RainbowSprinkles Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I'm on my phone so please forgive mistakes. :) This is about my DS who is 7. He will be 8 this August. I definitely have a feeling that something is "off" and he would benefit of having some kind of help. I'm just not sure where to start. He's a pretty spacey kid, a dreamer you could say. He has trouble hearing things that are said. (He also produces much more earwax than others so that might contribute to this problem). He talks very quietly most of the time, so quiet that I really have to concentrate hard on hearing what he says. He can't sit still when doing school work, he will stand up, sit back down, then pull his knees up to his chest and so on during a 15 minute reading lesson. He doesn't sit still when he watches tv either. He rubs his eyes alot during lessons and has some eye-blinking going on. He likes to design things like cars and houses by drawing and he loves to build with legos. Here are his school-related issues: -reversals of b and d, q and p (I know a lot of kids do and eventually grow out of this, but my son is almost 8 and I'm getting somewhat concerned) -when he reads he will sometimes make up letters that aren't in the word. -he has trouble memorizing the alphabet and time (like the days, months) But he does well memorizing poetry -he can't rhyme well -he mixes up numbers when writing them down; for example he wants to write 15 and writes 51 instead. Or when he writes 20, he will write 02. Some of the time he will also write numbers right to left. -learning left and right was hard for him, but he mostly has this down. So, the first thing I did was take him to get his eyes examined. The doc recommended reading glasses. I did mention the eye rubbing and the doc notice the blinking (without me telling him). Other than that his vision is in normal range both near and far. I brought up vision therapy and he did give me someone's number, but sounded like that's not something my son needs. I am making an appointment for him on Monday with his regular doc. I definitely would like to have my son checked out, but I don't know what to ask for. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice for me? ETA: he also has some self-confidence issues; for example says he can't read when asked although he can. He reads between a 1st and 2nd grade level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2samlibby Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I'm on my phone so please forgive mistakes. :) This is about my DS who is 7. He will be 8 this August. I definitely have a feeling that something is "off" and he would benefit of having some kind of help. I'm just not sure where to start. He's a pretty spacey kid, a dreamer you could say. He has trouble hearing things that are said. (He also produces much more earwax than others so that might contribute to this problem). He talks very quietly most of the time, so quiet that I really have to concentrate hard on hearing what he says. He can't sit still when doing school work, he will stand up, sit back down, then pull his knees up to his chest and so on during a 15 minute reading lesson. He doesn't sit still when he watches tv either. He rubs his eyes alot during lessons and has some eye-blinking going on. He likes to design things like cars and houses by drawing and he loves to build with legos. Here are his school-related issues: -reversals of b and d, q and p (I know a lot of kids do and eventually grow out of this, but my son is almost 8 and I'm getting somewhat concerned) -when he reads he will sometimes make up letters that aren't in the word. -he has trouble memorizing the alphabet and time (like the days, months) But he does well memorizing poetry -he can't rhyme well -he mixes up numbers when writing them down; for example he wants to write 15 and writes 51 instead. Or when he writes 20, he will write 02. Some of the time he will also write numbers right to left. -learning left and right was hard for him, but he mostly has this down. So, the first thing I did was take him to get his eyes examined. The doc recommended reading glasses. I did mention the eye rubbing and the doc notice the blinking (without me telling him). Other than that his vision is in normal range both near and far. I brought up vision therapy and he did give me someone's number, but sounded like that's not something my son needs. I am making an appointment for him on Monday with his regular doc. I definitely would like to have my son checked out, but I don't know what to ask for. Does anyone have any thoughts or advice for me? ETA: he also has some self-confidence issues; for example says he can't read when asked although he can. He reads between a 1st and 2nd grade level. This to me all points to signs of dyslexia. Your regular doctor won't be any help with that. Children that have dyslexia also have a higher tendency to have ADD, which your doctor can help with. But, it wouldn't be my first step, personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 This to me all points to signs of dyslexia. Your regular doctor won't be any help with that. Children that have dyslexia also have a higher tendency to have ADD, which your doctor can help with. But, it wouldn't be my first step, personally. Thank you for replying. :) What would be your first step? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2samlibby Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Dyslexia website I would contact them here for a list of testers in your area. There is a lot of info on this site. I've heard Mrs. Susan Barton speak (founder of this site) and she is extremely knowledgable about dyslexia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I agree with everything the other poster said but I would add that having him screened by a vision therapist is probably worth the time and money. my ds11 was diagnosed with adhd but the reading issues persisted -- he went to the opthamologist and his vision is fine BUT my sister suggested the vision therapist to me (she was in the process of having my niece evaluated). Turns out ds had tracking issues and with 18 mos of therapy, he is now fine. Definitely pursue the dyslexia, but also first see the vision therapist for an eval. