do we REALLY need an Ed Pshyc for DS?

[4oh6]

Hello long time lurker here looking for some perspective here. Ive had a few little niggles about DS who is coming up towards the end of Y6 now - doesnt display any of the usual signs of dyslexia i dont think - however have explored recently with his form teacher as to whether he needs assessing in some way.

Socially hes ok - not necessarily one of the in-crowd. Theres a border line personality clash/bullying with a couple of other boys which is on and off (yes i am aware i hear only 1 side etc etc) - however i digress ....

His teacher seems to think this is a possibly a good idea - im still musing it through as am not keen to label him particularly but at the same time dont want to miss anything crucial.

I asked teacher what i should say if i ring ed psyc ... this is her response: "When you contact the educational psychologist tell them that XXXXXX is an ‘enigma’. His interests and vocabulary suggest high ability and his CATs scores show very high Verbal Reasoning scores. His written work is, however, weak and he struggles to punctuate and structure his written work appropriately. He also works quite laboriously. We are now wanting to investigate whether there is an underlying reason for this discrepancy".

Am interested in other peoples experiences - is the above enough of a marker to warrant firther investigation?

TIA (will prob name change after this post)

I've only read the OP

My dd2 is similar - very high ability, particularly maths. But her written work was so weak. She was assessed in school and has had lessons with the SENCO who has taught her to touch type. It's been a revelation. Her typed written work is now very good. Worth thinking about?

A good school will guide you through the support they can offer your child. So don't worry too much about questions with your current school.

As for senior schools, actually that's a question you can ask your son's current school. We've not experienced any prejudice because our DC have an EP report & it helped the current school offer advice on senior schools. Our DS had recently moved from a state primary to an independent prep school when he got his dyslexia diagnosis. He sounds very much like your DS. He's super bright, yet his processing & memory skills are really bad. This did not stop him gaining excellent exam results so the dyslexia label did not hinder him. In fact he said it was a relief to know why he was experiencing so many challenges. He did his own research after the EP report & he had more questions for his SenCo than we did!

There's plenty here who have been in your shoes & understand the shock you're experiencing. I can't say our DS found it easy, but he was taught to use new methods which helped him overcome his poor processing & increased his confidence.

Is the school a very academic one?

Given that any sort of diagnosis is likely to mean possible accommodations in exams, and potentially better results for your DS and the school, I think it's worth bearing in mind that there are reasons why the school might encourage an assessment without it being desperately necessary.

That's certainly not a reason to rule it out. But being aware that their are advantages to a diagnosis of mild dyslexia which don't necessarily mean your DS will suffer if you don't have that diagnosis.

I would have thought that high verbal reasoning scores provide reassurance that there isn't a serious problem.

Lots of students grow out of sloppy written work - it doesn't sound like much of an enigma to me.

Hello, as part of my job I read and interpret ed psych reports. High verbal reasoning is a very good sign ( and v. Rare in asd). It does sound a lot like dyslexia, but interesting to see what the assessment shows.