LizzyBee Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I called the Psychoeducational Clinic at NCSU and set up appointments for my 12 yo and 7 yo. I've resisted testing for years because I just don't know that it will provide any information that I haven't already figured out on my own. Some of my friends have spent a ton of money and didn't find testing helpful at all. We decided on the ed psych rather than an NP after discussing the differences with our audiologist. She's gotten great feedback from the clients she's referred to NCSU. After spending weeks in turmoil about this decision, I finally decided to just do it. Even though we haven't tested (other than speech and audiology), I agree (because I've seen it firsthand) that kids will label themselves (dumb, stupid, etc.) if not provided the correct label, so I've been open with my 12 yo about telling her that I think she has dyslexia, which makes certain things harder for her and certain other things easier for her. She knows I sometimes post about her and she's said it's fine if it might help someone else. But she might go back to school next year, so we'll need more of a paperwork trail than we currently have. She tests at or above grade level in every subject, but she has a 21 point achievement gap in math (per ITBS/Cogat), she still struggles to get her thoughts on paper efficiently even though she's a creative and talented storyteller, and she forgets things if she doesn't have constant review. I'm concerned that she's doing well enough that she may not meet the clinical criteria for a diagnosis, but if she doesn't have accomodations in school she'll regress and fall behind. My 7 yo's APD (and probable dyslexia) is much more severe than the 12 yo's. In addition to the NCSU appt, she has appts for an OT eval and an updated speech eval. Our audiologist (who is also a certified SLP) was not going to recommend an updated speech eval until we mentioned that Katie sometimes reverses sounds in words (eg hostipal vs hospital). She said that's a fine motor issue rather than an articulation error, and her fine motor issues should have resolved by now. If you've had cognitive / psychological testing done for your kid(s) and it was helpful, please reassure me that we've made the right decision. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paz Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I think you are making a great decision on getting some answers. I would add a suggestion: You may want to contact them ahead of time and find out if they will be doing any specific tests for dyslexia and what those will be. We are about 99 percent sure dd is dsylexia but 3 years ago we had her tested by a well-known and highly recommended neuropsychologist. He did not do any testing that involved her reading aloud or writing or spelling. She did well on all the tests he gave so it was determined she did not have any DL's. We will be getting her tested again next week by an educational psychologist who is very familiar with dyslexia testing and he will do additional tests with her. Here is a great link about testing for dylexics. http://www.dys-add.com/testing.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 Paz, Thanks for suggesting that. I called and left a vm, so I should get a call back next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cillakat Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 <<My 7 yo's APD (and probable dyslexia) is much more severe than the 12 yo's. In addition to the NCSU appt, she has appts for an OT eval and an updated speech eval. Yeah!!! I'll heartily add my reassurance. I think you're absolutely doing the right thing. Your statement regarding labels is spot on.....give them the right one or they'll find their own negative ones:/ Wishing you all the best and hoping you get excellent useable info both on weaknesses/challenges but also great info on strengths!! A psychoed battery from an EdPsy is definitely the right choices over a neuropsych since neuropsych testing for dyslexia is generally quite poor. Take lists of symptoms/examples in for the testing..... For us, dyslexia was initially missed b/c the adhd was so front and center. Everyone was willing to attribute adhd behaviors and just age (she was under 8) to the redflags that were, to me, so clearly signs of dyslexia. Over time it became painfully apparent that we missed two critical years of intervention:( Then once we had a dx, we had a highly recommended tutor but it turns out that wasn't going as it should - mostly b/c of her own personal bias' regarding homeschooling. We just ended that relationship and I'm doing Wilson with her now, 5 days a week. << Our audiologist (who is also a certified SLP) was not going to recommend an updated speech eval until we mentioned that Katie sometimes reverses sounds in words (eg hostipal vs hospital). She said that's a fine motor issue rather than an articulation error, and her fine motor issues should have resolved by now. >> it's also a classic dyslexia symptom so it could be that component rather than motor or articulation. my 9.5 yo dyslexic daughter does it frequently (cashtran instead of trashcan is one exceptionally cute term)....we have absolutely no fine or gross motor issues and no speech issues. Have you read Shaywitz's book _Overcoming Dyslexia_? It's fantastic. wishing you all the best!! Katherine in atlanta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted October 4, 2008 Author Share Posted October 4, 2008 (edited) Yeah!!! I'll heartily add my reassurance. I think you're absolutely doing the right thing. Your statement regarding labels is spot on.....give them the right one or they'll find their own negative ones:/ Wishing you all the best and hoping you get excellent useable info both on weaknesses/challenges but also great info on strengths!! A psychoed battery from an EdPsy is definitely the right choices over a neuropsych since neuropsych testing for dyslexia is generally quite poor. Take lists of symptoms/examples in for the testing..... Have you read Shaywitz's book _Overcoming Dyslexia_? It's fantastic. wishing you all the best!! Katherine in atlanta Thanks, Katherine! I have forms from the clinic, but I'm going to type the history on the computer, because the space on the forms is definitely not sufficient! I checked out Sally Shaywitz's book from the library, but I found it to be overwhelming. Plus it wasn't very applicable at the time because it deals mostly with how to teach reading and my 12 yo actually began reading at age 6. It took years for me to find book and websites that point out that kids who read on time can still be dyslexic. Maybe I'll check out Overcoming Dyslexia again since my 7 yo doesn't even have pre-reading skills, let alone reading. It might be more relevant and helpful now. My favorite books so far are Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World (I forget the author's name and I'm too lazy to look it up), The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Dyslexia by Abigail Marshall, and The Mislabeled Child by Drs. Brock and Fernette Eide. I am planning to start Barton Reading when Katie is ready. There is a student screening test, and she did not pass any of the 3 sections. So we have some remediation to do before we can even begin an OG program. I've heard good things about Wilson, too, but I think I need the extra parent support that Barton offers. Thanks again for your support. Edited October 4, 2008 by LizzyBee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cillakat Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 i thought hard about Barton. Let me tell you. I love the structure. I just couldn't justify the cash though when dd9.5 already has some Wilson under her belt and thankfully I ended on good enough terms with her tutor that she'll be a resource for me for Wilson. But I was choosing from a totally blank slate I'd probably go with Barton just b/c it's set and ready to go. Ah yes, I can see why _OD_ wasn't what you needed the first go around. I found it at first a little nerve wracking and stressful, but then motivating. It really helped my brain organize the major bullet points regarding what I needed to be doing. Getting clear on that helped me make the decision to get out of a tutoring situation that was no longer working and has helped me 'rally the troops' (me being the troops LOL) so that I can move forward with my challenging little one in a positive energetic way. Crossing fingers for you wrt the testing and all it yeilds. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleB Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Lizzy, I'm anxious to hear how this all works our and what you learn. Even though we have seen the np, I'm tempted to look into a nearby university's programs as well. Seems they'd really be up-to-date with treatments and such. I'll be looking forward to your post after the testing is over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted November 14, 2008 Author Share Posted November 14, 2008 Step 1 is over - I met with the psychologist 2 hours yesterday to discuss both girls. When she introduced herself to me, I started crying and couldn't talk. :blushing: She is very thorough and I feel better about doing the testing. My older one is the harder one to figure out - she seems to have just enough LD to make her struggle in certain types of tasks. After 5 minutes of talking about her, the psych said she has classic signs of a working memory problem. I think NCSU offers the CogMed program, so I suspect that's what will be recommended for her (unless the tests show the psych guessed wrong). Anyway, I'm glad this process is moving forward and I'm anxious to see what the testing will show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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