Dyslexia and executive functioning issues go hand in hand. He could also have ADHD, but I would highly recommend getting him a neuropsych exam, which can suss out what specific issues he does have. This is not cheap, but the last thing you want is to medicate a child who does not need it. The schools evals are often insufficient and I have seen them try to slap labels on kids for expediency.

Could it be ADHD-Inattentive type?

Our peditrician would not even touch the issue, they referred us to Children's developmental psychiatrist. My daughter scored quite high on their evaluation, it was us as parents that thought a lot of her behavior was normal because she was our first and we really did not have a clue. Other issues to think about are distraction is a biggie in the ADHD spectrum and often missed with an intelligent child who develops lots of coping mechanisms until it overwhelms them in middle school. Dyslexia often co-exists with ADHD so dis-tangling them can be a challenge. Since both of these have a high inheritable element do you have them in your family or does your husband. More than likely they were never "diagnosed" but you have the uncle that never could keep job, focus ect or had reading troubles. When I went through my family tree it was quite startling.

OK..that would make me feel more confident than a parent teacher survey with the ped.

Anonymous wrote:OK..11:12 how were you able to differentiate between the attention issues and the dyslexia? Like 9:54 said, how do you know that what seems like a lack of focus is just the dyslexia making things require more focus than they should. I am not questioning your diagnosis at all...in case it sounds like I am..I am just wondering how my ped would tell based on a survey.

It wasn't diagnosed by a pediatrician but by a developmental psychiatrist. The parent survey is a very small part of the overall testing, which took the better part of a day to do and which we've had done 3 times over about 12 years (colleges require testing within 3 years, the College Board required updated testing, HS required updated testing).

OK..11:12 how were you able to differentiate between the attention issues and the dyslexia? Like 9:54 said, how do you know that what seems like a lack of focus is just the dyslexia making things require more focus than they should. I am not questioning your diagnosis at all...in case it sounds like I am..I am just wondering how my ped would tell based on a survey.

My DC has ADHD and dyslexia and never had behavior problems. It has more to do with her ability to focus when required (as opposed to focusing when she was actually interested in something). No harm in getting the assessment since it's better to know than not.

Thank-you 9:54, deep down that is where I think we are..but hate to not be open to other possibilities..

An ADHD diagnosis is based on observable behaviors. If you've seen the questionnaire that this diagnosis is based on, it is a little insulting IMHO - very subjective. Of course a kid who is having trouble reading/writing is going to show problems attending to tasks that other kids are able to do more easily. Their brains have to work much harder and it is exhausting. Anyone taking ADHD meds is going to have increased attention whether or not they have been diagnosed with ADHD. A dyslexic kid is also going to have increased attention - to a point. But increased attention is not going to get rid of the learning issues. In our case they did nothing but help DS look like he was paying attention better in class. They did nothing to actually help him learn. For that we had to look outside the school to tutors.

First PP here. My Ped did it through a questionnaire. Both parents and a teacher fill it out. My son came back borderline, but because we had tried everything else we tried medication. The medication worked - fortunately ecause we didn't know what else to do.

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/216919.page
Here the link, the video is the last post. Good luck.

It's an old complain. A smart kid who as problems writing, spelling or reading..is just lazy, has an attention issue etc. No, his brain is wired differently. You have to teach him differently. The people who are lazy are MCPS. There was another thread about college and dyslexia.. Watch the video. In it, it say that if caught early and given the proper instruction, the kids will be able to read and write at grade level. You will have to fight them, get help if you can. Remember you can keep going over their heads...they hate that.

OP here, Thanks PP. I know not to rely on MCPS for services. We do it all privately. We have used several different methods designed to help dyslexic kids. I am certain he would not be reading otherwise. Writing/spelling have been trickier.

How do pediatricians assess attention issues?

It's pretty easy to get your pediatrician to assess for ADD. Only good can come from doing that. With my borderline ADD son, a small dose of meds made a huge difference.

One of the problems you will have though is that it is very difficult to get a handle on things once your kid gets to MS because communication is so limited and there are so many people involved with your kid.

Last thing, I hear from moms of dyslexic kids that MCPS is awful with this and they used private services with great success. There are some programs they used with great success. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with them, but you might want to look into that.

My DS is dyslexic. No one (except maybe MCPS who doesn't know the word) disputes that. In MS, he still reverses letters, reads but with alot of quirks and can't spell many basic words dispute years of tutoring. Lately I have started to hear the term lack of focus with regard to his spelling/proofing issues. I hate to be so wrapped up in processing issues that I am ignoring another category..but I also hate to fall victim to the school just blaming his issues on ADD because it is a common issue. He clearly does not have ADHD as he is quite well behaved not at all impulsive. He is not totally organized but not a disaster either. So for you attention issue experts, is it possible to have an issue in one area like writing including proofing/spelling/handwriting...or would we have to see broader effects.