I am afraid this is going to be a long one.
I am trying to prepare for an IEP for my 8 y.o. son. He is identified gifted, ADHD and goes to speech. There is something else, I’m not sure what and I think we may need more testing to figure out what it is, but I don’t know what tests. The school isn’t really making any suggestions. I did request an OT evaluation bcause some of his sensory issues are starting to impact him.
So this is a snapshot of him: He is very bright (WISC IQ 149, with some ceilings and some scatter). He is a good reader now, but it came slowly. His comprehension is excellent (stanford 99%) but poor word attack skills (35%). He can’t do phonics. Writing is is worst area. He still does letter/number reversals. He can talk up a storm on any subject but then can’t get anything on paper. A blank page really throws him off. He just sits there says I don’t know what words to use, even after he’s told you the answer. His spelling is at grade level at best, way below what you would expect. He is left handed and forms some of his letter differently. He loves to doodle and draw. He has all the classic ADHD behaviors and then some. He is extremely sensitive to smell, touch, light and sound. Math is a strong area with the concepts, not as strong in arithmetic. He solves problems his own way, in his head, and avoids showing his work. The methods he uses aren’t the way they are taught, but are mathmatically sound.
He is in 3rd grade in a gifted magnet classroom, 3rd/4th split. He is doing 5th grade math. I don’t know what grade level his reading is, but it’s somewhere way above 3rd. His teacher has been great. She thinks his writing difficulties are mostly behaviorial, as there are times when he can just do it (but rarely). I think there is somthing more to it. But I don’t know what. Verbal processing? Expressive written language? Dysgraphia? Dyslexia? Parts of each of these seem to fit, and other parts are really far off. And would knowing a label help or are there things we can work on and/or accomodate for without knowing exactly what it is? I think a label might make it easier for the teachers to accept him. I know the ADHD label has helped with that. Otherwise they would just treat him like a problem-child, now they try to help him.
What tests would help figure this out? Should I request testing from the school? Or take him back to the psychologist who did his IQ? I don’t really have the money for it, but I could scrape it together if I had to.
What questions should I be asking myself and the teachers?
Thanks for any advice or information.
Molly
One thing I would do is get a developmental vision evaluation. See http://www.childrensvision.com for more information, and http://www.covd.org to find board-certified developmental optometrists in your area. Reversals at this age, along with some of the other problems you mention, are often characteristic of developmental vision delays, which are an underlying cause of one type of dyslexia. Developmental vision is not evaluated in regular eye exams, even by an opthalmologist.
I would also get an occupational therapy evaluation that includes assessment of sensory integration. The difficulty with writing can be linked to developmental vision problems, which also can cause delays in development of visual-motor skills. The hyper-sensitivities to smell, touch, light and sound are characteristic of sensory integration problems.
For phonics and reading, your best bet would be to do this yourself at home.
I recommend getting the Sound Reading CD from http://www.soundreading.com (about $60) and having him work through that independently. The only difference between the elementary CD and the teen CD is the graphics (cutesy graphics removed from teen CD), so get whichever one you think he would like.
At the same time I would get the book “Reading Reflex” and the company’s $39 parent support guide for advanced code. Read the first three chapters of the book, and then take your son through the different levels. Basic code can be reviewed very quickly (in an hour or two). When you get to advanced code, switch to the guide as your spine, as that will take him through advanced code systematically. At this age you do not need the RR manipulatives; just start him out with a small whiteboard and marker. For the work in the guide (basically worksheets), just have him do enough to “get” the code being worked on, and then move on. There is no necessity to do every page, or to do every word on a page.
After finishing RR and the CD, he would be ready for Rewards from Sopris West. This is an even easier program for the parent to use, as it is entirely scripted. This is a program for middle schoolers, but can be easily adapted to younger children (at least the first ten lessons).
I would also investigate Interactive Metronome (http://www.interactivemetronome.com ). IM can be very helpful at developing attention skills and tends to have a very beneficial impact on fine motor skills, including writing.
Unfortunately, none of the above is likely to be done through the school. It is all private remediation, which I find to be faster and more effective than most programs you can get through schools.
Psychological testing, which you mention, is unlikely to provide you with the information you need at this point. I would go with the developmental vision and occupational therapy evaluations.
Nancy