Possible Dysgraphia?

[sevenatenine]

My ten year old daughter has had trouble writing and spelling her whole life.  As she's gotten older, the difference in her work and the work of others has become more pronounced.  She is a good student elsewhere, and a great reader, but the trouble with writing and spelling has really started to affect her across the board.

 

She goes to a private school, but last year I worked with out local school district to have her tested for dysgraphia, specifically.  The diagnostician gave her a battery of tests.  She scored well on her generalized intellectual ability (129) and scored an 88 on the writing subsection.  I was told that because her writing was in the normal range of 85-115, she was not diagnosed with dysgraphia and was ineligible for any services. 

 

I would think that the large difference between her ability and performance on the writing would be indicative of some kind of trouble or possible LD? Can performing in the low average range really rule out an LD?  How is that possible with so much talking about the twice exceptional child, etc.?

 

I'm not necessarily looking for services, but I'm looking for HELP.  Her teachers are understanding, to a point, but have subscribed to the theory of just making her redo the assignments if they are not up to their standards.  I don't mind that, but it's not making the slightest difference in her actual writing ability, which I'm trying to improve.   She is on a low dose of Ritalin now, because of her teacher's feelings that she is rushing through the work and happy with mediocrity.  She does tend to rush through her work and the Ritalin has helped a bit. 

 

I have an appointment with her to have an OT evaluation to see if they can help.  I think her school would probably be open to doing any kind of exercises that the OT might recommend.  Is there anything else we can be doing to help her?   My understanding is that if it is dysgraphia, practice doesn't help.  If that's the case, I'd like to invest our time and efforts in to a good typing program.  The problem is that, based on her test results, it's not dysgraphia.  She has almost every symptom of the disorder that I can find. 

 

 

[Heathermomster]

Teach her to type and don't delay. DS learned in 5th grade, and it was a game changer. As a 9th grader, DS carries a laptop and a LiveScribe Echo pen to classes now. As she learns to type, scribe for her whenever, wherever she struggles.

DS was diagnosed by a private neuropsychologist. As I understand it, a 2 stanine or 30 pt difference on testing is indicative of a disability. The fact that she takes meds for attention is also telling. 50% of children with motor planning issues also have ADHD. Since your DD is in a private school, inquire about her carrying a laptop. She should also have network access at the school so that she can turn her work in via email. One last thing..,Schools don't diagnose. They accommodate. For a diagnosis, you really need to see a private neuropsych who deals with the gifted population.

[OneStepAtATime]

Hi!

 

What Heathermomster said.  :)

 

School assessments are frequently made by people who really don't have a ton of background knowledge or experience.  They plug in numbers but don't really understand all the nuances of LDs.  That is a big discrepancy.  You are absolutely right to question this further and seek answers.  Be the advocate for your child.  Good for you.

 

So where do you go from here?  Yes as mentioned upthread start her on a typing program and get her evaluated by an OT.  Practice can help up to a point but the writing may always be more challenging for her than a same age peer.  Doesn't mean there won't be improvement.  Many parents on here have seen improvement.  Get the OT eval then maybe post here again.  There should be parents that can offer more advice.

 

You might also look into software programs like Dragon Naturally Speaking and Inspiration.  Ginger might be helpful, too.  Sometimes all three, as well as typing programs, are available at a discount through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op (link below).

 

http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/

 

By the way, my son has dysgraphia.  The teachers at his school and his first evaluator did not believe there was anything really wrong.  They felt he was just lazy.  It was a very unfortunate set of circumstances that caused tremendous stress and trauma as the year wore on.  We ended up having to pull him out of school but the psychological damage was huge by the time we did.

 

Good luck, hugs and best wishes.... you are not alone.   :)

[Heathermomster]

I forgot to mention this. Since your child is on the younger side, maybe look for a device called a NEO Alphasmart. It is a portable word processor that is very sturdy and runs forever on 6 AA batteries. You can purchase one cheaply from Amazon as the company has closed down. DS used one from 4th through 7th grades.

[PeterPan]

You could get a private eval and use that to advocate for accommodations.  Yes, discrepancy can be used, at least in our state, to qualify for an IEP.   Your trouble is right now your only information is ps evals, which are meant to decide if they meet arbitrary state cut-offs for eligibility for services.  That's IT.  It's not about moral rightness or what you would choose as a parent, just do they have the scores at 2 standard deviations below the mean, is there a discrepancy of the numerical quantity the state specifies.  End of discussion.  Private evals would give you more complete information and explanations, and then you could decide how to advocate to improve her situation based on that information.

