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I am trying to figure out if this is something I need to be concerned about and I'm hoping you all have some insight. 

My 5 year old (just recently turned 5) has been in preschool for the last 2 years. They have followed the A Beka program, so I know that she's getting the ABCs and phonics.
Earlier in the year, I noticed that she struggles with her letters, but I honestly just figured she was being stubborn with me. I spoke with her teacher and they've been working one-on-one with her letters and she'll "know" them during their time together, but not later on. Fast forward to the end of the year and she still can not identify letters by name or sound. Well, she can identify/name the letters in her name, but ONLY if she spells her name out loud first.
She CAN match upper/lower case letters and she does not have this issue with number names. 

I know some things are just developmental, but she has even stated that she is sad that she can't learn the ABCs. She told me one day she hates that her friends always know and she never does.  :crying: 

Is it normal to have consistent exposure for at least 2 years and still not be able to identify the letters? 
(And no worries, I'm not forcing her to practice or anything. She already struggles with any kind of learning and I don't want to kill any joy of learning there is left.) 
 

Edited by Southern Ivy
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My oldest had trouble retaining letter sounds despite working on them in preschool and being exposed to it consistently at home. My younger son seemed to learn them by osmosis in comparison. What worked for my son right around age 5 was the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD and putting together a Melissa and Doug alphabet train puzzle on a regular basis.

 

As far as whether it's normal or not, I have no idea, but for my son we still have lots of trouble with memory of advanced phonograms, math facts, etc. He's on the spectrum, so that contributes to a lot of learning troubles for us. Games and hands on learning helps.

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My 6 yr old struggled with letter names and sounds despite a couple years of consistent teaching/practice (she finally has them down now, but it took years). She is likely dyslexic.

However, she also struggled with colors, shapes,and numbers. It's a word retrieval issue for her, which is linked to dyslexia.

 

Can she point to the correct letter if given the name/sound rather than being asked to retrieve the name/sound herself?

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My oldest had trouble retaining letter sounds despite working on them in preschool and being exposed to it consistently at home. My younger son seemed to learn them by osmosis in comparison. What worked for my son right around age 5 was the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD and putting together a Melissa and Doug alphabet train puzzle on a regular basis.

 

As far as whether it's normal or not, I have no idea, but for my son we still have lots of trouble with memory of advanced phonograms, math facts, etc. He's on the spectrum, so that contributes to a lot of learning troubles for us. Games and hands on learning helps.

We have watched that DVD so many times. lol I think I have it memorized! 

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My 6 yr old struggled with letter names and sounds despite a couple years of consistent teaching/practice (she finally has them down now, but it took years). She is likely dyslexic.

However, she also struggled with colors, shapes,and numbers. It's a word retrieval issue for her, which is linked to dyslexia.

 

Can she point to the correct letter if given the name/sound rather than being asked to retrieve the name/sound herself?

Not really. If it's in her name, she will spell her name out loud to retrieve the name and she can identify A and X. But, other letters? Rarely. 

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My 6 yr old struggled with letter names and sounds despite a couple years of consistent teaching/practice (she finally has them down now, but it took years). She is likely dyslexic.

However, she also struggled with colors, shapes,and numbers. It's a word retrieval issue for her, which is linked to dyslexia.

?

This is our experience too. How does she do with rapid naming games? Eg. Name all the farm animals you can think of as fast as you can.

 

 

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That was what clued me in that my youngest had *something* going on, though it was from ages 5 to 7. He would know a letter name/sound, and the next day or a few days later, not know it. At all. Even the same letter after two years.

 

He could, even when he started learning them, sometimes tell me the letter if I said the sound (or could point to it, draw it, etc.), but if I asked him "what sound does F make" he could not tell me (even if he could point to an F when I made the sound). Some letters he could do the other, name the sound if I asked, but not point it out if I gave him the sound. Some he could do neither, and sometimes what he could do would flip flop back and forth. 

 

In his case he was diagnosed with a pretty severe form of dyslexia, along with very slow processing speed, and very poor working memory (and a host of other compounding factors). Your dd may have just simple dyslexia, or just might not quite be ready yet, but it's something I would look into. 

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That was what clued me in that my youngest had *something* going on, though it was from ages 5 to 7. He would know a letter name/sound, and the next day or a few days later, not know it. At all. Even the same letter after two years.

 

He could, even when he started learning them, sometimes tell me the letter if I said the sound (or could point to it, draw it, etc.), but if I asked him "what sound does F make" he could not tell me (even if he could point to an F when I made the sound). Some letters he could do the other, name the sound if I asked, but not point it out if I gave him the sound. Some he could do neither, and sometimes what he could do would flip flop back and forth. 

 

In his case he was diagnosed with a pretty severe form of dyslexia, along with very slow processing speed, and very poor working memory (and a host of other compounding factors). Your dd may have just simple dyslexia, or just might not quite be ready yet, but it's something I would look into. 

I guess I considered dyslexia to be something different. When she writes, the letters are correct and aside from getting confused with g sometimes, she can easily match other letters. 

 

So, I take it there are variations to dyslexia? 

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This is our experience too. How does she do with rapid naming games? Eg. Name all the farm animals you can think of as fast as you can.

 

 

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Are you asking me? If so, we took her do the school Kindergarten screening and she was "age appropriate" on that skill. 

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My little guy had the same problem. He is diagnosed dyslexic. I think it isn't that unusual; after all, there is a reason Abeka still drills letter names and sounds throughout the k5 year. But I think you have good reason to be concerned after that level of exposure and drill.

 

Any other things I should be on the look out for? 

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On the face of it, I'd say watch her closely and be prepared for intervention. Since you alluded to other difficulties, it might help to know specifically what you are referring.

 

Children learn to read by mapping the sound to the letter first. If you haven't done so already, get her eyes and ears checked to sort any developmental vision or auditory processing issues. I like the book Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr. Shaywitz. Bear in mind that the book is older so doesn't address vision/auditory issues or homeschooling.

