Can anyone tell me if my DS might have a particular condition/learning difficulty?

[MGMidget]

I am starting to suspect that my DS (aged 8) might have a learning difficulty or a particular condition. Having tried googling some of his symptoms a number of possibilities pop up but he doesn't fit neatly into a particular box. I'm not sure yet if I should be trying to take this further and don't want to create a problem if there isn't one so advice from mumsnetters would be appreciated. I wondered if I list some of the symptoms whether anyone more knowledgeable than me would have any suggestions or can tell me if my DS is just a normal boy?

He is inconsistent in his focus in class. Called a 'dreamer' by some teachers. Also, a common message is that 'when focused' he produces really good work. Problem is he often loses focus. His latest form teacher has said he seems to have problems with multiple instructions. She has also given him a 'fiddle toy' to help him focus in class. He is the only child in the class with a 'fiddle toy'. At home I have to keep repeating instructions to get him to do things and he is a big fidgeter.

He has found writing difficult and has needed to be taken out of the class for extra writing lessons. However, his reading seems to be good for his age. The main problem is his letter formation which is sloppy, plus he has to be constantly reminded of the basics of sentence construction (i.e. capital letters and full stops) and to keep his letters evenly sized/spaced, put spaces between words etc. He tends to write as little as possible - if they provide a sheet of A4 to answer a question, he'll try and get away with three lines or so of an answer. On the positive side he has improved a lot in the past few weeks after having extra lessons so is capable of improvement.

He is quite clumsy, often tripping up. Not very well coordinated in sport (relative to his peers of the same age).

He has an amazing memory for facts. Knows all sorts of trivia and detail about subjects he is really interested in. Hence his factual knowledge of the relevant subjects he now covers at school (science, history etc) is considered as pretty exceptional by his teachers.

He doesn't seem to have an social behaviour problems. Teachers note he is kind, gets on with everyone etc. He has often been regarded as one of the quieter ones in class however and had to be drawn out of himself. He is improving in this now though and speaks up, asks more questions etc. However, his current form teacher said when he gets enthusiastic he can't help sharing his knowledge all the time and needs to learn to find the right time to speak up rather than interrupting the lesson.

Does anyone have any idea if my son might have a particular condition or is he a normal 8 year old? Thanks!

If your child has difficulty then in my opinion you want to know for sure by the end of year 4.

I think you want to perhaps give the school a bit of a lead, but not too much. If assessment has been put on the agenda, you could reasonably give them until the summer half term for interventions.

Then they could observe and assess internally in 2nd half of summer term if your concerns are persistent.

This would give the winter term for teaching staff to respond to the internal observations. This is by far the longest term and in real terms it accounts for nearly half the school teaching year.

If concerns are still persistent at this point, then you have the whole spring term to smack the school around to have a formal assessment arranged for the summer term. Then if a diagnosis with specific support requirements is found, it should be in place for the beginning of year5.

So cut them a bit of slack, but I would ask for a fairly clear timetable as well so that it doesn't get kicked down the path.

Thanks so much Flanks. Sounds like you really know your stuff!

Ed Psychs tend to use the label Specific Learning Difficulties because many children's difficulties don't fit neatly into the Dyslexia/Dyspraxia etc labels. An Ed Psych will identify both difficulties and strengths.

My DD wasn't formally diagnosed until Year 4 but in Year 3 she had intensive intervention with her reading, writing and spelling that brought them all up to average level (which ironically meant that when she was tested strictly speaking she couldn't be labelled Dyslexic). The crucial thing though is that her working memory (both aural and visual, but sometimes someone with SpLDs can have a poor aural memory but a photographic visual memory), processing and speed of writing are in the bottom 10% of the population whilst her reasoning is in the top 5%. The current exam regulations on extra time who knows for how long require them to be in the bottom 14% and for there to be evidence of need going back as far as possible so having a diagnosis going back to Year 4 was helpful.

One of the benefits of diagnosis is that you know exactly what the difficulties are and why you learn differently. I could never work out when I was younger how I could be so good at some things, ideas, understanding, lateral thinking, but feel so stupid in other situations, exams, classrooms, meetings........