 

You cannot assume a dysgraphia label based on online symptom lists.  Really and truly.  Those same symptoms can be accounted for with an OT eval and vision problems and the ADHD she's being treated for.  An individual with ADHD will have initiation and working memory issues causing the stress like what you're seeing described in lists online.  An individual who is low tone or has fine motor issues can need OT and have hand pain, without getting a dysgraphia label.  An individual can have developmental vision issues that cause them to have issues with line spacing, visual memory, etc.  

 

My dd had all those issues, and she did NOT get a dysgraphia label.  It's partly a matter of severity and it's partly a matter of whether it improves with OT.  I've told all sorts of things about my dd over the years.  The neuropsych found her motor control for handwriting was not automatic (at age 12!), still no dysgraphia label, EVEN THOUGH THE EIDES WOULD HAVE SAID YES.  She has ADHD and sweats bullets trying to organize and get over initiation humps, but no label.  She had OT for fine motor and VT for vision.  She couldn't even learn QWERTY and had to use an alternate keyboard layout (Dvorak) which requires less motion.  But learn she did and she's now a functional typist.  She'll never be fast (more than 35-ish wpm) but she's at least functional.  

 

The dysgraphic child I know, by contrast (and obviously not representative of all), did all those things and is STILL not functional.  Had OT, VT, was taught to type, etc. etc. and STILL has issues getting things out.  Degree of affect.

 

So sure, pursue an OT eval.  We went in for handwriting and learned all sorts of things we never anticipated.  Consider a complete, private neuropsychological eval, since that's the only real way to get the answers you're wanting.  Definitely get her vision checked by a developmental optometrist to make sure what you're dealing with is not partly vision, as bizarre as it sounds.  (COVD is where you find a dev. optom)  Consider Inspiration mindmapping software, cognitive therapies like Cogmed or others to improve working memory, etc. to improve her executive function skills.  If you're feeling flush, look for an Educational Therapist to help you organize your efforts.  

 

The changes you make are actually more important than meds in many ways, so good for you for pursuing this and getting answers!  

[wapiti]

.

[PeterPan]

You know, I say that, but it's the LD's that use discrepancy.  OT issues I think are absolute (2 SD below the mean). Technically you're saying disorder of written expression, which is an LD.  I just think you're going to feel a lot more confident pressing your case if you get private evals and a more complete examination of what's going on.

[Mrs. Tharp]

You said she is taking Ritalin, but does she have a diagnosis of ADHD? Some of the accomodations you are interested in,  you could probably advocate for just based on that label. A diagnosis from a pediatrician, however incomplete, does count as an official diagnosis. 

 

A private eval. is a good idea. If you don't want to or can't shell out the money right now, you might ask an OT to write up their own interpretation of the school's test results, if you are just looking into this for your own information. That would be cheaper then starting from scratch.

 

But if you ever change your mind and want to get services from ps, a full private eval. would be best.

[PeterPan]

I'll be a little controversial here and add I think it's *unwise* to go to a heavy typing-based accommodation approach if you DON'T have documentation.  My dd definitely has issues with written work, but she does NOT have a dysgraphia label or documentation specifying typing as a necessary accommodation.  So when her high school level spanish teacher said write out tons of verb conjugations, I said Suck it Up, Buttercup.  BUT if the neuropsych had said typing, all those would have been typed.  

 

We do our kids no favors if we accommodate without figuring out what's going on.  Others later will not be so generous.

[Heathermomster]

I can't see a private school allowing typing in a grammar stage classroom without a private NP report.  Even with the diagnosis, son's teachers and the private school administrators were reluctant to allow DS to use his NEO in class.  Typed work in both the logic and grammar stage classrooms is a royal pain for the student.  The teachers feared the technology and wanted no part of it.

[FairProspects]

I'll be a little controversial here and add I think it's *unwise* to go to a heavy typing-based accommodation approach if you DON'T have documentation.  My dd definitely has issues with written work, but she does NOT have a dysgraphia label or documentation specifying typing as a necessary accommodation.  So when her high school level spanish teacher said write out tons of verb conjugations, I said Suck it Up, Buttercup.  BUT if the neuropsych had said typing, all those would have been typed.  