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I guess I considered dyslexia to be something different. When she writes, the letters are correct and aside from getting confused with g sometimes, she can easily match other letters. 

 

So, I take it there are variations to dyslexia? 

 

Yes, there are. 

 

my son actually almost never mixes up letters when writing them or in deciding what letter it is (copying them, etc.). In fact, when he came home from an outside class and told me he had trouble seeing the board, trouble telling what letter something was, I suggested it could be his dyslexia; he vehemently denied it, saying that no, he can tell what letter it is, that isn't the problem. Things just get jumbled when putting them together. 

 

Anyway, yes, there are types. We were told he has something called "dysphonidaetic dyslexia" (spelling may be off on that, sorry!) which is a combination of an auditory component and a visual component. I don't 100% understand exactly where things get mixed up for him, all I know is that for 2 years we worked through the same workbook (the pre-Explode the Code books), played ABC Bingo, read alphabet books, did ABC matching games, etc. but to no avail. 

 

We did also have to back up and do phonemic awareness stuff -- he wasn't hearing the differences. He had trouble creating rhymes or even picking out rhymes, for example. He never "finished the sentence" in books we read over and over and over and over again, the way most kids do. He had some other stuff going on, too, visual & auditory processing disorders, so I'm honestly never sure which thing causes which problem......but, the first "something's not right" signal was exactly what you describe, him knowing something one day, and not remembering it later. 

 

We still run into that with some math stuff (time telling, days of the week, months of the year; anything he isn't exposed to every.single.day.), but again, whether that's dyslexia, processing issues, processing speed issues, working memory issues.....I really can't pinpoint because he has such a string of things on the diagnosis report. 

 

I will encourage you, his random-access naming stuff was very low, so if your dd's is fine, that's a good sign. 

 

Oh, and her ability to match one letter to the other is not necessarily a "that rules out dyslexia" thing; matching one to the other is no more than matching any other picture. But keeping straight which letter makes which sound, and being able to decipher that, and then to flip it around and use that knowledge for spelling.....that's where she's likely to run into problems. 

 

BUT -- she is only 5 so far, so she may just be a little later in developing the pre-reading skills she needs. Do rhyming games with her, look up phonemic awareness activities, try those, and after a while reintroduce letters & their sounds. If she still struggles after all of that, then get her checked out. Like I said, my son was 7 and still doing this (7.5 really...). A lot of testers won't actually test for dyslexia at only 5 yrs old. You have time :) 

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On the face of it, I'd say watch her closely and be prepared for intervention. Since you alluded to other difficulties, it might help to know specifically what you are referring.

 

Children learn to read by mapping the sound to the letter first. If you haven't done so already, get her eyes and ears checked to sort any developmental vision or auditory processing issues. I like the book Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr. Shaywitz. Bear in mind that the book is older so doesn't address vision/auditory issues or homeschooling.

I alluded to other difficulties? If so, it wasn't intentional. :) 

Eyes have been checked by our eye doctor ears were formally checked by an audiologist when she started speech. She had speech for a year for her g/k sounds, but graduated out in December. The only issue now is her "th" with is developmentally appropriate for her age. 

 

The only difficulties she's having are the letters (she did choose the number 6 when asked to find 8, but all other numbers were correct - up to 10). 

 

I will say, potty training was a lot later than others. She was not fully potty trained until about 4.5; but aside from that, everything else has been normal. 

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I am trying to figure out if this is something I need to be concerned about and I'm hoping you all have some insight. 

My 5 year old (just recently turned 5) has been in preschool for the last 2 years. They have followed the A Beka program, so I know that she's getting the ABCs and phonics.

Earlier in the year, I noticed that she struggles with her letters, but I honestly just figured she was being stubborn with me. I spoke with her teacher and they've been working one-on-one with her letters and she'll "know" them during their time together, but not later on. Fast forward to the end of the year and she still can not identify letters by name or sound. Well, she can identify/name the letters in her name, but ONLY if she spells her name out loud first.

She CAN match upper/lower case letters and she does not have this issue with number names. 

I know some things are just developmental, but she has even stated that she is sad that she can't learn the ABCs. She told me one day she hates that her friends always know and she never does.  :crying: 

Is it normal to have consistent exposure for at least 2 years and still not be able to identify the letters? 

(And no worries, I'm not forcing her to practice or anything. She already struggles with any kind of learning and I don't want to kill any joy of learning there is left.)

 

  

I alluded to other difficulties? If so, it wasn't intentional. :) 

Eyes have been checked by our eye doctor ears were formally checked by an audiologist when she started speech. She had speech for a year for her g/k sounds, but graduated out in December. The only issue now is her "th" with is developmentally appropriate for her age. 

The only difficulties she's having are the letters (she did choose the number 6 when asked to find 8, but all other numbers were correct - up to 10). 

 

I will say, potty training was a lot later than others. She was not fully potty trained until about 4.5; but aside from that, everything else has been normal.

 

Eyes need to be checked by a developmental optometrist. Given the motor related issues you describe ie. speech and late potty training, you might consider getting her evaluated by an OT if handwriting or behavior becomes an issue. A good OT can assess visual perception, developmental motor, balance, pincer/core strength, and motor planning. If she is struggling in a years time, the Barton Reading, and Spelling website has a pretest that you can administer to determine whether she's ready for an O-G program or needs phonemic awareness training. Good luck!
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I guess I considered dyslexia to be something different. When she writes, the letters are correct and aside from getting confused with g sometimes, she can easily match other letters.

 

So, I take it there are variations to dyslexia?

There are many, many myths and untruths regarding dyslexia. I'd encourage you to research.

 

http://www.dys-add.com/dyslexia.html

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I agree with others that you could be seeing signs of dyslexia. It can be diagnosed at a young age now (5, I think, or maybe 6?) using the CTOPP. It's worth considering having that testing done, because the earlier you start intervention for dyslexia, the better the outcome.

