What would you do next?

[Pam H]

Here's the background on my 12yo ds. http://67.202.21.157/forums/showthread.php?t=16708

 

We took him to a very reputible Dev Opt today. My speech therapist highly recommended him. They tested him up and down and sideways. He is perfect, the doctor said. :glare: Suggested tinted lenses, gave us a script.

 

He had ds do a little exercise with writing a word in the air, then spelling it without the prefix, then without another couple of letters, etc. He had him spell it backwards. He could do all that. He'll be able to spell 'industrious' for the rest of his life. :lol:

 

The dr said that ds is a global learner. This is the second person I've had tell me that. What do I do with a global learner? Where should I go with this child?

[Laurie4b]

Thanks for including the link to the background.

 

I would get a good neuropsych eval. If money is an issue, see if the public school will do testing for a learning disability. That should get you a WISC-IV free, which is an expensive test, and also the test you most need done. You can then take the results to someone private for supplementary testing. If money is not an issue, just go to a neuropsych. Because it is educational, insurance will likely not pay for it. Whatever it takes to get it done, do it. You've been hither and yon trying to find help for this child, and this is really the best place to start once attempts at home intervention have been unfruitful. The WISC can reveal whether there is a problem with active working memory, slow processings, spatial reasoning, etc. You really need to know.

 

A developmental optometrist should stick to developmental optometry. I would take the "global learner" thing with a large grain of salt. Don't waste a lot of time pursuing it until you've had an evaluation. (What I mean is you can research it, but don't put a lot of eggs in that basket yet. Find out what is really going on first.)

 

The other thing that I would recommend is a reading tutor, at least for a while to get you started on the right track.

[Pam H]

If money is an issue, see if the public school will do testing for a learning disability. That should get you a WISC-IV free, which is an expensive test, and also the test you most need done.

 

The other thing that I would recommend is a reading tutor, at least for a while to get you started on the right track.

 

 

Laurie,

 

Thanks for answering.

 

Tell me what WISC stands for. I'm assuming that IV is 4. Money, as always, is an issue. My dh is leaning toward letting this go, we are dealing with special expensive needs in younger brothers. I'm determined to be this boy's champion.

 

Will you be my reading tutor? :001_smile:

[Laurie4b]

The WISC is the standard IQ test. The WISC-IV is the current version. WeschlerIntelligence Scale something or other. People call it "the whisk". It would be part of any work-up. To get it free from the public school, write a letter to the exceptional children's coordinator, stating that you suspect your son has learning disabilities and that you are requesting an evaluation. (Whether they can say no depends on your state law.) If they say yes, they will give him a battery of tests that would include the WISC. They may not be the best interpreters of the actual results, but at least you'll have the test done. At that point, you can take their testing and go to a private person for the interpretation and any additional testing.

 

I would love to be your reading tutor if you lived nearby! Be aware that many reading tutors are like that. They may need to charge for services, but I haven't personally met any who weren't suckers for helping kids at the rate the parent could pay. (Doesn't mean those don't exist, but it is very common for tutors to be bleeding hearts!) So I would ask around about tutors and then see if they would accept a reduced fee, barter, etc.