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Help me get my thoughts together about neurospychologist's report please

7 replies

EyeoftheStorm · 31/12/2015 18:46

In a nutshell, DS2 (6.5) premature, hydrocephalus, sensory problems, low muscle tone, poor motor skills, and emotionally immature BUT also Mr Sunshine, highly engaging and chatty, full of interesting observations and a great story teller.

In year 1 (held back a year), had lots of OT input which helped with sensory problems. Teachers and school have been very supportive - they get him - and he has made progress.

We had referral to GOSH neuropychologist because at last check up (he has a shunt), we wanted them to look into what we thought was a big difference between his verbal skills and his reading/writing skills. I wanted to know if there were reasons for the difference eg if it was motor skills, we could work on that or processing skills then we could find help for that.

Got the results and they confirm what we think about DS2. I have been researching the various tests but wondered if anyone has any information they could add.

Beery-Buktenica VMI test was:
Visual-Motor Integration 4th centile
Visual Perception 45th centile
Motor Co-ordination 2nd centile

WIAT-II was:
Reading 7th centile
Maths 47th centile
Written Language 5th centile

All the other tests came out as average for his age and verbal skills/memory were an area of strength.

Does this point to dyslexia?

He also did the Annett Peg Sorting Test and was slower than average. Does anyone know if this test is just for motor skills or can it point to dyslexia too?

Happy with the report - I feel like we're really drilling down to the bottom of DS2's difficulties. The more we know, the more we can help.

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Flanks · 31/12/2015 20:21

It could, but the data is incomplete without the questionnaire you completed and an underlying ability score.

On the face of it there is an unexpected difficulty in acquiring literacy, however in the light of his motor skills you describe this is not such a surprise.

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EyeoftheStorm · 31/12/2015 20:40

Is the underlying ability score from the WISC-IV?
His General Ability on that was 80th centile.

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Ineedmorepatience · 01/01/2016 11:26

A high discrepancy between verbal and written skills is an indicator that there is an issue he would need a phonics test to clarify whether he is likely to be dyslexic!

If that motor skills score is a general one not just visual motor then he would benefit from an OT assessment to check if he is dyspraxic! If it is from a visual test then an optician with an interest in reading difficulties might be able to help!

I have a Dd with a very spikey profile, school werent that helpful for us, I hope yours is.

Good Luck Flowers

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EyeoftheStorm · 01/01/2016 12:03

He's had a lot of input from an OT. It's through her that we really got on top of his sensory problems so I think she's great. She didn't think he was dyspraxic. I might go back to her with this report and see what she thinks.

His school are very proactive and all year 1 children are screened for phonological awareness, and a couple of other things via a computer test. His results were low but OK. Might dig that out and see if there's anything I missed with that.

I don't mind what the problem is, I just want to be able to target it.

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Ineedmorepatience · 01/01/2016 13:03

My Dd3 has such a jumble of issues but even though it was difficult to unpick them I am glad we did!

She started with a dx of low tone and hypermobility from OT, she was at the time being assessed for Asd. She was diagnosed with that when she was 9 and then specific communication difficulties and sensory processing disorder the yr after!

We couldnt understand why writing was such a problem for her although the hypermobility made the physical task painful and tiring!

We got an independent EP to assess her and she felt that she was dyslexic (using the discrepancy model) and also dyscalculic! She has some really high scores eg 86th centile for verbal comprehension but then 3rd centile for writing and 5th for reading speed.

At tribunal the dyslexia diagnosis was questioned due to her phonics scores so we went to a dyslexia specialist who found that in a few months her writing ability had sunk even lower! He felt that all her difficulties are exasperated by her Asd and said she needs specialist teaching for writing because traditional methods have not worked while she was in school (7 yrs)!

She is currently being home ed because we all needed a break from the system.

It is definitely worth becoming the expert on your child and making sure the correct support is put into place for him. I hope his school is supportive!

Good luck Flowers

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EyeoftheStorm · 01/01/2016 13:23

Yes Ineed, that's why I was so pleased with the report. It confirmed what we thought about DS2; it was just much more specific.

I think the hydrocephalus is the root of DS2's problems. It damaged his brain - there was haemorraghing and swollen ventricles which took up too much space until the shunt was put in. He is very lucky the damage wasn't worse. But no wonder he has poor motor skills and maybe his brain did have to wire up differently than it would have done.

We did look into ASD for DS2 around the age of 3-5, but thanks to Polter's info on the triad of impairment, it became clear that once we took sensory difficulties out of the picture, that didn't fit.

It does feel like a jumble, doesn't it? I just want one person to guide me through all the ins and outs with an overview of all the problems. Then I realise that that person is me.

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Ineedmorepatience · 01/01/2016 13:55

Yes that sounds a likely cause for his difficulties and as you say it has probably led to his wiring being different!

At the end of the day, so long as people recognise the issues he had to start with it should help them to remember that he may have to take a different route to reach an end result!

Dont ever be afraid to remind people that he may need them to think outside the box!

I agree that you need to be the person with the knowledge of the whole picture but it would be helpful to have at least one proff on board!

We have found our community paed to be supportive, she came to a transition meeting and wrote an excellent report for the statutory assessment process. She has recently retired so we are now building a relationship with a new one but she seems supportive too, in my experience (if you get a good one) they are good at accepting that parents know their child better than anyone and this helps them to help us!

Remember to take some time for you too! You are being a great advocate for your son but dont forget about yourself Smile

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