 

DD is dyslexic. At that age, she really struggled with the reading programs that I used. But her handwriting was beautiful. She could have entered a handwriting contest in K or 1st and won easily. Her letters were perfectly formed.

 

Now at age 11, her handwriting is atrocious. The difference? When she was little, she was drawing the letters. Copying them. Once she started using the letters for writing other than copywork, her handwriting deteriorated. She couldn't use all of her concentration for drawing the letters perfectly any more.

 

So, where to get testing? You can request that the public school do it, even if she has been going to private school, and they must do the evaluations. They won't diagnose dyslexia but should be able to run the CTOPP and tell you if she has a learning disability in reading.

 

Or you can look for a private educational psychologist to do the testing. If you have a dyslexia school somewhere close enough to drive to, they sometimes do free reading screenings (but be wary if it is not a CTOPP -- DD had a screening test at a dyslexia school that was insufficient for detecting that there was a problem).

 

Also, be sure to ask her current teacher to write up her observations about your daughter's difficulties with reading, because teacher input is a valued part of the evaluation process, and if you wait for next year's teacher to give input, she or he will have spend many fewer hours with her and will not have as much to offer.

 

When DD was five, I was seeing the red flags, and I was concerned, but I didn't know how to get her tested. She was ten when she got her diagnosis and started getting intervention from a trained tutor. I wish we had figured out how to get her help sooner. Based on our experience, I always advise people not to wait.

 

 

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  Eyes need to be checked by a developmental optometrist. Given the motor related issues you describe ie. speech and late potty training, you might consider getting her evaluated by an OT if handwriting or behavior becomes an issue. A good OT can assess visual perception, developmental motor, balance, pincer/core strength, and motor planning. If she is struggling in a years time, the Barton Reading, and Spelling website has a pretest that you can administer to determine whether she's ready for an O-G program or needs phonemic awareness training. Good luck!

OH, ok, the "She struggles with learning" part. I can see how that came across. I meant more that she doesn't enjoy learning, as in sitting down and trying. She gets frustrated and gives up easily.

I'm currently working, so she's having to go to the preschool and she'll say "I'm just so tired of learning. Can't I stay home?" That's more of what I meant, when I said she struggles. Whoops. Sorry for the confusion. :) 

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There are many, many myths and untruths regarding dyslexia. I'd encourage you to research.

 

http://www.dys-add.com/dyslexia.html

Thank you. :) I will read through that. 

 

I agree with others that you could be seeing signs of dyslexia. It can be diagnosed at a young age now (5, I think, or maybe 6?) using the CTOPP. It's worth considering having that testing done, because the earlier you start intervention for dyslexia, the better the outcome.

 

DD is dyslexic. At that age, she really struggled with the reading programs that I used. But her handwriting was beautiful. She could have entered a handwriting contest in K or 1st and won easily. Her letters were perfectly formed.

 

Now at age 11, her handwriting is atrocious. The difference? When she was little, she was drawing the letters. Copying them. Once she started using the letters for writing other than copywork, her handwriting deteriorated. She couldn't use all of her concentration for drawing the letters perfectly any more.

 

So, where to get testing? You can request that the public school do it, even if she has been going to private school, and they must do the evaluations. They won't diagnose dyslexia but should be able to run the CTOPP and tell you if she has a learning disability in reading.

 

Or you can look for a private educational psychologist to do the testing. If you have a dyslexia school somewhere close enough to drive to, they sometimes do free reading screenings (but be wary if it is not a CTOPP -- DD had a screening test at a dyslexia school that was insufficient for detecting that there was a problem).

 

Also, be sure to ask her current teacher to write up her observations about your daughter's difficulties with reading, because teacher input is a valued part of the evaluation process, and if you wait for next year's teacher to give input, she or he will have spend many fewer hours with her and will not have as much to offer.

 

When DD was five, I was seeing the red flags, and I was concerned, but I didn't know how to get her tested. She was ten when she got her diagnosis and started getting intervention from a trained tutor. I wish we had figured out how to get her help sooner. Based on our experience, I always advise people not to wait.

 

I will definitely get her teacher to write up her observations. I'm definitely going to be staying on top of this. I don't want to force her into something she's not developmentally ready for, but she has already told me that it makes her sad when her friends can "do the letters and teacher has to help me". So, she's already noticing the difference. :/ 

I don't know of any dyslexia schools nearby, but I will start looking around. :) 

 

Yes, there are. 

 

my son actually almost never mixes up letters when writing them or in deciding what letter it is (copying them, etc.). In fact, when he came home from an outside class and told me he had trouble seeing the board, trouble telling what letter something was, I suggested it could be his dyslexia; he vehemently denied it, saying that no, he can tell what letter it is, that isn't the problem. Things just get jumbled when putting them together. 

 

Anyway, yes, there are types. We were told he has something called "dysphonidaetic dyslexia" (spelling may be off on that, sorry!) which is a combination of an auditory component and a visual component. I don't 100% understand exactly where things get mixed up for him, all I know is that for 2 years we worked through the same workbook (the pre-Explode the Code books), played ABC Bingo, read alphabet books, did ABC matching games, etc. but to no avail. 

 

 We did also have to back up and do phonemic awareness stuff -- he wasn't hearing the differences. He had trouble creating rhymes or even picking out rhymes, for example. 

 

Oh, and her ability to match one letter to the other is not necessarily a "that rules out dyslexia" thing; matching one to the other is no more than matching any other picture. But keeping straight which letter makes which sound, and being able to decipher that, and then to flip it around and use that knowledge for spelling.....that's where she's likely to run into problems. 

 

BUT -- she is only 5 so far, so she may just be a little later in developing the pre-reading skills she needs. Do rhyming games with her, look up phonemic awareness activities, try those, and after a while reintroduce letters & their sounds. If she still struggles after all of that, then get her checked out. Like I said, my son was 7 and still doing this (7.5 really...). A lot of testers won't actually test for dyslexia at only 5 yrs old. You have time :)

Yeah, I was told she needed to work on rhyming and phonemic awareness. (she was asked to identify what picture begins with b-b-b and she chose kitten and even said Kitten! It starts with b-b-b.") 