 

We do our kids no favors if we accommodate without figuring out what's going on.  Others later will not be so generous.

 

I agree. I did not allow typing until I had documentation because I knew I would need a basis to explain the accommodation in outside classes and situations.

[PeterPan]

Our private neuropsych said ds' SLD *is* affecting his writing but that he should still write for his school work.  He said it could go to SLD writing later but that for right now he's not there.  That's what I'm saying, that there's a lot of gray where you have symptoms and definitely are seeing stuff but AREN'T getting the label.  You want documentation.  And if the evals help you find some things that were causing it that weren't dysgraphia but are treatable, all the better.

[camino]

I think how much practice, OT, etc., help depends very much on the individual child, the severity of the dysgraphia, and also on what other issues she may have. My son is 9 and was diagnosed with dysgraphia when he was 8. We had suspected it for years. I think he was a fairly easy diagnosis because the discrepancy between his verbal expression and his writing was shockingly huge, despite years (years and years!) of private OT, plus daily practice at home, plus an IEP, compassionate teachers, and so on. Not only has his handwriting not improved, I can honestly say that it has actually gotten worse as his thoughts have grown more complex. If you have read the chapter on dysgraphia in The Mislabeled Child, my son's writing looks just like the example they used! That said, his school teachers had never heard of dysgraphia and, despite accommodations and all the goodwill imaginable, really were unable to help him. When it got to the point that my son's self-esteem was being completely eradicated, I decided to homeschool and it has been the best thing in the world for us!

 

All of which is to say, I would only trust the experts (neuropsychologists, developmental pediatricians) with this sort of thing.

[displace]

I agree with others. Unless the tester was a Neuropsych I would hesitate to accept the school results unfortunately.

 

We were diagnosed by a developmental Ped after a great OT Eval.

[sevenatenine]

Wow, thank you for so many enlightening responses.   

 

First, let me explain that my intentions behind getting a diagnosis is to simply help her be successful.  We would like for her to attend a university after high school and to be successful in whatever career path she chooses.  She is the type of kid that will get a 100% on almost every multiple choice assignment that she is given, but has trouble producing on her own.  

 

She DOES rush through her assignments because she wants to be done quickly.  She CAN write, at least legibly, when she takes her time.  The trouble is that it takes her longer than the average kid to write legibly, and she probably has an attention span that is smaller than the average kid, and that's a bad combination.  Her attention span does allow her to read for a lengthy period of time, though, but the writing or answering questions is difficult for her.  She can do wonderfully when answering the questions orally.  I've taken to sitting down with her to do her homework and making her answer the questions orally before writing them down.  If she doesn't do that, she can leave entire words or thoughts out of her answer.  

 

I want to work with her this summer, but I'm not sure which avenue to pursue.  We will certainly work with the typing, but I don't know what to do about the handwriting.  I have no problem making her write, write, write all summer long.  But in reading about dysgraphia, it seems that may not be productive at all.  

 

I don't necessarily want modifications for her at school, but her report cards are all saying the same thing.  She rushes through her work and her handwriting is not improving.  They don't do grades at her school, but she'll transition out of that school in 7th grade and grades will be important at that point, certainly.  

[displace]

Honestly IDK if at ten her handwrinting will improve much, or maybe there is some likelihood? Even after about 8 a lot of people don't recommend changing how a student writes. As in, how the letters are drawn. A lot of the problems sound spot on with dysgraphia: easily stating answers orally, leaving out things while writing that she meant to put down, writing nicely when she takes her time. I'm not there yet, but I believe the older kids and teens have tricks like you're doing already: talk or think about the answer before writing. Maybe teaching her some type of outline format for longer essays or even paragraphs? For ex, listing a word or two for each main point she wants to say. I believe there's a handwriting lecture on TWTM online conference. I only skimmed the title but maybe that will be helpful. I'm not sure but the dyslexic advantage website may have some dysgraphia info (by Drs. Eide and Eide mentioned above). I can't recall if their son is dysgraphic too. Does she do better with cursive?

Also you may not be seeking modifications or accommodations specifically, but: if she is bright and has trouble writing and can hear from someone that that's just the way her brain works and it's not her fault, that alone can be a relief. Also, don't discount official tests that may require written answers in the future. She may need a diagnosis or accommodation at some point.

I also think I heard about the Eides discussing stealth dyslexia with dysgraphia type writing. Might be another thing to consider.

