DS8 - does this sound like dyslexia?

[TinglyandCurious]

Or maybe something else going on?

DS8 is in year 3 and I feel like the gap between him and his peers is expanding.

Really typical infant and pre-school development - relatively early talker and always good understanding. Never massively motivated by the academic side of learning but bright and curious and motivated by other things.

• initially slower off the mark with reading. Categorised as somewhat behind until year 1/2 but now on track totally with reading. Teacher says great decoding and lovely fluency.
• struggling massively with handwriting. Can’t accurately copy from the board, muddles letters, letters back to front etc. Tried pen grips but hasn’t helped.
• struggling massively with maths. He will understand a concept when he’s taught it but it’s almost like it goes out of mind just as quickly and has to relearn it the next day. Struggles to write numbers down despite having a chart to copy from on his desk. Gets them back to front.
• disorganised - simple routines in class (eg get pen from tray, book from cupboard) yet he doesn’t do them. Says he forgets. He’s the same at home.
• poor concentration for things that don’t interest him/that he worries he can’t do which I totally understand.
• incredible concentration for things that do motivate him - building models, playing problem solving computer games, Lego, building gadgets etc.
• Beautiful behaviour - no hyperactivity, regulates emotions very well. Socially fine but has small group of friends (all with additional learning needs as I think he might find them less socially demanding.)
• physically well but has hypermobile joints (like me) and was a very stiff baby but grew out of this.

Strong family history of dyslexia on my husbands side (husbands brother and dad both very debilitated by their dyslexia). No other diagnosed neurodivergence on either side.

I spoke to his teacher who completed a visual stress test today which came back as showing no visual stress apparent. They are going to do a NESSY dyslexia quest in the next few weeks.

I know we have a plan which is good but wondering if there is some signs of inattentive ADHD too here. I know we can’t diagnosis anything here but hearing any personal relatable experiences would be so appreciated. The good reading has thrown me a bit with the query around dyslexia.

His confidence is going a bit now and he was so tearful on the way to school worrying about maths. He’s been very emotional the last few weeks around school which is unlike him.

thanks 🙂

If you have one type ND then you’re more likely than the general population to have another one. What you describe could be a whole host of things from poor working memory, dyslexia, dyspgraphia, dyscaluia, ASD, inattentive ADHD.

I think more like ADHD. My twins are dyslexic, they could ‘beat’ the NESSY screen though at that age. Any chance you could see a dyslexia assessor?

Thanks both! Just have no clue where to start. I suppose ruling out dyslexia? That’s what the school has recommended. Just feels like such a minefield.

We would definitely consider a private assessment of something if needed.

Potentially a specific learning disorder, maybe with ADHD. Visual stress is not a good indicator. How is his spelling?

Oh god spelling is not good at all either. All over the place!

I think I'd be looking to get him tested, particularly with a family history. Sounds very much like the dyslexics I know in many ways! I think the level of understanding / comprehension being well above reading and spelling level is a good clue. All bring kids but talk and converse better than they would ever come across on paper!
The disorganised thing too, DSD does things like brings her school laptop home to charge but doesn't bring the power cable for it, or takes her PE kit because it's hockey today but forgets the hockey stick! Instructions need drip feeding rather than 3 things at a time.
My DN is the same with lego and practical things, he'd focus on those all day but he hates reading and writing tasks.

Thanks @MiddleAgedDread thats really helpful. I think I’m feeling overwhelmed with all the possible causes so just need to focus on one at a time. Starting with dyslexia seems sensible given the family history!

@TinglyandCurious i think there's a misconception that dyslexia is just bad spelling and struggling with reading but if you look into it there's a lot more to it. The disorganisation / untidiness thing is one of them but it's linked to being able to structure thoughts and get work onto a page. It's not necessarily the writing or spelling that's stopping them it's the way the thoughts come out or they can't get started because they can't structure a report or paragraph. I reviewed a professional report for someone at work not knowing she was dyslexic and I was only on page 2 when it became apparent because the content was just all over the place. It started well with an introduction and then deteriorated rapidly into an ad-hoc jumble of text and changes in terminology for things, repetition, it jumped from results back to the investigation stage etc.

@MiddleAgedDread again thank you. There is so much more to it seemingly than just the spelling and maths etc. I hope we get answers soon so appropriate support can be put in place!!

British Dyslexia Association

Your son sounds similar to my daughter who is 8 and year 3. She seems pretty clever and has good ideas when you talk to her but she really really struggles with writing and getting them down. She is quite good at maths and likes it but did bad on a test recently in school but then re did it away from class with a little help and did well.
She is forgetful and we have to remind her of things. She doesn't seem to have ADHD or is not hyperactive. Reading has always been a struggle and she doesn't like it. Although has improved a lot this school year, but still behind.
Her teacher suggested a dyslexia assessment at the start of the school year and we are going next Friday. We had thought she could be for a while so thought we would look into that first as seems the most obvious and easy route to rule in or out.

It's unlikely to be Dyslexia if his phonics and decoding of words and reading fluency is good. If you get an EP assessment then they can do a broader range of tests and could identify other possible conditions as well like Dyscalculia/Dyspraxia, however you might want to let school do their screenings etc for now, get him some maths tutoring to build confidence and then get an EP assessment if you are still worried in a year or so. You absolutely need an answer before the end of primary but assessing too early isn't always helpful.

As a dyslexic who was reading at 2 and made a living as a writer and editor, I'd say it's not nearly as simple as the general public perception suggests. There are certainly several suggestive elements in your description, so a full assessment seems a good idea.

@narrowrailroad thank you. That’s really good advice. I hadn’t really considered dyspraxia but some of that fits too. DH and I have decided exactly what you’ve recommended (ie see what the school can offer before EP assessment further down the line if needed) which is really validating.

@ProfessorBinturong thank you too. Your situation highlights the complexity and nuances with all of this - which is what makes it so hard to sort out in my brain. The overlap of conditions and differences in presentations is extensive.

@Snowfairyxx good luck with navigating all this too. I hope you get some answers soon. Dyslexia does seem to be where our school wants to start too.

School led assessment is very slow and doesn’t carry out sufficient investigation. Personally, if you can afford it I would go with full private EP assessment, preferably with WISC and WIAT assessment to test ability versus attainment. Also get them to assess for dyscalculia. You can judge from there if you need OT assessment (eg dyspraxia) or SALT assessment. The main thing for now is correctly identifying what his needs are. EP screening can’t diagnose medical conditions like ADHD or ASD but can flag them as needing further investigation.

His confidence and mental health are suffering now so I wouldn’t be happy to wait months/years for off the shelf interventions. It might be that school interventions would be sufficient if they knew what to do.

Thanks again everyone for your input.

DS completed Nessy Quest this week. Scored very low on Phonological (0%) and Sequencing (4%), very average on Working Memory, Auditory Sequencing and Processing and he scored good for Attention to Detail. I understand this makes him high risk for dyslexia so we’re going to book a private diagnostic assessment.

I must admit I plugged all this into ChatGPT which said dyslexia more likely than inattentive ADHD so we’ll start there! I’d also like him assessed for dyscalculia.