I never thought of the letter matching being like matching pictures. Good point. 

 

 

You all have been a great source of information! I'm definitely going to be looking into this more and watching her closely. 

 

Is your child's dyslexia why you all decided to homeschool or were you already homeschooling? (I wanted to homeschool, thus my being on this forum, but DH is pretty opposed to it right now, so it's a waiting game. ;) ) 

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Thank you. :) I will read through that.

 

 

I will definitely get her teacher to write up her observations. I'm definitely going to be staying on top of this. I don't want to force her into something she's not developmentally ready for, but she has already told me that it makes her sad when her friends can "do the letters and teacher has to help me". So, she's already noticing the difference. :/

I don't know of any dyslexia schools nearby, but I will start looking around. :)

 

Yeah, I was told she needed to work on rhyming and phonemic awareness. (she was asked to identify what picture begins with b-b-b and she chose kitten and even said Kitten! It starts with b-b-b.")

I never thought of the letter matching being like matching pictures. Good point.

 

 

You all have been a great source of information! I'm definitely going to be looking into this more and watching her closely.

 

Is your child's dyslexia why you all decided to homeschool or were you already homeschooling? (I wanted to homeschool, thus my being on this forum, but DH is pretty opposed to it right now, so it's a waiting game. ;) )

Definitely sounds like Dyslexia is a likelihood. Lots of red flags here.

 

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We were homeschoolers from the beginning. We kept at it despite many challenges until my youngest were in fourth grade. My kids' LDs and other challenges definitely influenced our decision to enroll them in school, but I had three out of four kids who eventually ended up diagnosed with various issues (and who were not naturally prone to work well with me), and the fourth has academic weaknesses, so it was tough for me in ways that won't apply to other families.

 

Dyslexic children need specialized reading help -- Orton Gillingham or another similar method.

This can be a challenge for kids who are enrolled, if their school cannot meet their needs. 

It can be a challenge for kids who are homeschooled, if a parent is not able to either do effective remediation or hire a qualified tutor.

 

It's hard either way, but it's possible to find a path that can work.

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Thank you. :) I will read through that. 

 

 

I will definitely get her teacher to write up her observations. I'm definitely going to be staying on top of this. I don't want to force her into something she's not developmentally ready for, but she has already told me that it makes her sad when her friends can "do the letters and teacher has to help me". So, she's already noticing the difference. :/ 

I don't know of any dyslexia schools nearby, but I will start looking around. :) 

 

Yeah, I was told she needed to work on rhyming and phonemic awareness. (she was asked to identify what picture begins with b-b-b and she chose kitten and even said Kitten! It starts with b-b-b.") 

I never thought of the letter matching being like matching pictures. Good point. 

 

 

You all have been a great source of information! I'm definitely going to be looking into this more and watching her closely. 

 

Is your child's dyslexia why you all decided to homeschool or were you already homeschooling? (I wanted to homeschool, thus my being on this forum, but DH is pretty opposed to it right now, so it's a waiting game. ;) ) 

 

 

 

I was already homeschooling my 2 older neurotypical kids and had plans to homeschool this DD as well.  I would love to at least consider the 2 dyslexia schools in our area, but at $40,000/yr it just isn't an option.  There is no way I would put this particular child in the public school system at this point in time.  Her dyslexia just sets homeschooling in stone for us.  

 

Add dyslexia and public schools to your research.

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My youngest had a hard time with learning letters despite watching the letter videos that worked for my other two. She did eventually get it but it was hard for her. She also had the rhyming and first letter sound issue you mention. With both those things going on I would guess she is dyslexic. If you have coverage for speech finding a speech therapist who does LiPs would probably be helpful. We worked on phonemic awareness and letters before kindergarten and there was improvement but reading is still not really coming along. I will be giving Barton a try.

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My youngest had a hard time with learning letters despite watching the letter videos that worked for my other two. She did eventually get it but it was hard for her. She also had the rhyming and first letter sound issue you mention. With both those things going on I would guess she is dyslexic. If you have coverage for speech finding a speech therapist who does LiPs would probably be helpful. We worked on phonemic awareness and letters before kindergarten and there was improvement but reading is still not really coming along. I will be giving Barton a try.

What is LiPs? 

 

Never mind - I found it. :D 

Sadly, our SLP moved to be closer to family, but I know of a great clinic that could probably give me direction on this. My mom mentioned it could be a language acquisition problem and an SLP could help. The therapist she works with had mentioned having her go to the kindergarten jumpstart summer school program, to see if a new teacher would help, then make some decisions. We're definitely doing that (kiddo is excited because the afternoon is water exploration and has a mermaid/pirate theme, so she is ready for a big party. haha), but I definitely want to know my options and have some resources ready if she is still having trouble. 

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On the face of it, I'd say watch her closely and be prepared for intervention. Since you alluded to other difficulties, it might help to know specifically what you are referring.

 

Children learn to read by mapping the sound to the letter first. If you haven't done so already, get her eyes and ears checked to sort any developmental vision or auditory processing issues. I like the book Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr. Shaywitz. Bear in mind that the book is older so doesn't address vision/auditory issues or homeschooling.

I found a developmental optometrist nearby. Who would need to do the auditory processing testing? An SLP? An audiologist? Someone different? 

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I found a developmental optometrist nearby. Who would need to do the auditory processing testing? An SLP? An audiologist? Someone different?

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/auditory-processing-disorder/understanding-auditory-processing-disorder

 

She is still very young.

 

For phonemic awareness work, LiPS is recommended if the student fails certain portions of the Barton screening test. Non-SLP moms on this board have used LiPS with their kids. It just takes a little moxie to implement (or so it seems). You'll be surprised at what you'll find yourself teaching with a child that struggles.

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Thank you. :) I will read through that. 

