Private testing for dyslexia

[Anonymous]

My DH refuses to have DD evaluated for learning disabilities at school, so I feel my only option is to have a private evaluation done. I'm concerned that she, like her grandfather and uncle, has dyslexia. Where do I start? With her pediatrician?

[Anonymous]

You can actually talk to her teacher, I told my kids teacher what I suspected and she more or less agreed with me, but could not obviously make a diagnosis. If DH won't agree to the free evaluation at school, will he agree to spend thousands on a private diagnosis?

[Anonymous]

Get a psychoeducational evaluation from a psychologist or a neuropsychologist. In order to diagnose dyslexia, you will have to have both IQ testing done as well as achievement testing that measures various reading and phonological skills.

How old is your DC? If older than 6, the evaluation should also include evaluating for ADHD.

A private psychoeducational evaluation costs around $3000. There are psychologists who offer "screening" for dyslexia or learning disabilities which is around $500.

The cost of an eval is only partially covered by insurance.

Why does your DC not want the school to evaluate for learning disabilities?

FWIW, your pediatrician has no expertise to offer in diagnosing dyslexia. There is no point in starting with the pediatrician unless you need him/her to make a referral under your insurance plan.

BTW, although insurance doesn't cover dyslexia diagnosis, it may cover the part of the psychoed assessment that relates to possible ADHD.

[Anonymous]

Are you in MCPS?

MCPS has just started to use the MAP-RF as a dyslexia or reading readiness screener in K-2. Ask your school if they are doing this and ask them to share the results with you.

By law, MCPS is required to share the results (under FERPA) although I have heard that MCPS is refusing to share results with parents. MCPS is saying to parents that they can't share because the results are only accessible in a way that also lists other students so there is a "privacy" concern. This is not a reason not to share -- MCPS can printout group results and black out or redact the other students names and scores if necessary. If you encounter this kind of illegal resistance, please push back.

[Anonymous]

If you think your daughter has dyslexia and your husband doesn't want her tested, assume she does have dyslexia and get her orton-gillingham based tutoring if she is not reading at grade level at school. What grade is she in?

There are people on this forum who really push for expensive testing. I thought my son was bright and dyslexic based on what I read about warning signs and he started to struggle to learn to read in first grade. He was on a waiting list to get tested for 4 1/2 months then it took another month or so to get the results. It turns out he is bright and dyslexic. I really wish I had saved the $3,000 and spent it all on tutoring starting when he was in first grade and not waiting to start tutoring when all the testing was finished, which by that time he was in second grade and further behind.

My sister learned from my mistake and started getting her son tutoring in kindergarten because he had the same symptoms of dyslexia. It is so much easier to remediate the younger the child is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you think your daughter has dyslexia and your husband doesn't want her tested, assume she does have dyslexia and get her orton-gillingham based tutoring if she is not reading at grade level at school. What grade is she in?

There are people on this forum who really push for expensive testing. I thought my son was bright and dyslexic based on what I read about warning signs and he started to struggle to learn to read in first grade. He was on a waiting list to get tested for 4 1/2 months then it took another month or so to get the results. It turns out he is bright and dyslexic. I really wish I had saved the $3,000 and spent it all on tutoring starting when he was in first grade and not waiting to start tutoring when all the testing was finished, which by that time he was in second grade and further behind.

My sister learned from my mistake and started getting her son tutoring in kindergarten because he had the same symptoms of dyslexia. It is so much easier to remediate the younger the child is.

We push for testing because it’s the right thing to do. If you suspected your child had vision problems you would get their vision tested before playing a guessing game with glasses. Language based learning disabilities can be more than just dyslexia.

Op, go through children’s or kki for a neuropschological evaluation and screen for adhd too. More than likely it will be a long wait but generally insurance will pay for half or all the evaluation.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're looking for a private eval, we had a good experience at Mindwell. The report was very thorough and confirmed our belief that DD is dyslexic.

[Anonymous]

Try the OG screener tool with a tutor.

Why wouldn’t your DH agree to school testing?

[Anonymous]

We had good luck with Jody Bleiburg in Bethesda. If you do a search there was a neuropsych thread about where people went and cost. You don't need to see your Pedi, just find a provider they will take you through steps you need to do (ie..parent, and teacher assessments).

[Anonymous]

Piggybacking on the thread:
It is my understanding that the school does not diagnosis rather they can identify a learning disability (?)

It is also my understanding that for some private schools - you can deduct tuition as a medical expense

If you are going down the path of private school - does it make sense to get the private evaluation done?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Piggybacking on the thread:
It is my understanding that the school does not diagnosis rather they can identify a learning disability (?)

It is also my understanding that for some private schools - you can deduct tuition as a medical expense

If you are going down the path of private school - does it make sense to get the private evaluation done?

You can deduct private school tuition only for Special Needs private schools and only for medical issues not educational... and learning disabilities are usually considered an educational issue not a medical issue which is why people can not deduct tutoring expenses - it is educational not medical.

Most SN private schools require at least a psychoeducational evaluation report as part of their admissions process.

[Anonymous]

DS clearly has what anyone would call dyslexia, but his 'diagnosis' is a 'specialized learning disability' - there's less hesitancy to use the word than in the past (almost like it's a bad word) but it still seems to exist in the field.

[Anonymous]

OP here just getting back to this thread. Thank you so much for your responses. We are in FCPS with a first grader who is "slightly" below grade level (DRA 3 in first grade as of a month ago). DH doesn't want school testing because he's worried about the stigma. I think he's being stupid. Money is not really an issue, we can find $3000.

I do like the idea of starting with a tutor - any recommendations on how I find one and how expensive it will be?

[Anonymous]

FCPS has an online dyslexia guide. Also, we had my DD tested at InStep PC in Fairfax. Good luck to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here just getting back to this thread. Thank you so much for your responses. We are in FCPS with a first grader who is "slightly" below grade level (DRA 3 in first grade as of a month ago). DH doesn't want school testing because he's worried about the stigma. I think he's being stupid. Money is not really an issue, we can find $3000.

I do like the idea of starting with a tutor - any recommendations on how I find one and how expensive it will be?

You want a tutor who is trained in and is using an Orton Gillingham method/curriculum. Works for dyslexic kids and not dyslexic kids. Expect to pay a lot - $80-$120 per hour. That said, if your daughter is dyslexic (and a family history makes it likely) it isn't just about reading, and she may have school challenges that feel unrelated but that are actually all part of dyslexic brain wiring, like lack of working memory. That impacts math, memorizing facts for science, dates for history, etc. So totally fine to start just addressing the reading issue with appropriate tutoring, but do keep in the back of your mind that she is probably dyslexic. My son is dyslexic, and even knowing that I will sometimes think some problem at school - trouble with math, or some behavior issue - is isolated. It never, ever is.