When to ask for an evaluation?

[Anonymous]

Background: My DS is in K in DCPS. He has been in DC Schools since PreK3 so fully a part of the DC Public school system for almost 2 1/2 years. PreK3 and PreK4 were a strong play based curriculum which I truly appreciated. Additional information - my DS recently turned 6 - so on the older side of K students in DCPS.

Situation: My DS is having a lot of challenges learning his letters / understanding letter sounds. When I have tried to read-up on different language disabilities none of the other typical things associated with learning letters are there. For example, he does a great job coloring, pencil grip is good, math is on target (counting - simple addition and shapes), vocabulary and oral expression is beyond very strong, he is a great story teller and has no issue with rhyming.

We read books, read books that go through each letter of the alphabet, read board books about 1 letter of the alphabet. When we ask him to point to letters on a page, there are a handful that he has mastered but struggling with about 75% of the alphabet. We have not tried apps as our experience with older siblings is they were not processing and really just "playing".

We were concerned in PreK and chalked it up to a teacher who was overwhelmed with a very young mixed age classroom. [4 classmates were in diapers or pull-ups last year until Jan]. DS has older siblings so we know that children develop differently.

One other observation - he is really bad with names. Classmates, teachers who are not his primary teacher, teammates for sports.

Question 1:
Does this sound familiar to anyone else? Experiences appreciated.

Question 2:
I know how long it takes for DCPS to move on anything. Would you ask for an evaluation? Or wait?


Thanks for any experiences!

[Anonymous]

In Kindergarten, it doesn't sound like you have much a reason to ask the school to test. You can always ask and they can say no. Check Wrights Law on the process.

Also, in terms of apps, try Hairy Letters or Word Wizard for letter sounds.

[Anonymous]

Think about private neuropsych eval. If not this year--wait until this summer. We are in the same situation. Son is in K, similiar challenges. We will be getting a private eval this summer.

[Anonymous]

I think an evaluation should be driven by the potential benefits of intervening now rather than later. I haven't done the research on this, but if there are significant benefits to intervening early if this is a learning disability, then I'd do it. On the other hand, if it's more accepted to wait-and-see, then you can feel comfortable about seeing how the year unfolds. Keep in mind that it can take quite a long time sometimes to get appointments for private evaluations.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind OP b/c your kid is on target with most everything else, they probably won't do the testing.

So if you go the private testing route, it will probably be $3-4K. It can be out of pocket or depending on your insurance may be covered all or in part. Appointments will be several months out in any case, so you could make an appointment for the late spring/early summer and just see how your kid does over the school year.

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/signs-symptoms/age-by-age-learning-skills/reading-skills-what-to-expect-at-different-ages

Connecting the letter symbol with the sound is very important, but also may be something he just starts getting in the next few months. If you want to look at reading tutors, do Orton-Gilliham, Wilson, LMB--anything considered "evidence based." The SN schools can provide tutoring as well. Speech Language Pathologists as well as special ed tutors can provide this tutoring. ASDEC is also a good place for tutoring.

In the meantime, I would get his hearing tested to make sure there isn't a physical reason, he's not picking up on the letter sounds.

Also, in regards to having a hard time remembering people, get his vision checked as well.

There is a visual perception condition called Prosopagnosia commonly known as face blindness: http://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/what-is-face-blindness/
It's probably not this, and I wouldn't rush out and test him, but just wanted to put it out there if in the unlikely case, this is what it is.