 

 

I will definitely get her teacher to write up her observations. I'm definitely going to be staying on top of this. I don't want to force her into something she's not developmentally ready for, but she has already told me that it makes her sad when her friends can "do the letters and teacher has to help me". So, she's already noticing the difference. :/ 

I don't know of any dyslexia schools nearby, but I will start looking around. :) 

 

Yeah, I was told she needed to work on rhyming and phonemic awareness. (she was asked to identify what picture begins with b-b-b and she chose kitten and even said Kitten! It starts with b-b-b.") 

I never thought of the letter matching being like matching pictures. Good point. 

 

 

You all have been a great source of information! I'm definitely going to be looking into this more and watching her closely. 

 

Is your child's dyslexia why you all decided to homeschool or were you already homeschooling? (I wanted to homeschool, thus my being on this forum, but DH is pretty opposed to it right now, so it's a waiting game. ;) ) 

 

Yes, it sounds like you might have dyslexia or other similar issue going on. 

 

We were homeschooling already; my oldest was actually opposite and at age 3 was already figuring out letter sounds  -- he came to me at 3 and asked how to spell his baby brother's name, Caleb; I spelled it for him, and my then 3 yr old said, "Momma, A is for apple, and that say /ah/, so C-a-l-e-b says "cah-leb" (pronounced like in apple), so....how do you spell Cay-leb??"  He had been able to recognize/name letters since he was around 20 months old, and we hadn't done any teaching other than reading Dr. Seuss's ABC book to him as one of many books we read to him. By 4.5 yrs old, he was "writing" (typing) stories, little 4 or 5 sentence stories, by himself. He was a September birthday, so "too young" to start Kindergarten until the year he was turning 6, and by then he was reading on a 3rd grade level, doing math on a 2nd/3rd grade level, etc. and the public school's solution was to bump him up one grade, only for reading instruction, and so he'd be adjusting to 2 entire classrooms, teachers, etc. 

 

We didn't think that sounded like a wise move, so I just kept him home (I was already able to stay home, so that was easy) and we just kept homeschooling. 

 

Then the middle son was more average, with some giftedness in other areas, and then the youngest is the dyslexic and by that time we were living in Brazil, homeschooling still, and had no other real options for him. We finally found Barton this past year (he was tested at 7.5, we spent from age 8 to 9 working on phonemic awareness and getting him up to speed on being able to learn letter sounds, then from 9 to 11 we were on a waiting list for further evaluations, working through other recommended O-G reading programs, making progress but not "catching up" and just at the start of this school year we finally switched to Barton, which is making a HUGE difference; he's 12 now....). 

 

All that to say --- we started hs'ing for other reasons, but I wouldn't dream of putting my dyslexic in public school around me; the stories are awful of how the kids get little to no help here. As it is, he goes to a once/week home school enrichment, and the past year he's been in the level below his just so he can keep up with the in-class work. Just this year coming up he'll promote up to the proper level, and hopefully be able to do well enough in class. The thing with public school is the dyslexia would impact every.single.subject. Reading test questions, copying notes off the board, doing map work, any in class writing, at all, story problems/word problems in math....every single aspect. Vocabulary, for instance; my son has to copy one or two words a week in science class -- for most kids, they can look up at the word and read it "environment" and write it down at least in chunks before having to look back to check the spelling. For him, he literally had to look at each letter, "e", and write that; "n", and write that, etc...finding his place every time, copying a string of letters that made zero sense to him, at all. He's only now gained the ability to be able to break a word like that into sections, and even still it's painstakingly slow. 

 

If you can convince your DH to homeschool now, it would be beneficial. 

 

I found a developmental optometrist nearby. Who would need to do the auditory processing testing? An SLP? An audiologist? Someone different? 

 

An audiologist; this is still on our list to get checked out.....our SLP said she didn't think it was an issue, so we've put that one on the back burner for now.....

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My eldest tests gifted with 3 SLDs. He attended a private school from pre-k through 6th grade and worked with a Wilson tutor throughout the school year and summer for 5 years. Our greatest classroom issues were handwriting and poorly informed teachers. When your child is 2e, school is filled with a series of magnificent highs and lows. By 6th grade, I realized the math and language instruction were bad, so we brought him home. His standardized test scores flew. I hire specialized teachers to work with him. DS takes a mixture of classes inside and outside the home. I don't require an IEP to accommodate. Since we are home, I can better manage therapies. DS has learned to accommodate himself with technology, and their use is 2nd nature to him. I pick the curriculum, which means we can use college text books if we like. He listens to lectures and watches documentaries. Homeschooling has been great for my DS, and I've never regretted it. DS plays football, hikes, fishes, and volunteers in his spare time.

 

My DD has always been homeschooled and she rocks. She takes violin at the local university once per week and attended a science course at a local museum. We love it!

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https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/auditory-processing-disorder/understanding-auditory-processing-disorder

 

She is still very young.

 

For phonemic awareness work, LiPS is recommended if the student fails certain portions of the Barton screening test. Non-SLP moms on this board have used LiPS with their kids. It just takes a little moxie to implement (or so it seems). You'll be surprised at what you'll find yourself teaching with a child that struggles.

Thank you for the link. 

 

My mom also keeps reminding me that she is still very young. I'm just a worrier AND a fixer - so I worry about issues and look at every possible way to fix it. Patience is definitely not my virtue. lol 

I think my sense of urgency comes from when I used to teach. I had a 4th grader who struggled so much to read when he was in K, then 1st and on up. Mom expressed concerns each year and each year, they said "It's just developmental". In 3rd, they FINALLY started to admit that there was an issue, and by 4th she and I had to make a huge fuss in order for Special Services to get their rears in gear and get testing done. He was so incredibly smart and would make an A on every test if I would read it. If I didn't - he failed each and every time. What is more infuriating is that his mom is a teacher. You would think that teachers would take care of their own, but even her son fell through the cracks. He's made major leaps and bounds since we had testing for him and he got an IEP, but gosh, all those years of him feeling stupid. :( I don't want that for Riverlyn. 

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Thank you for the link.