[PeterPan]

Wow, thank you for so many enlightening responses.   

 

First, let me explain that my intentions behind getting a diagnosis is to simply help her be successful.  We would like for her to attend a university after high school and to be successful in whatever career path she chooses.  She is the type of kid that will get a 100% on almost every multiple choice assignment that she is given, but has trouble producing on her own.  

 

She DOES rush through her assignments because she wants to be done quickly.  She CAN write, at least legibly, when she takes her time.  The trouble is that it takes her longer than the average kid to write legibly, and she probably has an attention span that is smaller than the average kid, and that's a bad combination.  Her attention span does allow her to read for a lengthy period of time, though, but the writing or answering questions is difficult for her.  She can do wonderfully when answering the questions orally.  I've taken to sitting down with her to do her homework and making her answer the questions orally before writing them down.  If she doesn't do that, she can leave entire words or thoughts out of her answer.  

 

I want to work with her this summer, but I'm not sure which avenue to pursue.  We will certainly work with the typing, but I don't know what to do about the handwriting.  I have no problem making her write, write, write all summer long.  But in reading about dysgraphia, it seems that may not be productive at all.  

 

I don't necessarily want modifications for her at school, but her report cards are all saying the same thing.  She rushes through her work and her handwriting is not improving.  They don't do grades at her school, but she'll transition out of that school in 7th grade and grades will be important at that point, certainly.  

As you're finding, it's really hard to target your efforts without evals to know what you're dealing with.  You'll need an OT eval *and* a neuropsych eval to sort it out.  If her symptoms are due to the ADHD, then the psych may recommend Cogmed.  If you need OT, you'll do OT.  In fact, the sooner you get that OT eval, the better.  It's inappropriate to force her to work without accommodations if indeed she has SLD Writing.  That would be like saying you need glasses but get over it and do without.  If you need the tool to do your work, you need the tool.  There is no virtue in squinting, and there is no virtue in refusing accommodations to someone with a bonafide disability.  The private neuropsych will give you that documentation, and you'll be more confident to go anywhere and advocate and require it.  Right now, you're not confident about what's going on, so you can't advocate effectively.

 

A good neuropsych can take 1-3 months (or more) to get into.  If you start on an appt now, you might be in sometime early summer and have your results in time for the fall school year.  Hopefully you can get actionable information from the neuropsych and OT in time to affect your summer plans.  The sooner you move, the better in that sense.  

[Heathermomster]

OP, I like how you want to do something to help your child's handwriting. OT, NP, and accommodations are the things that you do. Dysgraphia was a shock diagnosis for my family because DS was in 2nd grade and getting by. I was extremely reluctant to accommodate, and then the writing expectations jumped for DS in 5th grade. By 5th grade, I realized that I was harming my son by not accommodating, and I deeply regret not acting sooner.

 

My son is bright and hardworking. Since homeschooling, DS has met and made a handful of same aged friends with LDs that cannot type, and none of them are able to take the rigorous classes that my son attends. I know the moms and hear their complaints. Typing has enabled my son to work more at his intellectual level and afforded him a level of independence that his friends don't have. DS doesn't want me sitting beside him for every subject. During the grammar and logic stage, hauling a device for typing at school every day was a challenge, but as a high schooler, a laptop is no big deal. In fact, laptops are mandatory at our local prep school. I say these things to encourage you. If your child does have dysgraphia, the accommodations are more of a lifestyle adjustment.

 

Up thread you mentioned your DD losing focus when reading. Whenever possible, allow her to use audio books. Have her practice reading with the speed increased. She could practice listening to books at 2-3 times read aloud speed. My local library loans audio books in the digital domain. An IPad app called VoiceDream will read aloud books with immersion technology. I download books from Project Gutenberg and listen for pleasure.

 

Good luck whatever direction you take.

[PeterPan]

Losing focus when reading could also be a symptom of vision problems.  You can find a developmental optometrist through COVD and do just a regular exam but ask them to *screen* for the convergence, tracking, etc.  It's just a good thing to eliminate as part of the possible mix of problems, sorta like going to the dentist.  

[FairProspects]

OP, I like how you want to do something to help your child's handwriting. OT, NP, and accommodations are the things that you do. Dysgraphia was a shock diagnosis for my family because DS was in 2nd grade and getting by. I was extremely reluctant to accommodate, and then the writing expectations jumped for DS in 5th grade. By 5th grade, I realized that I was harming my son by not accommodating, and I deeply regret not acting sooner.