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 You're mentioning some flags for dyslexia. Your also mentioning things that could be visual processing. Both can go together. Visual processing would be a developmental optometrist and that vision therapy number may well get you there or here is a link to find someone in your area. I found this Barton produced website helpful re: dyslexia. Do look at it and you may already realize but his reading doesn't mean he isn't dyslexic. Our children's hospital child development clinic can diagnose dyslexia. I think the people at the Barton site I linked can direct you to evaluators in your area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificent_baby Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 This may be way off base, but maybe mention to the doc the possibility of absence seizures. When you mentioned spacey, and eye blinking, this is what came to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Definite flags for dyslexia. He's still on the young side for a definitive diagnosis since reversals can be normal until some time between 8 and 9, but I'd definitely be thinking and watching. We have a dyslexia diagnosis for my 10 year old and the only school-related issues you mentioned that he didn't have at the time of diagnosis (a year ago next month, at 9 1/2) are memorizing poetry well (Cameron also has short term memory problems, though) and rhyming. Cameron's been phenomenal at rhyming since he was 3. Most regular doctors will have no clue as far as dyslexia goes. Some people go to a psychologist who specializes in learning disorders (can be pricey, but often get better testing). We went through the public school system (free, but it can be hit or miss as far as how good yours is) and were delighted. They technically can't diagnose the "dyses," but the psychologist did anyway partly because we homeschool so it wouldn't be on an IEP and partly because his "dys" issues were so pronounced, especially the dysgraphia. They said they couldn't tell me to send him to the school (he would qualify for services), but I was doing more than they could by keeping him home. The special ed ladies said they'd be glad to make copies of anything I needed or give me ideas to help him any time I wanted. Really, I was quite impressed with them (from what I've heard that is not really typical, though). A lot comes down to why you want him tested. For me, I wanted to know just what I was dealing with. I had suspicions, but I wanted them confirmed. I wanted to make sure we were on the right track. I've gotten quite a bit of information from AVKO.org that has helped. It has helped Cameron to know there's a name to put on why he's got the struggles he has and to know that there are people, successful people, out there who have had the same struggles. It boosted his confidence dramatically. Because I had a "problem" to study and look at what can help him, we've been able to improve his reading level dramatically (he's around a mid to late 3rd grade level now - would be in 4th or 5th grade in PS depending on state/cut-off fate). BTW, Cameron sometimes blinks, shifts, yawns, rubs his eyes, and seems to space out while working on reading/writing. As he's gotten older he's been able to explain that the letters blink and rearrange themselves and he does what he does to try to get the letters to behave so he can read them. The harder he tries to concentrate the worse it gets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhjmom Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 In addition to the above, I would also recommend a hearing evaluation by an audiologist (and not just the screening in the press office). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 If I wanted to have my dc tested, I would do whatever it took to have Dr. Cates do the testing. He works almost exclusively with homeschooled students; his services include not just the testing and diagnosis, but also recommendations for specific instructional materials, daily schedule/implementation, and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 Dyslexia website I would contact them here for a list of testers in your area. There is a lot of info on this site. I've heard Mrs. Susan Barton speak (founder of this site) and she is extremely knowledgable about dyslexia. Thanks for the link. I spent most of last night reading around. Very helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 I agree with everything the other poster said but I would add that having him screened by a vision therapist is probably worth the time and money. my ds11 was diagnosed with adhd but the reading issues persisted -- he went to the opthamologist and his vision is fine BUT my sister suggested the vision therapist to me (she was in the process of having my niece evaluated). Turns out ds had tracking issues and with 18 mos of therapy, he is now fine. Definitely pursue the dyslexia, but also first see the vision therapist for an eval. Yes, I will definitely take him to be evaluated. Thanks for your reply. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainbowSprinkles Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 Thanks to everyone who replied. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 (edited) I would suggest a developmental optometrist - there may be visual processing issue. Also an ENT for physical ear problems, maybe audiologist for hearing problems, and maybe speech/language therapist or someone else who can check out auditory processing issues. If he is having processing issues, that alone can cause restlessness and attention difficulties so I would start with the potential processing issues. This page has some good information on reading vs eye teaming and visual processing problems: http://www.childrensvision.com/reading.htm Edited March 17, 2012 by laundrycrisis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 BTW, Cameron sometimes blinks, shifts, yawns, rubs his eyes, and seems to space out while working on reading/writing. As he's gotten older he's been able to explain that the letters blink and rearrange themselves and he does what he does to try to get the letters to behave so he can read them. The harder he tries to concentrate the worse it gets. Exactly what I was thinking with the blinking and rubbing (one of my girls did this for the same reason). My only advice on testing would be to not be tested by Dr. Cates (btdt!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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