Another testing question -- test now, test later, maybe not at all?

[Anonymous]

I keep going back and forth on doing testing for my 7yo DS. He has a older sibling that we've gone through all of this with, but 7yo DS is a bit different and I'm on the fence. He had/has a lot of early indicators of dyslexia and a strong family history of dyslexia but he's "on grade level" right now in 1st grade. Teacher says he's not receiving any extra instruction and we had a private screening done that shows he's on the lower end of the range of normal. He has a history of very sensory seeking behavior and behavior problems in K but now in 1st the teacher has no complaints other than he occasionally needs to be prompted to stay on task or complete an assignment, which is in the range of normal. The only thing the teacher has brought up is his handwriting ... which is rather horrible. But again, they don't actually teach handwriting at school. At home he still has the same sensory seeking behavior which translates into pestering his siblings a lot and then there's the defiance with anything that he doesn't want to do.

On the side of doing testing, I know it's not unusual for a child to be at the low end of "on grade level" in 1st to then start having problems in 2nd and especially 3rd. But I also know that if he's on grade level for reading, even if it turns out he does have dyslexia, it's unlikely the school will do anything beneficial for him.

When we were in the process of screening, I made an appointment at Mindwell for February. I can go ahead and keep it but that's a huge chunk of change for us. But I can cancel that and book him for testing next fall at Children's National. Or I can cancel and just see what develops next year. I'm really on the fence.

[Anonymous]

My gut is that you will eventually end up needing the evaluation. That said, I would wait another year or two especially because he is so young and he will change a lot over this next year.

[Anonymous]

Since early intervention (with a private tutor if the school won't do anything) is so important for dyslexia I'd do the testing sooner rather than later.

[Anonymous]

I'd cancel the private testing and do it at Children's -- it will get done within the year.

Since you don't have a pressing need, I would save the money for later.

[Anonymous]

For dyslexia I would test within the next year. Children's idea is a good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since early intervention (with a private tutor if the school won't do anything) is so important for dyslexia I'd do the testing sooner rather than later.

I agree that early intervention is so important so I wouldn't even wait for testing. Get a trained OG tutor to start working with him now. Don't wait. Have the tutor work with him 2 to 3 days a week or you can buy the Wilson reading program for under $300 and do it every day with you child. I know people here tend to be pro testing first but I wish I had just started remediating. I wasted a year trying to figure out where to get testing, waiting for a test appt, waiting for results, etc. I knew my child couldn't read. Being not able to read well in class made him more inattentive at school and it was hard for him to focus doing homework because he was struggling. Most kids who can't read 85% of them have difficulties with phonemic awareness/phonological processing, phonological memory, and/or rapid naming. The intervention for all of those issues is to do a Orton Gillingham program. So I spent $3,000 to be told to do a program that costs $300. And sadly I waited a year to start. I pay my third grader $3 everyday (there are 3 sections of daily work in Wilson so a dollars a section) because that is what it took for him to agree to do it. I pay him on Saturdays and we go to Target to buy a toy. It is cheaper than a tutor but if I had money I would use a tutor 2 to 3 days a week and work with him myself the other days. If you start working with him now and through the summer, he will be in good shape to start 2nd grade.

[Anonymous]

This is OP .. we don't have the money right now for tutoring, but the lady who did his screening suggested doing Explode the Code with him. The good news is he's interested in reading and doing some basic reading. Writing on the other hand, he will throw a temper tantrum rather than do his spelling homework. It's not the actual spelling that's the problem, just the writing.

I appreciate the responses since I've been really over thinking this. I'm going to go ahead and cancel with Mindwell and schedule with CNMC since that will be paid through insurance and soon enough.

[Anonymous]

The point to do the testing is for us to advocate with the school for more supports. Otherwise, spend the money for tutoring and if you cannot afford tutoring, work with him at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP .. we don't have the money right now for tutoring, but the lady who did his screening suggested doing Explode the Code with him. The good news is he's interested in reading and doing some basic reading. Writing on the other hand, he will throw a temper tantrum rather than do his spelling homework. It's not the actual spelling that's the problem, just the writing.

I appreciate the responses since I've been really over thinking this. I'm going to go ahead and cancel with Mindwell and schedule with CNMC since that will be paid through insurance and soon enough.

This is what I was about to recommend. Get on the waitlist for somewhere that takes insurance. You can get on the cancellation list to possibly be seen sooner. In the meantime, you can start some of the intervention mentioned by a PP, if you can do so in a way that doesn't stress your kid.

[Anonymous]

We waited - so many regrets! Having a diagnosis is a game changer. Don’t let these important early years slip by like we did. The fact that you’re posting the question is probably proof enough that there’s an issue. What’s the worst that can happen if you test now? You find out it’s not dyslexia?