Want an evaluation for dyslexia or dysgraphia
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Anonymous
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I usually post here because of my child's anxiety disorder, but I am also becoming increasingly concerned that he may have either dyslexia or dysgraphia. He's in 2nd grade, and his handwriting, both letters and numbers, continues to be quite backwards. Not always, but very often. I have corrected this, his teacher has corrected this, and nothing is changing. He went to an academic preschool, and I have worked with him on writing his letters and numbers since he was 3. In addition, although he is considered on grade level for reading, I can tell that he is struggling. He reads relatively simple books (e.g. Amelia Bedilia) and it is tough for him to get through them. Afterwards, even if he has only gotten a few words incorrect when reading, he usually has a hard time telling me what happened in the book, only minutes after he read it.
DS is a bright kid and can do some amazing things in math. He had an IQ test as part of a psychological evaluation for his anxiety disorder, and he tested a 145 (I know these tests are not as accurate for young kids, though). I'm only raising this because I don't think his intelligence is matching his abilities here. Last year, in first grade, I raised concerns with his teacher, and she had an OT come in to observe him, but not an evaluation. The OT suggested that we see how the writing progressed over the next year. It has not improved. What do I need to do to request an actual evaluation, vs. observation? We are in Virginia, if that is pertinent. |
Anonymous
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Very frustrating. Most schools don't diagnose dyslexia. You can ask for evaluation and then request an IEE which is like a second opinion from a private evaluator that the county pays. We are going that route. The coordinator at MindWell gave us good info on this. Thry specialize in dyslexia.
Www.mindwell.us |
Anonymous
| Go on wrightslaw.com. They have information regarding the ins and outs of officially asking for an evaluation for your child. |
Anonymous
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Wrightslaw has good stuff. I had similar concerns and raised it this way. They did provide an SLP eval which found deficits in phonological processing. SLP is not a doctor so they don't call it dyslexia but it's basically the hallmark. And now kid has written goals in IEP related to these ares. Kid was already receiving OT. Sometimes it can be difficult to sort out motor vs encoding issues (or a combination thereof).
" given all this [description of how suspected disability is affecting kid, the evidence etc], we are requesting t an assessment by a Speech Language Pathologist to look at all possible affected areas including written language, spelling, pragmatic speech, etc." |
Anonymous
| If you are working with him and he has had strong academics I'd get him tested. I'd want an evaluation, not observation. They can look at his work to see/observe. |
Anonymous
Yes, you can ask the public school to test him. Or you pay out of pocket and get a full neuropsychological evaluation. Even if you've already evaluated your kid and was diagnosed with anxiety and you've tested for IQ, you need to do this regardless. A neuropsych evaluation look at the big picture, not just test for certain things. |
Anonymous
| Jim Ross - speech language pathologist at Lab School of Washington has tremendous insight and over 30 years experience. You won't be disappointed!! |
Anonymous
SLPs do not diagnose dyslexia or dysgraphia. |
Anonymous
| In my opinion we waited too long relying on the public schools to help us with our son. Struggle, struggle, struggle with reading, writing etc. Moved him out of public after they continued to say he is fine - he will catch up etc. 5th grade we had him tested - sure enough dyslexia. Facing middle school well behind his peers his stress level went thru the roof - he couldn't keep up with the reading and writing expected. We got him a tutor for dyslexia - going twice a week all summer long and he's doing better but still requires extra time for reading and writing. Please don't wait for the school to help you - be proactive. We noticed something was up in 1st grade but relied on the teachers telling us "he's a boy" they can't spell, the are slow to read ....." I wish we had gone with our gut on this. His self esteem is in the toilet which is really hard in Middle school where there is so much comparing to your peers. |
Anonymous
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I also regret trusting the scools for so long. I knew something was off at the end of K but we didn't get testing until just before 2nd. DS has severe dyslexia. We went out of pocket for a full neuro psych with Mindwell. I got about 25% reimbursed from insurance but the testing and report were worth it.
Dyslexia is a common hidden disability that schools should know more about but sadly it seems like they frequently delay testing. Good luck. |
Anonymous
SLPs definitely do diagnose dyslexia provided that they have the experience and knowledge to do so. I am an SLP and can make this diagnosis. Diagnosing dysgraphia, however, is not within the scope of my practice. |
Anonymous
What specific training do you have and what testing do you use? |
Anonymous
He is really awesome. |
Anonymous
I am Orton-Gillingham trained. SLPs can choose to pursue additional training in any area of language. Oral language is the foundation of reading and an assessment of reading in isolation would be a mistake. Dyslexia is based in phonology, which SLPs are extensively trained in. I'd start with a thorough assessment of oral language, the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, the Gray Oral Reading test, and a language and writing sample. |
Anonymous
Orton-Gillingham trained means you can tutor a child with dyslexia but not diagnose them. Sort of like a doctor can diagnose but a physical therapist works with the issue. The OP's DC needs comprehensive testing that includes but dyslexia testing but goes much further. I am well versed in dyslexia as my DC has dyslexia. Phonological issues are one aspect of dyslexia. A person who has dyslexia can also have ortho-graphic (decoding) issues and RAN (word retrieval) issues . |