 

My son is bright and hardworking. Since homeschooling, DS has met and made a handful of same aged friends with LDs that cannot type, and none of them are able to take the rigorous classes that my son attends. I know the moms and hear their complaints. Typing has enabled my son to work more at his intellectual level and afforded him a level of independence that his friends don't have. DS doesn't want me sitting beside him for every subject. During the grammar and logic stage, hauling a device for typing at school every day was a challenge, but as a high schooler, a laptop is no big deal. In fact, laptops are mandatory at our local prep school. I say these things to encourage you. If your child does have dysgraphia, the accommodations are more of a lifestyle adjustment.

 

Up thread you mentioned your DD losing focus when reading. Whenever possible, allow her to use audio books. Have her practice reading with the speed increased. She could practice listening to books at 2-3 times read aloud speed. My local library loans audio books in the digital domain. An IPad app called VoiceDream will read aloud books with immersion technology. I download books from Project Gutenberg and listen for pleasure.

 

Good luck whatever direction you take.

 

Oh my goodness, yes. The skills expectations just jump in the middle years. No one who meets my ds believes that he actually cannot write without accommodations unless I explain. They all assume he is not putting in the effort because the discrepancy is so far off how he speaks and thinks. That is tough for a kid to deal with and the accommodations level the playing field.

 

[sevenatenine]

She CAN read and pay attention to her reading for up to an hour at a time, generally.  She's a good reader and shows good comprehension.  She's in fourth grade and reading all the John Green novels now.  I was reading another thread and am now interested in the possibility of stealth dyslexia.  Wow.

 

I'm a little frustrated that in her school, they have a reading specialist that comes in and works with the kids struggling in that area, but nothing for my daughter, who struggles with the writing so much.

[sevenatenine]

She learned to read at the age of 4 but it was complete memorization of common words.  She has a good memory and would see a word she didn't know, ask what it was, and then commit it to memory.  I believe that is how she learned most words.  She had poor phonics skills, which I felt led to the problem with spelling.  Is that a symptom of anything?

[PeterPan]

She learned to read at the age of 4 but it was complete memorization of common words.  She has a good memory and would see a word she didn't know, ask what it was, and then commit it to memory.  I believe that is how she learned most words.  She had poor phonics skills, which I felt led to the problem with spelling.  Is that a symptom of anything?

A symptom of ps reading instruction.   ;)   You might get WRTR from your library.  It's free (a great price!) and might be enough to turn her spelling around if there's no disability.  It's a greatly streamlined/simplified form of OG, so there's no harm done if you realize she needs something more in-depth.  It's just a way to start learning the methodology for free while you pursue your options.  Even just for you it would be informative.

 

She CAN read and pay attention to her reading for up to an hour at a time, generally.  She's a good reader and shows good comprehension.  She's in fourth grade and reading all the John Green novels now.  I was reading another thread and am now interested in the possibility of stealth dyslexia.  Wow.

 

I'm a little frustrated that in her school, they have a reading specialist that comes in and works with the kids struggling in that area, but nothing for my daughter, who struggles with the writing so much.

Yes, that is how an ADHD child would read, with fine comprehension and attention when she's engaged.  What happens when she reads non-fiction she's not engaged with like a textbook?

 

You still don't know the exact *cause* of the writing problems.  My dd needed VT (for her eyes), OT (for hand pain), things for working memory, typing, and Inspiration software for the EF issues.  Just depends on the *cause* of your dd's symptoms.

 

And that would be outrageous to be on Ritalin without an ADHD diagnosis or other medically substantiable reason.

 

[displace]

She CAN read and pay attention to her reading for up to an hour at a time, generally. She's a good reader and shows good comprehension. She's in fourth grade and reading all the John Green novels now. I was reading another thread and am now interested in the possibility of stealth dyslexia. Wow.

 

I'm a little frustrated that in her school, they have a reading specialist that comes in and works with the kids struggling in that area, but nothing for my daughter, who struggles with the writing so much.

At my DS's old school in a good neighborhood, to get an OT for handwriting in the school was almost impossible. They didn't have a regular person who came by. They would need to hire somebody new. It would take months just to have a therapist come to the school. And when they do it's only for one day a week for a few minutes. Then it's summer break, and the whole cycle starts all over again with trying to find a therapist who will come to the school. Unless your school is different, you will likely need to seek out private therapy anyway.

