My 10-year old son has been diagnosed with LD since 2nd grade. He is dyslexic and cannot decode words. He was held back in 1st and is now in inclusion in 4th grade. He is taken out every morning for Wilson reading. He has had major improvements this year in reading , however, decoding is still not coming.
His behavior in class is very attentive with group activities, but he is very fidgety during regular instruction. (He has seen a neurologist twice and is not diagnosed with ADHD). However, he is a very active boy! He has perfected avoidance in school so as not to deal with lack of confidence and what he perceives will certainly be failure.
Right around the ELA testing and since, his self-esteem, which was never high, has really plummeted. At P/T conference last week the teachers say that he sits in his chair and fidgets/plays quietly while his peers are doing independent work (this is not every day, but most days lately). Although he is very distractive in class, his peers really enjoy him and value his presence (there was an instance a few weeks ago that students were able to tell him how they felt-of course, a positive experience).
I suggested to teachers that we try peer tutoring (was recommended on the schwablearning.org site). They can select a younger student that is having difficulty and my son would tutor him/her. They think it’s a fabulous idea and while put something together once/week. We are hopeful this will help. (He is in the Civics Club and really enjoys helping people in the community/soup kitchen/animal shelter).
My question is, what other things can we try in the school environment if this fails, or in conjunction with it?
His behavior could bew indicative of ADD-Inattentive, also he could have a problem with auditory processing. Get a speech and language evaluation. His behavior in the classroom when he tunes out and into his own world will just isolate him more from his classmates. When kids are ADD-Inattentive they can also have problems with getting overwhelmed and giving up when things seem out of control in their life.