In my district and state, school based testing doesn't really diagnose anything. Their testing is essentially academic achievement testing - meaning it will show how well he's performing in academic subjects. If a child's performance is discrepant enough from their peers, that child can qualify for special education. My son's dysgraphia wasn't called anything, but his IEP included "goals of written expression" because that was an area of discrepancy. As a result, he got OT at school for handwriting, but it was only 20minutes/week. I took him for a private eval after the school decided those goals had been reached, and there were still tons of needs. I have met some people from other states who school-based OT seemed to be much deeper - hopefully you're in one of those places.

Congratulations!

Some accommodations I have heard of that might be helpful would be: Extra time on tests Reduced spelling lists Receive spelling lists ahead of time Not being penalized for spelling in writing assignments except for spelling tests Time limited homework - meaning he is to spend a certain amount of agreed upon time per night on homework and then he stops Extra keyboarding instruction at school Not having to show work in writing for math Use of a scribe for anything he needs Getting a copy of any notes or a notetaking scribe Use of Dragon Dictation Use of Alphasmart word processor with Cowriter word prediciton program Ability to type instead of handwrite spelling tests and math worksheets (Type on PDF Ipad app does this) Just a few ideas... I've been to a number of IEP meetings, and the best advice I can give you is to be pleasant, but very firm. If you want something, don't give it up in the name of trying to please. Go in with a list of what you want and a brief reason, and don't back down. If what you are asking for isn't needed right now (because it's mostly review), request that they be written into the IEP for when they may be needed. Present that as a good use of time - ie it will prevent the IEP team from having to meet again very soon. Do remember though that you can request another IEP meeting to revise at any time! I have personally not heard of any public school around here who uses O-G methods for reading or spelling - heck, most of them have never even heard of it. If you can show that AAS worked for him at home, you could discuss it with them - but I really can't imagine that any kind of O-G instruction is available through the school. If you have a private tutor you have used, or know of one, I have heard of some people who have incorporated this kind of outside instruction into their child's day. Good luck.

If you haven't already, I'd find out what tests and assessments are going to be used by the school evaluators - to see if it is worth the wait. In my district, school evaluations essentially consist of academic achievement testing, ie how well your child is doing in school. They are designed to determine whether or not your child is discrepant enough from his or her peers to qualify for special education. They do not diagnose anything or necessarily look at reasons for any discrepancies (which is a MAJOR failing IMO). Anyway, if this is what you are getting, you are most likely going to need private evaluations anyway and it wouldn't be worth it to wait IMO. If your district offers more comprehensive testing with some diagnostic components I might consider it. I would just hate for you to wait and then be disappointed with what you got.

I think the tutoring center sounds like it's too much. Three hours there and then homework is a lot. I also think their role should be a more supportive one, not one that makes you feel badly about what you are doing. For me the bottom line is - if you have an unhappy crying child, something about the environment/set-up isn't the right fit. I would worry more about your child's mental health than whether he is completely keeping up with everything. I think it would be okay to cut back to the basics, and try to add in something that he enjoys. Other than doing nothing for school, what kind of a set up do you think would be ideal in his mind? What is causing him to be miserable? Can you involve him in designing his school arrangement so it is more appealing, or at least agreeable, to him? My son has the same diagnoses as yours, minus the Aspergers, and he does shut down sometimes and we do have tears sometimes, but not everyday. But we had tons more in public school, which is why we pulled out of that to homeschool. I find it is a fine line between pushing when he really needs to be pushed, and pushing too much. We do about 3 hours worth of school most days, with a lot of breaks, and no evening homework.

I have found some free copywork / handwriting worksheets simply by doing internet searches for them. This year I've actually made my own worksheets. My DS is older than yours - 3rd grade - but he has dysgraphia and still really needs to practice writing. I downloaded a dashed font called "Print Clearly Dashed" and loaded it into Microsoft Word. It was pretty easy to do. It is a basic print font with dashed lines that he can trace. (There are other traceable dashed fonts too.) Then I printed it on Brightlines paper (www.brightlinespaper.com). I had to mess around with the margins and line spacing to get things to line up right, but now I have a template to use. I printed a variety of quotes from favorite books and literature, but it's great because you can type whatever you want.

