can clearly see gaps (DRA is at grade level despite cognitive scores three standard deviations above the mean; day to day spelling is bizarre, despite getting Os on spelling tests; DD misses/misinterprets even some simple oral instructions or instructions on tests). Attention doesn't seem to be an issue - DD is a self-starter and can do homework for an hour or two at a stretch (she is slow though).

AAP teacher's perspective on the spelling issue is that spelling isn't that important, and she has been amenable to letting DD word process at-home writing assignments at DD's option. (DD is a slow typist, but when she types she seems to input correct spellings much more so than compared to when she is doing written composition.) Although this is great, it doesn't address the gaps in understanding verbal/written instructions. Accommodations for those would be helpful as we pursue whatever treatment is appropriate (as recommend per the evaluation).

AAP teacher said that DD is lovely to have in the classroom and is keeping up. But given the concerns I've raised (particularly since DD can also be a bit nervous about all the tests in AAP) she said that Gen. Ed. could be a better fit - the goal being to have a happy, well-adjusted child. I just can't shake the feeling, however, that if left unremediated DD would have these issues regardless of whether she's in Gen. Ed. or AAP and it would catch up with her in grade 4 or 5 or so, as the writing and reading demands increase.

PS - DD recently started going to an Orton-Gillingham tutor who has noticed some of the same issues I have, but she's not a diagnostician, so she's refrained from labeling DD.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are describing my DD, who is now a 4th grader in AAP with no interventions. She is doing so much better this year. I think some of it may be a maturing of her brain or something. She is coming into her own -- and has finally learned her math facts. I would advise sticking it out in AAP unless she is really falling behind or is really unhappy. For our DD, AAP has been a Godsend because it's not rote memorization but experiential learning, which is way easier for her.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks 9:50 for sharing your encouraging story! It's so great that your DD is doing well. I've also heard of a number of kids having an adjustment period in third grade AAP and it gets better in fourth grade. I can't wait to see what the evaluators recommend for DD once all the testing is done...