Dyslexia diagnosis but great reader

[squifflybobs]

Hi

We saw an Ed Psych last week following some behavioural issues with my 10 year old DS at school plus the fact that he is increasingly struggling to keep up with written work.

Her findings were a huge surprise to us. She has advised that he has orthographic dyslexia. The reason we are surprised is that he is an avid reader with a current reading age of 14!

He also has other areas of giftedness, especially in maths, so he is ( what she described as) twice exceptional ie gifted in some areas but with a learning disability too. I understand this affects only a very small percentage of kids

We've not got her written report yet and won't get it for a few weeks. We are in the Southern Hemisphere, so it's summer holiday time and I'm struggling to get any more information ( schools etc are closed) . Does anyone have any experience of dyslexia where it only relates to writing? What support was needed and how did your child get on?

DS is experiencing huge anxiety at the moment, as he's a real perfectionist and this, combined with his struggle to write, is at the root of his poor behaviour at school. He is seeing a child psych as well, although we don't expect a quick change in his outlook. Whilst we are relieved at getting a diagnosis, I'm also worried- he's on the verge of school refusal. I am trying to arrange to meet up with school before term starts but this might be tricky to organise. So keen to get as much information as possible.

Many thanks

There's no one accepted definition of "dyslexia". But many people accept that the word describes a reading difficulty.

Orthography is handwriting, including SPaG (spelling, punctuation and grammar) but is planning his writing a big problem for your son? Is his writing unintelligible, or a reasonable approximation to the spoken word?

There are strategies, but (i) could the school deliver the strategies, or would you have to pay privately, and (ii) would he be receptive to this help?

You really have to look at the detailed report when the EP sends it, but meanwhile try to relax and enjoy the summer.

Thanks for your response. It seems to be planning which is the main problem. What he does write is ok- as in legible, spelling and grammar reasonable most of the time . He writes very little though and it's always brief and very simplistic ( relative to what is expected at his age and how he expresses himself verbally) .

The EP thinks he has masked it well up until now because of his strengths in other areas and because there is a big step up in Y5 in terms of needing to plan and write independently.

Teach him to Touch Type and mind map

Thank you. He is getting a Chromebook for school ( although it's school policy that they all have them by Y6)

twice-exceptional sounds right,, but the label of orthographic dyslexia that the ed psych is using sounds like the wrong term to me.

If he is a good reader and has reasonable spelling but has difficulty with handwriting, punctuation, and the organisation of written work, then that sounds very much like dysgraphia, a.k.a. disorder of written expression.

The ed psych may be using a different label for the same underlying conditions but I'd argue there are problems with doing so.
Firstly using a non-standard label will cut you off from the literature on the subject that would help you understand and support it.
Secondly the purpose of labels is that they should lead to interventions. If the real problem is dysgraphia then a label of dyslexia is likely to be misunderstood by schools/others and lead to the wrong interventions/support.

There is a large overlap between dysgraphia / disorder of written expression and executive function difficulties and associated conditions (e.g. ADHD) so it would be worth reading about the latter too. They can all be masked by giftedness.

dysgraphia

executive functions

masking and compensation

Can you advise the name of your Ed Psych? I was also told my son was twice exceptional and need to get him retested.

You could read the "Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults" if you want more info.

Hi

Thanks for the replies and the links to other resources. Sorry for late response, I hadn't checked the thread for ages.

We've now got the written report and I'm none the wiser on the rationale for dyslexia vs dysgraphia. I take the point on correct labelling; he will be moving schools at the end of this year so very keen on making the handover as smooth as possible. I will go back to the Ed Psych and see if I can get more information.

Having now had a meeting with the school, we've decided not to get any specialist tuition for dyslexia right now as his teacher is working closely with him on strategies and he is learning to touch type. We will see how much progress he makes this term. He is very anxious and easily upset with changes of routine, so we don't want him out of class too much. We are also applying for him to go one day a week to our local Gifted Children's centre where they run extension sessions with specialist teachers. This will be enough disruption for him and is really about making him see school in a more positive light/meeting some likeminded kids ( rather than the learning itself although hopefully he will enjoy it)

The good news is that he seems to have settled into school ok this term. We are in NZ and so the school year has just started. His class teacher is fantastic and he is also having weekly counselling sessions with his teacher from a couple of years ago as they got on really well. I was quite frustrated with the school last year as there had obviously been problems with his writing and behaviour for a while before they told us. However I can't fault them this year.

We are also seeing a psychologist. General feedback is that he does display some ADHD traits but hard to tell how much is down to anxiety etc.

Lastly, I'm happy to share the Ed Psych's name but we are in New Zealand. Message me if you still want it and I can send you contact details.