 

My mom also keeps reminding me that she is still very young. I'm just a worrier AND a fixer - so I worry about issues and look at every possible way to fix it. Patience is definitely not my virtue. lol

I think my sense of urgency comes from when I used to teach. I had a 4th grader who struggled so much to read when he was in K, then 1st and on up. Mom expressed concerns each year and each year, they said "It's just developmental". In 3rd, they FINALLY started to admit that there was an issue, and by 4th she and I had to make a huge fuss in order for Special Services to get their rears in gear and get testing done. He was so incredibly smart and would make an A on every test if I would read it. If I didn't - he failed each and every time. What is more infuriating is that his mom is a teacher. You would think that teachers would take care of their own, but even her son fell through the cracks. He's made major leaps and bounds since we had testing for him and he got an IEP, but gosh, all those years of him feeling stupid. :( I don't want that for Riverlyn.

I think this is typical, which is why I'm having such a difficult time getting my 6 yr old diagnosed. I absolutely know there is something going on, but others have missed it or written it off as developmental. Until I spoke with Susan Barton. She sees definite signs of dyslexia.

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I think this is typical, which is why I'm having such a difficult time getting my 6 yr old diagnosed. I absolutely know there is something going on, but others have missed it or written it off as developmental. Until I spoke with Susan Barton. She sees definite signs of dyslexia.

Good luck. I hope you get answers soon. 

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You may be able to find a school that is a hidden gem when it comes to dyslexia/ reading disability. But you have to do research and be willing to be an advocate.

 

In our case, when we decided to enroll DD in school for fourth grade (after homeschooling), we toured our public elementary school and asked whether they had an OG specialist on staff. The principal was hesitant to answer (she was kind of unpleasant all around) and finally said yes, but "only for the most severe cases." The trouble with that is that so many kids potentially miss out on needed intervention and are expected to struggle along, because they are not having enough difficulty. That can be infuriating.

 

We found a private Christian school that had an OG trained intervention specialist, enrolled there, and paid the OG teacher to tutor DD privately after school twice a week. This teacher was also super helpful during our IEP process.

 

Even so, things were a struggle there for DD -- she still had to do the typical classwork -- so this year for fifth grade, she is going to a private dyslexia school. It is such a better fit for her. All of the teachers there are intervention specialists, and they don't conform to standard teaching methods when they know other ways work better for the kids.

 

If we were still homeschooling, I think I would be using Barton with her.

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Thank you for the link. 

 

My mom also keeps reminding me that she is still very young. I'm just a worrier AND a fixer - so I worry about issues and look at every possible way to fix it. Patience is definitely not my virtue. lol 

I think my sense of urgency comes from when I used to teach. I had a 4th grader who struggled so much to read when he was in K, then 1st and on up. Mom expressed concerns each year and each year, they said "It's just developmental". In 3rd, they FINALLY started to admit that there was an issue, and by 4th she and I had to make a huge fuss in order for Special Services to get their rears in gear and get testing done. He was so incredibly smart and would make an A on every test if I would read it. If I didn't - he failed each and every time. What is more infuriating is that his mom is a teacher. You would think that teachers would take care of their own, but even her son fell through the cracks. He's made major leaps and bounds since we had testing for him and he got an IEP, but gosh, all those years of him feeling stupid. :( I don't want that for Riverlyn. 

It is very frustrating.  Our local school system does not purposely retain O-G certified reading specialists.  I met a local teacher who worked as a reading specialist for years.  Three summers ago, she paid out of pocket and became O-G certified at our local dyslexia school's summer O-G training program.  Anyhoo..This woman told me she was appalled after realizing how bad the local school's materials were and genuinely sorry for the harm she likely caused.  

 

The public and private systems are without excuse.  Brain imaging studies have been conducted for at least 25 years now.  Effective multisensory instruction has been around since the 1930s.  One in five children should not be falling through the cracks.  

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Lost a giant post. :cursing:

 

My MIL was a reading specialist at a public school for almost 30 years. She had no intervention training, by her own admission knew nothing about dyslexia, and was able to offer zero advice when DD was having trouble in the early years, other than, "some people don't do well with phonics and need to learn with sight words."

 

All those kids for all of those years going through her school. Ugh. I don't like to think about it. MIL is a nice lady, but she should not have been the reading specialist.

 

Watch out for that. Ask good questions. Advocate. Insist on evaluations and an IEP at an early age. Find private OG tutoring if she must be in school but the school does not offer sufficient help. Don't take advice from people who suggest waiting until she is older to see if reading "clicks." Your daughter may not have dyslexia, but no one will know for sure until she is tested.

 

I had trouble figuring out how to get help. I brought DD's reading problems up to the pediatrician multiple times, and he offered no suggestions. I took her to a free reading screening and was told she had no problems, because she was not in the lower 25%. Her score was something like 27%, and she is really bright, so that was crazy low for her, but she didn't fall in that screening tools' red zone. It was a silly 15 minute evaluation, and it was at a dyslexia school (not the one she attends). I argued with that tester :coolgleamA:.

 

Very frustrating to be seeking help, knowing in your heart there is a reading disability, but not being able to get someone to listen or help. If we had been in the public school, she probably would have been flagged for getting some help eventually, because she had so many problems, but who knows -- even the dyslexia school didn't think she had dyslexia.

 

She was eventually diagnosed with pretty severe dyslexia by a neuropsychologist. Because I finally took her to someone who knew what they were doing and did the proper testing and was not just offering an opinion.

 

As you can see, I'm still pretty emotional about it. I spent a lot of time feeling frustrated and helpless. I just don't want that for others, so I always advise to get the right kind of testing and find proper intervention.

 

I agree that your daughter is still young. But I saw the red flags in my daughter when she was four, and it took until age ten to get help. It can be good to heed those early warning signs.