 

Also consider the school's goal is to not necessarily help a struggling student, but to get all the students to just pass their requirements. I know that teachers, especially good ones, help all students who are struggling. The reality is that not every student can always get all the help they need.

[displace]

She learned to read at the age of 4 but it was complete memorization of common words. She has a good memory and would see a word she didn't know, ask what it was, and then commit it to memory. I believe that is how she learned most words. She had poor phonics skills, which I felt led to the problem with spelling. Is that a symptom of anything?

Whole word memorization sometimes is a symptom of dyslexia, especially in an intelligent child. But as mentioned, a lot of schools are not teaching reading in ways that are effective or even proven to teach reading. DS's school has a horrible method of teaching reading. It's very sight word dependent, with minimal phonics instruction. They also encourage the children and teach them how to guess words based on context clues and initial consonant sounds. That was a horrible way to teach a dyslexic child.

 

All that being said, the full evaluation will reveal what is occurring. Only then will treatment be known.

[sevenatenine]

Thanks, guys.

 

 

In fairness, she's never gone to public school and attends a Montessori School that heavily stresses phonics.  She worked with the movable alphabet for years.  However, she started there at almost four and had already taught herself how to read a lot of words just by memorization, and I think that even though she learned phonics, when learning new words, she didn't use them, opting instead for the memorization route.  

 

I appreciate all the advice.  

[wapiti]

Just chiming in again to recommend getting things checked and ruling things out; (1) ruling out vision and (2) eval for LDs including OT.  Expertise is needed to tease apart the issues.

Edited January 12, 2016 by wapiti

[OneStepAtATime]

Thanks, guys.

 

 

In fairness, she's never gone to public school and attends a Montessori School that heavily stresses phonics.  She worked with the movable alphabet for years.  However, she started there at almost four and had already taught herself how to read a lot of words just by memorization, and I think that even though she learned phonics, when learning new words, she didn't use them, opting instead for the memorization route.  

 

I appreciate all the advice

 

FWIW, there is phonics instruction and then there is really targeted, systematic phonics instruction.  For some kids just normal phonics instruction does not break things down into small enough pieces or do enough review or expose them to the phonics in enough ways for a child to internalize what they are being taught.  They fall back on more inefficient methods.  That may or may not be what has happened with your child but I thought I should mention it.  This board has several posters that used standard phonics instruction with their kids or who had kids in schools that used phonics that still struggled until they put them in very systematic programs that broke everything down into tinier pieces with a ton of review in many different ways.

 

Best wishes...

[sevenatenine]

Can someone tell me more about WRTR?  I'm looking on Amazon and seeing a book on why it's a good approach, but not any actual curriculum for sale.  Do I just need to read the book and go from there?  If there is curriculum, should I start from the beginning with her?

[PeterPan]

WRTR is very trim, yes.  Half the book is explanation and the other half is the word lists.  I threw it at the wall the first time I tried to read it and left it there for about 6 months.  ;)  You really might try your library.  It's probably not going to be a stopping point for you.  I was just saying if your library has it or can get it in a week it would be free for you to read and start learning.  ILL (inter-library loan) is your friend.  I used to be afraid of it, but our system gets books generally within a week.  Give it a whirl.

 

Honestly, I'd put your energy into evals.  If you buy curriculum before evals, you're shooting in the dark.  A good basic eye exam with a developmental optometrist is $60 here.  If you do that and get your OT eval, you're going to have some good info to build on.  It will take you a while to find a psych and what the other two evals say might tweak the direction you go and what kind of psych you're looking for.  

[geodob]

What you really need to focus on, is her learning to type.

While children are forced to learn how to draw words.

In today's world, it is really an irrelevant skill.

It is absurd that a students learning should be impeded, just because they can't draw words.

 

If you did a survey, and asked the next 20 adults that you came across. 

When they last wrote a sentence by hand?

School might be the last time for most, if not all?

 

In 5 years time, when your daughter is 15.   Will students even take an ink pen to their classes?

Where the only pen that they might have?  Will be a mini hand held computer.

Also no paper to write on anyway ?

As well as no paper books?

Where Dysgraphia will be relegated to history.