I would also do foundational OT therapy before you do any cognitive skill programs. I don't know what thread it is in, but I posted awhile back about a pyramid model of remediation. Sensory skills like gross and fine motor skills, visual and auditory processing are at the base of the pyramid and should be dealt with first. If you haven't had vision and auditory evals, I would get those. I would pursue those services first and I would not do any cognitive skill programs until they were done or nearly done. Cognitive skills are the middle of the pyramid, with academics on top. Of the programs you mentioned, IMO Neuronet is the most foundational and if that is on your list, that could be pursued ahead of the others.

My 8 year old does not read chapter books either. He could, he just doesn't. Have you tried enlarging the font when she reads? One thing that was a confidence builder for my son was - I had him read a passage from a chapter book on the ereader - with font enlarged and a nice amount of space between the lines. He read it very well. Then I showed him the hard copy of the chapter book that he was actually reading - the same thing, just in the regular paper format. He couldn't believe it.

I do think it can be hard to tell what is a later natural development and what is a learning problem. I don't agree with all of the really rigid timelines for kids' academic skills, but I try to use them as loose guidelines. The other most important thing IMO is to follow your gut. If your instincts tell you something is really off, get some evaluations and don't rationalize it by saying - oh, she's just right-brained so she will be different. In your specific situation, your child doesn't sound too behind. That doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a learning disability though. The concept of discrepancy has helped me think through some things. Is her academic performance a good reflection of her intelligence? If you feel like she is super bright but just struggling in school, that can be a sign of a learning disability. Sometimes the level of academics is really not that low either - but you know it is still really discrepant from their intellectual potential. Some ideas for using her strengths would be to structure her reading and writing around her interest in art and music. Can her reading, handwriting practice/copywork and writing composition be about famous composers or artists? If you can't find suitable reading for her, you could have her do some copywork that is related to music, then have her identify the nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. I would try to keep the topics about what she likes as much as possible.

I would contact them and ask for a phone consultation with Nancy Rowe, the creator. I had one and found it pretty helpful. She has a basic intake that she likes to do, but I would also write down your questions. She seems to care a great deal about who is using her program and wants to make sure it is appropriate, so I think you would get some good answers.

That's a lot of money! My son also has low processing speed and dysgraphia, but good working memory. I belong to a dyslexia group and a model that has been discussed there extensively is a pyramid model of therapies. They idea is to start with the most fundamental therapies first (the base of the pyramid), then move on up. Occupational therapy (OT) and vision therapy (VT) are considered more fundamental than cognitive skills like attention, processing speed and working memory (the middle of the pyramid) - basically meaning that you'll see more gains in cognitive skills if you work on them AFTER doing those other things first. (The top of the pyramid is academics, in case you were wondering.) So if you haven't already, I would get a vision therapy evaluation and see where that leaves you. I would also revisit the idea of doing something with OT. I would only consider cognitive skill training after you've worked on those other things. Not trying to add another thing for you to look into - but have you ever looked into Neuronet? If there's no insurance coverage for office based OT, it is kind of like a combo of OT and cognitive skills, and you can do it at home. I'm doing it now with my 8 year old son. It's going well for us so far. I chose it over office based OT because he had already had a lot of school based OT for handwriting and it didn't help much. I was looking for something different. Neuronet works on automaticity of handwriting and other skills. A lot of OTs are becoming Neuronet providers because they are seeing a lot of gains from it. I have found it challenging at times to decide what service to do next. I have found the pyramid model helpful and have usually combined it with working on what seems to be holding my son back the most. My understanding of PACE is that it is/was the precursor to Learning RX. Pace trainers aren't in business in places that have a Learning RX franchise. I wish they were because the people who have mentioned PACE to me seem sa tisified with it and I think it was less expensive.

I don't agree with what the psychologist said at all! It's true that some kids with learning challenges do better in a special education classroom, but it's also true that some do better with homeschooling. It depends on the child, the school environment, the special ed teacher, the parent/s who are doing the homeschooling, so many things. It's really disturbing to me that she would make such a blanket statement like that, without knowing more about all of these variables! I say this as someone who recently removed a dyslexic child from public school because we believed my child's needs were not being met and are better met receiving one on one attention at home. Do not assume that just because you aren't a teacher that you can't teach your special needs child. You know a lot more than you think you do. And there are a lot of resources to help. After all you've been doing it all this time and she's still the same child as she was before the labels. If you are interested in a classroom placement, by all means visit and investigate, as there are undoubtedly some good options out there. But don't allow the psychologist to make your choices for you.

