ds tested....opinions please

[3monkeys]

I finally had my ds privately tested because I was sure he was dyslexic. First i will say my ds has always been homeschooled. He continues to reverse letters/numbers, slow reading, skipping small words, losing place when reading, not able to copy from board or book very well and writing/spelling struggles. He is right handed, but swings bat left, and he is left eye dominant as well. So there is definitely an issue of mixed dominance. He also has a terrible time focusing and staying on task. He is not hyper but inattentive with things he's not interested in.

Fast forward to test. They did all the testing in one sitting...3 hours worth. Full psycho-educational testing along with ADHD testing. Results came back average across the board except for processing speed and working memory which were just below average. Diagnosis was learning disorder non-specified. Not enough point spread for learning disability. They ruled out ADHD and felt like attentive issues were result of processing speed. So basically I'm right where I started with no answers or suggestions of how to help him. Then prayer led me to vision therapy. We have a specialist 15 mins from my house. Turns out my child has convergence insufficiency which causes double vision. We start therapy this week. Do you think this will solve majority of our issues? Could he have actually scored higher IQ in testing if vision issue was out of the equation? Why did the tester not pick up on this as being a possibility? If vision therapy isn't the answer, then what should my next step be? Thank you!

[AngieW in Texas]

Vision therapy might or might not make a big difference. My dd has the same mixed dominance issue your ds has. She is left eye dominant and had convergence excess along with double vision and sweeping/tracking issues. She is right-handed, but anything that requires aim has to be done left-handed because she focuses through her left eye. She just got glasses and her left lens is clear plastic, but her right lens has a prescription. When her right eye started losing strength, she started having optical migraines (those stopped when she got the glasses).

 

For my dd, VT clearly made a difference for her physically. Before VT, she couldn't make it through a door frame without crashing into one side of it. She also clipped the corner of everything she walked past because she had no depth perception.

 

After VT, she was finally able to really see what was on the paper, but she still couldn't read. The VT told me she thought my dd was dyslexic and she was. So for her, VT peeled off the outer layer of the onion, but there was more underneath that needed to be taken care of before she was able to really move forward.

[Tokyomarie]

How old is your son? Which tests did they do?

 

As for intervention, VT is a quite reasonable step to take and I would give it some time before you start thinking ahead to what's next beyond that. It will give you a feel for how much of his difficulties are related to the convergence insufficiency.

[3monkeys]

He is 9. Tests done were VMI, BASC2-SR, BASC2-PR, CONNER's, WISC-IV, WJTA-III.

[AngieW in Texas]

Did you see subtest results?

 

The last time my dd tested, the indices were average, but the subtest scores varied substantially. Huge subtest score variation is a sign of LDs.

 

If you suspect dyslexia, the CTOPP should be done and it should be the version with nonsense words. Even though my dd was reading at grade level the last time she was tested, her issues still showed up clearly on the CTOPP.

[Tokyomarie]

It looks like you still need some important measures of literacy development. Angie suggested the CTOPP. This one tests phonemic awareness and rapid naming skills which are two foundation-level skills necessary for reading development. Other tests should measure specific decoding/encoding skills (sounding out word and spelling), reading fluency (a combination of reading rate and accuracy), vocabulary, and comprehension. It's good to get some measures of oral language function, to see if there is a discrepancy between oral and written language. The value of an IQ test in testing for dyslexia is mainly to make sure there isn't in intellectual disability that is interfering with developing reading skills. The WJ-III achievement tests are valuable, but they only go so far in evaluating literacy.

 

For more information about what constitutes a complete language and literacy evaluation see the DyslexiaHelp website, which is sponsored by University of Michigan. Read the sections on testing for dyslexia. But the whole website is a goldmine of helpful information.

[PeterPan]

Tiger Woods is mixed dominance (left eye, right hand, etc.). That isn't a problem, and if the doc tries to tell you it is, personally I'd start looking for a new doc. Certainly don't go willy-nilly patching for it, etc.

 

Did this doc have you fill out an Executive Function screening tool? Three hours didn't exhaust all the tests the doc could have run. He didn't run the adhd-specific tests. There must have been a reason though he didn't diagnose it though. Goodness knows they're willing enough to. Maybe in your case the vision will turn out to be a large chunk of it. Whatever was vision will fix by working on the vision. That's about the best truism you can get. No promises of the moon, just that the portion that was caused by the convergence insufficiency and visual processing problems will improve as you improve it.

 

We did a lot of games, etc. while doing VT and didn't do a lot of school work. The homework was pretty fatiguing for us. Make yourself free in that department. You might like to go ahead and do some work with digit spans, since he identified an issue with working memory.

[3monkeys]

OhElizabeth, the Vision Therapist did not seemed concerned about the eye dominance and I would never try to correct it. He is an awesome golf and baseball player. His eye/hand coordination is actually pretty extraordinary. However,the convergence and double vision is my main concern. I think it happens up close or when trying to read. It also shows up from looking at board then down at paper to write. It gets worse as he fatigues. I know I'm his mom, but I feel like his potential is way above average. Brilliant things comes out of his mouth, but not on his paper. That is why I don't have much confidence in the testing. My hope for the vision therapy is that he learns to love to read and it becomes easier for him. I also hope it helps his visual motor integration skills. I'm not really sure how to work on digit spans or processing speed. Guidance with that would be greatly appreciated!!

[PeterPan]

Auditory Sequential Memory Instructional Workbook

 

Try this and use it with a metronome app on your ipod/ipad device.

 

And yes, the VT is going to do for you exactly what you're describing. :)