[sevenatenine]

Okay, I'm just a little lost nad wanting to make sure I hit all the right points.  I've heard suggestions of getting her vision screened from several posters.  To clarify for the response below, she does NOT have trouble with focus when reading.  She can sit and read for an hour or so.  Should I still pursue an exam with a developmental optometrist?  If so, I've looked for one in our town and not found one specifically labeled "Developmental" but I've found a pediatric one.  Would that work?  Do I need to specficially ask for the convergence and tracking tests?

Losing focus when reading could also be a symptom of vision problems.  You can find a developmental optometrist through COVD and do just a regular exam but ask them to *screen* for the convergence, tracking, etc.  It's just a good thing to eliminate as part of the possible mix of problems, sorta like going to the dentist.  

 

[Heathermomster]

Okay, I'm just a little lost nad wanting to make sure I hit all the right points.  I've heard suggestions of getting her vision screened from several posters.  To clarify for the response below, she does NOT have trouble with focus when reading.  She can sit and read for an hour or so.  Should I still pursue an exam with a developmental optometrist?  If so, I've looked for one in our town and not found one specifically labeled "Developmental" but I've found a pediatric one.  Would that work?  Do I need to specficially ask for the convergence and tracking tests?

Yes, you need to specifically ask for convergence and tracking tests.  You may look up a provider here.

 

I would go to the OT first.  You may need a referral from your DD's ped for insurance to cover, but that should only take a phone call.  The OT will tell you what refs you need.  The OT evaluation should take about an hour and examine visual perception, developmental motor, balance, pincer/core strength, handedness, and motor planning.  

[displace]

Thanks, guys.

 

 

In fairness, she's never gone to public school and attends a Montessori School that heavily stresses phonics.  She worked with the movable alphabet for years.  However, she started there at almost four and had already taught herself how to read a lot of words just by memorization, and I think that even though she learned phonics, when learning new words, she didn't use them, opting instead for the memorization route.  

 

I appreciate all the advice.  

That's good that she had some phonics instruction!

[PeterPan]

Okay, I'm just a little lost nad wanting to make sure I hit all the right points.  I've heard suggestions of getting her vision screened from several posters.  To clarify for the response below, she does NOT have trouble with focus when reading.  She can sit and read for an hour or so.  Should I still pursue an exam with a developmental optometrist?  If so, I've looked for one in our town and not found one specifically labeled "Developmental" but I've found a pediatric one.  Would that work?  Do I need to specficially ask for the convergence and tracking tests?

You look at COVD.org to find a developmental optometrist.  Nope, not the same as a ped optom.  You want one through COVD.  Call around and compare prices and how they do things, because they'll vary.  I think it's nice to start with just a basic eye exam with them but talk about the issues you're having and ask them to screen.  That way you haven't paid for a longer eval if you don't like the doc, kwim?

[prairiewindmomma]

I am going to share a tidbit of our experience because I think there is a growing emphasis here on this board on the importance of having quality evaluations done so that you can specifically address the issues your child is having. 

 

So, we have always schooled at home, but we also had the local public school do evals a few years ago.  We saw significant issues at home, and I knew what some of those were, but I wanted to know how to teach my child and help him improve in a few key areas. We saw a psych, OT, VT, and a few other people. We came away with some information and a 504. 

 

We did both the ped ophthalmology and optometry stuff because we knew vision was a huge issue. We paid $$$$ out-of-pocket for vision therapy, which improved things somewhat. We tried a number of things at home while we saved money.  We actually switched insurance companies last year because we knew big expensive stuff was likely.

 

We FINALLY are getting quality private evaluations done, and you know what? Public school evals were wrong. Notably, jaw-droppingly so in the areas of OT and PT and visual/spatial/motor stuff.  Things are significantly worse than we thought and ds really needs a lot more intervention and is going to need a lot of documentation through his school journey. We have the 504 from three years ago. We are adding a lot to that now. We are keeping a long paper trail because when it comes time for ds to take the SAT, he is going to need either the large print test for the multiple choice and a computer for the essays, or to orally give his answers.

 

I'm sharing this because HELP, which is what you are asking for, is based on knowing the specific issues.  If EF is an issue, then maybe using inspiration software can help her organize her ideas. If the issue is the physical act of writing, then dictation software would be a help in the classroom.  In our case, what the public school thought ....dysgraphia and vision and attention issues was wrong. Kid has NO attention issues. He has significant visual/spatial/motor issues that do impact his EF skills, but not attention issues.  (i.e.---ritalin, etc. would do nothing to help him).  Teasing out this kind of detail is important!