I don't have personal experience with Learning RX, though I have looked into it. I do have a friend who recently did it for her 3rd grade son, with their primary goal to improve processing speed. I can't recall all of the details, but I believe he worked for around 20 weeks, and his processing speed score (on their tests) went up about 30 percentile points. It's been several months and she's not really sure she can tell a difference in his daily work. Like vision therapy it was tough for them to get a lot of academics done while they were doing it. I think you have to be very clear in your mind about what you want to get out of it. And you have to keep in mind that it is a cognitive skill program. How much improvement you see in other areas depends on how much of those problems are due to cognitive skill deficits. Personally I think processing speed is just a hard thing to improve. I think my friend found it helpful, but for the money it wasn't this huge amazing thing either.

Have you looked at "The Mislabled Child" by the Eides? They have some information about working memory and activities to do. The old versions of the "Simon" game are great for visual working memory. There are several Ipad apps like it, but my son prefers the hand held game. I stumbled across one at a thrift store. The book also recommends doing some basic digit span exercises - give your child a series of digits orally and have them repeat back. Start small so they have some success, then add digits as they can handle them. HTH a little.

I'm going to be direct - it sounds very much like Asperger's to me. Tony Atwood also has a web page with some descriptions. http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/index.php/about-aspergers/what-is-aspergers Getting a diagnosis is always really hard. I cried a lot while waiting for my son's testing results. But in the end you will be better for knowing.

With Davis Dyslexia correction, using the cursor or finger sweeping the word is meant to help the person focus on the word itself, from left to right, and not any of the surrounding words or letters (next to that word or on lines above or below). IME it's really helpful if your child has any visual processing issues. It trains the eyes where to go. It also helps break the guessing habit, if they have one. As it's used in Davis, use of the cursor/sweeping method is meant to be temporary, though not necessarily short-term. What I mean is that you do it for as long as the person seems to need it. For many dyslexic kids that can be a year or two. You know you don't need to do it anymore when the person simply doesn't need it anymore. I wouldn't necessarily call Davis mainstream, but IME and talking with others it can work well for kids who just really struggle with phonics. From what I've seen of Dancing Bears, I think it's a sound program that may also work well when traditional "hard-core" phonics programs just aren't clicking.

Not completely on topic here, but I was curious about what the "cursor" was - and it turns out that it's pretty much exactly what we do with the Davis Dyslexia method. I had no idea. We use the cardboard cut-out or finger sweep each word as well. Has worked great for my son. If he doesn't know the word, he spells it letter by letter, I give him the word, he repeats it, and we continue. I just found this similarity interesting!

I would take her to a developmental optometrtist (COVD) for an eval before you invest in any reading program. Problems with visual tracking and convergence can cause a lot of things on your list. If there are visual issues I would work on those first and then see where you are at.

I think the answer to your question depends on the reason for his poor handwriting. If it is really dsygraphia (handwriting disability), it is important to understand that the cause of this is brain-based. Dysgraphic traits include slow speed of writing, illegibility, writing fatigue, and lack of sophistication in the content of the writing. This last one is due to the fact that, for a dsygraphic, the process of handwriting is not automated. This means that instead of thinking about what they are writing about, they're thinking about how to form the letters stroke by stroke, so naturally the content suffers. If it is dysgraphia, I wouldn't give up practice, but I would change the way I think about it. Fully automating the handwriting process is really, really hard with dysgraphia. And it just may not happen. I would completely separate handwriting practice from writing composition. I would have your child practice handwriting for a set amount of time, using things such as BrightLines paper, a slantboard, and tracing copywork. Don't give up on it - he needs to practice - but just realize that with dysgraphia he's going to need an accommodation . Then I would devote a similar amount of time to a typing instruction program, Dragon dictation, or AlphaSmart with CoWriter word prediction - and begin using this for composition work. If you have not already I would take your child for a private OT evaluation. I would not rely on the school for this - unless you have strong recommendations for school-based OT from credible sources. Schools are typically focused on functionality in the school setting and raising students to a minimum level of function - not on comprehensive services.

You might want to investigate Neuronet as it is designed to help with auditory processing a lot!

I agree with the info. posted so far. You are absolutely entitled to an eval through the school. But keep in mind their purpose is determine a child's eligibility for special education, by seeing how discrepant they are from their peers. Many will not provide diagnostic information. I would suggest making an appt. with the school psych to find out what their eval process entails and what you would get from it. I know our district doesn't do much with visual or auditory processing. Whether or not you have health insurance that covers a private eval could also be an important factor in your decision - have you looked into that?