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I saw Barton materials in the special education pull out room at the school and asked if they use that with any students. She said she was not using it currently for a school with over 500 students some of whom I know could use it. I saw several kids from the school at the private tutoring place that uses Barton. You have to test as over two years behind and she does not even advocate testing for a kid having trouble in class because of that. It is frustrating that schools cannot just see a kid having trouble and give them help right away.

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I would try building simple words with the cards linked on my blending page, read the whole page. Start with just a few consonants and one vowel, then add a vowel, then add a consonant. Beginning L and R, and any position M, N are good easy consonants to start with, but just pick one of m and n if she confuses them. Also, let her use the chart to look up things for a while, it helps acquisition of the sounds for many of my struggling learners. I like the one page chart best but if she needs larger, the full page vowel and full page consonant charts until she can handle the smaller one page chart.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/blendingwords.html

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I would try building simple words with the cards linked on my blending page, read the whole page. Start with just a few consonants and one vowel, then add a vowel, then add a consonant. Beginning L and R, and any position M, N are good easy consonants to start with, but just pick one of m and n if she confuses them. Also, let her use the chart to look up things for a while, it helps acquisition of the sounds for many of my struggling learners. I like the one page chart best but if she needs larger, the full page vowel and full page consonant charts until she can handle the smaller one page chart.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/blendingwords.html

Thank you. I will browse through this more tonight. :) 

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Though something that you might look at?

Is whether she understands the 'concept of letters'?

Where we have different symbols, to represent different sounds.

 

While she probably name pictures of real things, like a dog or a car?

Letters are symbols that don't represent anything physical.

They are no more than symbols for different sounds.

 

This can create confusion, when they look at letters, as actually physically representing something?

 

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Though something that you might look at?

Is whether she understands the 'concept of letters'?

Where we have different symbols, to represent different sounds.

 

While she probably name pictures of real things, like a dog or a car?

Letters are symbols that don't represent anything physical.

They are no more than symbols for different sounds.

 

This can create confusion, when they look at letters, as actually physically representing something?

That's a hard one - I mean, she recognizes that they make words and names. She will often see a letter and say "That's in my name" or if she sees an E, she will say "My Emma has that in her name."

So she understands one purpose of them and I would think know that they have sounds - if you do the phonics chants with her, she can often finish the chant (T says t,t,t as in...?" "TIGER!"). However, if you take the chant away and just ask what letter says t,t,t or ask something like what sound does tiger start with?, she can't do it.

 

(/Sorry for bad punctuation - on my phone and on a bumpy road)

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There's a CTOPP normed down to age 4. If you find a psych or reading tutor who specializes in dyslexia, they might have it.

 

There's so much you can do with early intervention. The standard now is diagnosis between K5 and 1st. They do NOT want to let this go on. My ds was diagnosed in K5 at newly 6. 

 

As far as the question of homeschooling, the problem you're possibly in is your dh linking your ability to homeschool with her success. I think her pushback is VERY TELLING that something is going on. That's why I'm saying I would get that testing done, get her screened by somebody who specializes in dyslexia, get some explanation, get some intervention going. 

 

The question of whether you CAN homeschool her is separate. Some psychs are really pissy about homeschoolers dealing with dyslexia, because sometimes parents don't do a good job. There's a lot that can happen with adding babies, people not liking the emotional dynamic, etc. The resources are there to do just fine, but you have to be pretty firm in your mind it's what you want to do or be honest and OUTSOURCE.

 

So the sooner you screen, eval, use the resources, outsource, bring in help, the better. THAT is what defines good homeschooling with disabilities, that you do what it takes. It's not about who does it. You could decide the ps environment is unhealthy and you want a positive dynamic but that you create that positive dynamic using tutors. There are lots of ways to go about it.

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We have an appt with a developmental optometrist on May 31. Since she's not in school, they won't/can't do their more extensive testing, but they do have one that they can do with her. So, we will at least see if there are tracking or other issues. 

 

Ok, I'm gonna get really grouchy for one minute. I'm really really positive on developmental optometrists, vision therapy, etc. I did it, recommend it regularly, strongly advocate for it.

 

But your dc is evidencing a phonological processing problem. It has NOTHING TO DO WITH VISION. If she has a vision problem, that's separate. So I missed why you're going, but please go get a CTOPP and an actual screening with someone who knows dyslexia. Please don't listen to whatever BUNK that eye doc might say about how from their perspective dyslexia is a vision problem. It's total, utter hogwash.

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Oh it's fine, but I'm just telling you I had an eye doc tell me that, a really good one who should have known better. And my ds was 5 at the time and I was like THWACK! 

 

Think about it. Your kids with dyslexia are going to have ADHD comorbid 60% of the time. Of those ADHD kids, a HUGE percentage will have retained reflexes, OT issues, etc. So, does finding something at the developmental optometrist tell you something? Tells you physical problems are going on as well. Doesn't answer the dyslexia question.

 

Finding a dyslexia screener is a pain in the butt. If you begin using LIPS and some of this therapy level stuff, you're making it harder to diagnose in the short term. It will still be there, but for a while she'll score better, making it harder to discriminate. My ds had that with his SLD math. I was using Ronit Bird stuff (meant for dyscalculia) and the first was like what are you complaining about, he answered my questions... And I'm like, hello, I spent a MONTH trying to get a gifted 5 yo to understand the concept of "five, this is five" and you're telling me he doesn't have a disability?

 

So with early identification, which is where you're at, you want baseline screenings before you begin therapy level interventions. If you're going to do regular curriculum (AAR pre-, whatever), fine, go at it all you want. But before therapy level stuff, you're well-advised to get some baselines. And since the tools are there now to screen and since she's now saying phonological, not just vision, that's what I would be doing.

 

Yes, I took my ds to an audiologist as well. I'm totally in favor of that! Each of these things are a day. Finding that person to screen and run some tools, that is going to take a while. 

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There's a CTOPP normed down to age 4. If you find a psych or reading tutor who specializes in dyslexia, they might have it.

 

There's so much you can do with early intervention. The standard now is diagnosis between K5 and 1st. They do NOT want to let this go on. My ds was diagnosed in K5 at newly 6. 

