Dyslexia is not merely letter reversals.
Spend the money if you can and get a private comprehensive evaluation.

We are up in B'more, which has 2 of the premiere schools for language based learning disorders (odyssey and jemicy). These schools typically offer assessments for very young children - mine did one at age 5 - and will give you feedback on whether more testing is needed, or if the kid would benefit from intervention, etc. there are definitely kids who show problems very early on.

This is wrong. Teachers are not trained in LD's. Early intervention is important. 3 rd grade is late to learn how to read since this is the year kids use reading to learn.

Learn to read: K-2
Read to learn: 3rd +

If you suspect issues in K, get the child tested in 1st so they can learn to read by 3rd.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand kids learn at different rates and in different manners. I was confused because I've not heard that before and I have heard from people who've been diagnosed with dyslexia before 2nd grade or had children diagnosed before 2nd grade. It also seemed odd to categorically dismiss a common concern at the same time schools are essentially saying "your kid is going to fail 3rd grade SOLs if they don't leave K reading books with multiple sentences per page". (Yes, I realize that is a slight exaggeration ... but not much of one).

I dunno who told you that last bit, but it is utter bs.

Principal of the school at Kindergarten orientation. It was more like "I know we will pressure your kids but it's because we care about them. When we set expectations high, it is because we're thinking ahead to the 3rd grade SOLs. In order to do well then, they need to blah blah blah ..." boiling down to "they have to be reading by the time they leave K".

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher. This is true. Reversals/reading difficulty are the NORM before 2nd grade for MANY children....Also, "behind" in reading is not a term that I typically use because there is a HUGE window for learning how to read. Yes, there "may" be a problem...but do not worry now if professionals are telling you not to.

This is what we heard and listened to and my child was robbed of two years of reading programs specifically geared toward people with dyslexia. He will never be a fluent reader, despite intensive reading tutoring from mid- 2nd grade through 7th grade. Could he have been if the program had started in kindergarten when he was first flagged (but teachers but they did not inform us of this until mid 2nd grade), we will never know. This is why trust is an issue between parents and "professional" teachers. Well, that and saying he was a DRA 16 at the end of 1st grade when he was actually a 4- never heard the real story on that.

No, no, no. The primary characteristic of dyslexia is not reversals, and anyone who says that clearly knows nothing about dyslexia. Also, being "behind" in reading is also not sufficient for the diagnosis. My child was diagnosed at the end of first grade; we were told that they diagnosis could be made after a child had had one year of high quality instruction in phonics. There was a lot of testing around what my child could or couldn't do; it was way more complicated than merely asking if she could read.

OP, get the private testing and see what's going on. Intervention -- the right kind of instruction -- makes a huge difference.

It helps the children who are late readers and will eventaully read. It hurts the chldren with dyslexia and denies them of key years of specialized reading program and may rob them of being a fluent reader. My DC is in the second group. There are some tests to see if your child is more likely to be in the second group. An experienced evaluator who is trained to diagnose early dyslexia would be able to adminster these.

Anonymous wrote:I understand kids learn at different rates and in different manners. I was confused because I've not heard that before and I have heard from people who've been diagnosed with dyslexia before 2nd grade or had children diagnosed before 2nd grade. It also seemed odd to categorically dismiss a common concern at the same time schools are essentially saying "your kid is going to fail 3rd grade SOLs if they don't leave K reading books with multiple sentences per page". (Yes, I realize that is a slight exaggeration ... but not much of one).

I dunno who told you that last bit, but it is utter bs.

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher. This is true. Reversals/reading difficulty are the NORM before 2nd grade for MANY children....Also, "behind" in reading is not a term that I typically use because there is a HUGE window for learning how to read. Yes, there "may" be a problem...but do not worry now if professionals are telling you not to.

You are giving me the same advice that I received about my child. I didn't listen to it because both of my brothers and my father are dyslexic. The chances of us having a dyslexic child were very good. My child was frustrated by not being able to read. He has a high IQ across the board and his diffculty in reading when other kids around him were reading was becoming a problem. We waited until first grade because the teachers told us to wait, but I was waiting until second. The faster you intervene in an LD, the better off you are. Neuroplasticity is a thing and it's better to have a longer window for intervention.

I understand kids learn at different rates and in different manners. I was confused because I've not heard that before and I have heard from people who've been diagnosed with dyslexia before 2nd grade or had children diagnosed before 2nd grade. It also seemed odd to categorically dismiss a common concern at the same time schools are essentially saying "your kid is going to fail 3rd grade SOLs if they don't leave K reading books with multiple sentences per page". (Yes, I realize that is a slight exaggeration ... but not much of one).

My child was not diagnosed with dyslexia by 2nd grade but his speech and language problems were very evident by then. (He had been in speech therapy since age 2).

After missing all of the benchmarks in kindergarten he was accepted and went to a school for kids with speech and language deficiencies (mostly dyslexia).

If you do a bit of searching there are some really helpful threads on dyslexia on DCUM.

I am a teacher. This is true. Reversals/reading difficulty are the NORM before 2nd grade for MANY children....Also, "behind" in reading is not a term that I typically use because there is a HUGE window for learning how to read. Yes, there "may" be a problem...but do not worry now if professionals are telling you not to.

I've been told that as well. Dyslexia is difficult to diagnose since many children write backwards.
There are many other conditions that could be tested for, such as ability to focus the eye on words.

Yes. If people with degrees in the subject are telling you this, why would you not believe them? Many kids at that age have difficulty reading, confuse and reverse letters, and it settles down.

Has anyone told you this for a child that's behind in reading? I posted about getting a full neuro-psych, but I'm also interested specifically about this question. I've gotten this or variants from several people, including a child psychologist and a teacher trained in ABA therapy and focused on special needs children.