Re: dysgraphia, of course none of us can say over the internet whether your son has it or not. But I do want to say that for sure it is a REAL disability. I understand that it is frustrating that no one talked to you about his writing earlier or mentioned dysgraphia. But when it is occurring, accommocations are almost always the way to go. And here is why: Kids with dysgraphia can't write with automaticity, so they can't use handwriting as a tool for expression in the classroom. My son can also write pretty well when he does so very slowly and very carefully, with me or someone else sitting next to him. But if you put him in a classroom, where there are time pressures and no one is sitting right by him, it's a totally different story. It's because his writing is not automatic. He has to think about the formation of every letter in his conscious mind. It might sound like this in his head "Okay, big line down, now make a curve, now another line down, now what is the next word..." He is thinking actively about every step of the process. And when he does that, his writing looks pretty good. But his working memory is bogged down by the PROCESS of handwriting and he can't concentrate on what he is actually writing about. I hope that makes sense. Again I am not saying your son has dysgraphia, just pointing out dysgraphic kids can often write neatly with enough time and support - but since the process isn't automated it's always going to be a problem. And that lack of automaticity is the brain-based part. I would second the recommendation that you check out "The Dyslexic Advantage" by the Eides. I have a hunch you will see your son in some of the stories based on what you've said. "The Mislabled Child" IMO is the better one to start with though. I actually don't think you need an official test or diagnosis if pursuing that doesn't feel right to you. But I would read, read, read everything you can get your hands on about this stuff. If you work with him on handwriting AND get him fluent typing, I think he would be much more ready for school. Many schools provide AlphaSmarts as an accommodation and it probably wouldn't be too hard to get him that, especially if he was already fluent on it.

I think just providing one on one attention with handwriting can go a long way - supervising his grip, watching letter formation and developing good habits. You might consider getting a slantboard (more comfortable for writing) and Bright Lines paper (www.brightlinespaper.com). One thing to keep in mind with dysgraphia - it is really a brain-based neurological thing. Practice does not make perfect. I know that is frustrating, but the logic that if he just practices more, he will get better, doesn't really apply with dysgraphia. I'm not saying don't practice at all, or that he won't improve some, I am just saying if it really is dysgraphia I would not assume that a lot of well-designed practice at home is going to fully remediate it. Another factor is the issue of automaticity. It's one thing to be able to write letters and words slowly under controlled conditions, but it's another to be able to take that and do it automatically without thinking, thereby being able to use writing as a tool like everyone else can. One program that works on automaticity is NeuroNet. We are doing it now so the jury is still out for us, but I have seen the before and after handwriting samples of several who have done it and there has been quite an improvement. NeuroNet is designed to work on the neurological basis of dysgraphia. Have you looked at the AlphaSmart Neo with Cowriter? It's a great word prediction processor designed for people with these kinds of disabilities. In addition to remediating handwriting, I would try to get him really fluent with some sort of word processing. If that is in place before he goes back to school I think that would make getting that as an accommodation much easier. In terms of going back to school, I am not saying you need to have private evaluations ahead of time, but I wouldn't count on them providing treatments or remediations for this stuff. As someone who pulled a child out of public school, I would say it is rare to have a school that both understands these things and knows what to do about them. Personally I think it would be easier to go in there with a diagnosis and a list of accomodations that you want. IMO it's better to take charge.

Well, if it's visual processing you are concerned about, personally I would see a COVD, even though you've already seen an ophthalmologist. The COVD will check for convergence and tracking problems, where an ophthalmologist won't. My son had many of the symptoms you describe, had 20/20 vision, but had massive convergence insufficiency. In the end, it's one evaluation appointment that is often covered by insurance, so I say why not do it. If nothing else you can rule these issues out. Also I would get an OT evaluation for visual motor processing. You could go to OT to work on visual motor things, or perhaps try some things at home. The book "Developmental Dyspraxia" has a lot of home OT exercises. Critical Thinking Press also makes some Visual Perceptual workbooks. What you describe also sounds like low processing speed to me. I would think you could get accommodations based on that. Also it sounds like he is much better at 3D tasks (legos) than 2D (print).

I don't, but if you have interest email them and ask. They are pretty responsive to questions and you can speak to the creator, Nancy Rowe, upon request.