 

As far as the question of homeschooling, the problem you're possibly in is your dh linking your ability to homeschool with her success. I think her pushback is VERY TELLING that something is going on. That's why I'm saying I would get that testing done, get her screened by somebody who specializes in dyslexia, get some explanation, get some intervention going. 

 

The question of whether you CAN homeschool her is separate. Some psychs are really pissy about homeschoolers dealing with dyslexia, because sometimes parents don't do a good job. There's a lot that can happen with adding babies, people not liking the emotional dynamic, etc. The resources are there to do just fine, but you have to be pretty firm in your mind it's what you want to do or be honest and OUTSOURCE.

 

So the sooner you screen, eval, use the resources, outsource, bring in help, the better. THAT is what defines good homeschooling with disabilities, that you do what it takes. It's not about who does it. You could decide the ps environment is unhealthy and you want a positive dynamic but that you create that positive dynamic using tutors. There are lots of ways to go about it.

There is a dyslexia center in the city near us. I'm going to call them and ask for recommendations for someone to administer the CTOPP. 

 

That's a good point about her push back being a sign of the issue. DH's concern is not with my ability. He's quite confident in that. lol He's more concerned with her and I butting heads so bad that we kill each other.  :laugh: But, seriously, though, she tends to respond better to him with educational things and she's even pushing back with him. 

 

 

Ok, I'm gonna get really grouchy for one minute. I'm really really positive on developmental optometrists, vision therapy, etc. I did it, recommend it regularly, strongly advocate for it.

 

But your dc is evidencing a phonological processing problem. It has NOTHING TO DO WITH VISION. If she has a vision problem, that's separate. So I missed why you're going, but please go get a CTOPP and an actual screening with someone who knows dyslexia. Please don't listen to whatever BUNK that eye doc might say about how from their perspective dyslexia is a vision problem. It's total, utter hogwash.

 

I'm just wanting to rule everything out. I think it's a phonological processing problem as well, but I'm covering all bases.  Someone above said that most audiologists won't screen for phonological processing issues until 8. I'm still going to look for one, but I figure in the meantime, I can get the the vision part taken care of. 

 

 

Oh it's fine, but I'm just telling you I had an eye doc tell me that, a really good one who should have known better. And my ds was 5 at the time and I was like THWACK! 

 

Think about it. Your kids with dyslexia are going to have ADHD comorbid 60% of the time. Of those ADHD kids, a HUGE percentage will have retained reflexes, OT issues, etc. So, does finding something at the developmental optometrist tell you something? Tells you physical problems are going on as well. Doesn't answer the dyslexia question.

 

Finding a dyslexia screener is a pain in the butt. If you begin using LIPS and some of this therapy level stuff, you're making it harder to diagnose in the short term. It will still be there, but for a while she'll score better, making it harder to discriminate. My ds had that with his SLD math. I was using Ronit Bird stuff (meant for dyscalculia) and the first was like what are you complaining about, he answered my questions... And I'm like, hello, I spent a MONTH trying to get a gifted 5 yo to understand the concept of "five, this is five" and you're telling me he doesn't have a disability?

 

So with early identification, which is where you're at, you want baseline screenings before you begin therapy level interventions. If you're going to do regular curriculum (AAR pre-, whatever), fine, go at it all you want. But before therapy level stuff, you're well-advised to get some baselines. And since the tools are there now to screen and since she's now saying phonological, not just vision, that's what I would be doing.

 

Yes, I took my ds to an audiologist as well. I'm totally in favor of that! Each of these things are a day. Finding that person to screen and run some tools, that is going to take a while. 

I'm not going to do ANY interventions until we figure something out. I've seen what happens and how kids totally get screwed over when interventions happen before a diagnosis. 

 

I have wondered if she had ADHD as well, as has my mom. So, I'm sure that's something we'll have to address soon as well. 

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Elizabeth - I honestly feel a bit stupid, but how to I go about finding someone who is willing to do the phonological testing and CTOPP on my daughter? I can call the dyslexia center, but they're a tutoring center from the looks of it, so I'm not sure of their connections. Googling isn't pulling up a lot for me. 

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I said you couldn't get an auditory processing eval until 8; that's not the same as phonological processing/CTOPP.

 

You can get the CTOPP through a neuropsychologist evaluation, some speech pathologists, maybe the public school?

 

They will evaluate her at her age. My warning (having been through it with my 6 yr old) is: depending on her severity/complexity you might not get any answers at this age. My daughter is somewhat mild/moderate so, while there were huge discrepancies that point to dyslexia, her scores were all still within the "normal " ranges for her age. Those ranges are reduced as kids get older. I was told to retest in a year or two.

 

The dyslexia center should have suggestions/resources.

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The CTOPP is a comprehensive test of phonological processing. When you're saying phonological processing, you mean auditory processing? You mentioned not till 8. It's true that they wait a while to run a full APD (auditory processing disorder) test like the SCAN3. The number I was told was 7 for the full SCAN3, but I'm assuming it varies with the audiologist. For my ds, who was newly 6, the university (which has a world-reknowned, really good APD program) was willing to do a basically audiology and a bit informally from the screening portion of the SCAN3. It was enough that we (audiologists and me as observer) felt pretty confident we were discriminating what was causing what. My ds has dyslexia and autism. While there is a test (TAPS) that will flag for auditory processing because it's half phonological processing (grr), the SCAN3 is not like that. The TAPS was done by our SLP, while the SCAN3 is more your audiologist, psychs, etc.

 

So really, the stuff you're doing is what I did, all cool, all good. Sounds like you're going about it very thoroughly. 

 

Yeah, just call places and ask. If you act dumb (which is never hard for me, haha), people will help you. You just say she's x age, you're seeing things that scream dyslexia, you'd like her screened, who do they recommend... 

 

Another place to look is Learning Ally. They have a self-listing service where you can find people. You can also see if your state has a dyslexia association. There might be psychs as board members or speakers.

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