What would you class as a spiky academic profile?

[youarewinning]

My DS is waiting ASD assessment and I'm in that stage or recording everything! I have read the Tony Attwood descriptors for AS (thanks polter ) and he states a spiky academic profile is common in children with AS.

DS is on SEN register for literacy, social and emotional and classed as MLD. He has made limited progress in literacy despite high interventions.

However when he does ICT or maths he learns extremely quickly and is making accelerated progress in maths. ICT isn't levelled as such but he only has to spend 10 minutes on a new programme before he's teaching teachers how to use it to it's maximum potential - because they ask him not because he's being a precocious little sod!

His writing ability means it's starting to make the subjects he's good at become more difficult but his knowledge is average to above average and in the things he's interested in he retains knowledge and information about loads of pointless facts.

He's a level 2(a) writer, level 3(b) reader and level 4(a) in maths and is 9yo in year 5.

Considering the expected level of progress is 1.5 sub levels a year (averaged at 3 over 2 years) his progress rates as well as his actual levels are so unusual IMO.

Does anyone else have this experience in their child's academic progress? And if you do have they seen an ed psych? I would like advice to provide me with more ammunition to throw at school about why he should see one. He is not at risk from dyslexia according to both DST the school did 18 months apart.

Sorry - this has ended up languishing. Saw it last night, but was too foggy headed to read for meaning!

Your DS clearly does have academic skills that are progressing well, with others lagging. I think the profile goes beyond academics, too - for example, having a wide vocabulary and good technical language abilities, but struggling with tone and intention and poor inference skills that make every day conversation and appreciation of literature difficult (this is what DS1 is like) or good academic ability, completely out of line with significant social immaturity.

DS1 isn't as widely scattered, academically, as your DS - he finished year 4 at 4a for maths (which he finds easy, but coasts at, as he has no one to race ahead with), 4c for reading and, IIRC, 3a for writing (which he hates doing). It was his behaviour and inability to participate in so many lessons that prompted his last EP assessment.

DS also year 5.

writing level 1b
rest of literacy hovering in the high 2's.
maths 3c (dragged down by properties of numbers, geometry he's flying)
Science level 6 and beyond.
ICT - he does online school, so I reckon it's self explanatory that he has no problems in this area lol!

DS can't read or write for toffee due to visual and auditory processing issues. Language also impacted by ASD.

Thanks for the replies - don't worry ouryre I typed this last night and only had the energy to come back to it today!

Does seem common then for the literacy to be delayed due to the language/ social disorder part of ASD and not a s reflection of academic ability iyswim?

My DS can mostly access the curriculum because of the support in place - including 30 minutes computer time every lunchtime so he can recharge alone and prepare for the afternoon. I think it's working because he's making more academic progress this year than previously. Guess school can argue they don't need an ed psych assessment then because what they are doing works?

Except I cannot get my head around how just because of his language/ social difficulties they can accept that he's made 3 sublevels (1 on paper from yr 2 SAtS results) in 2.5 years of schooling because of it.

Am I being unrealistic to think they should be doing more to find out what his cognitive skills are in each area and working around that. I justified it to think he'll kiss his full potential due to one difficulty when he's very intelligent otherwise.

boc it's geometry that DS is flying at too! That's quite interesting. He took a long time to get number bonds etc but it's finally got there. He also gets there in a very complicated way but his answers are a
Ways correct!

Thanks polter'thats what was confusing me! It said academic but I wasn't sure what they meant by that whether it was actual academic achievement or cognitive ability!

So really then he does need an ep report. I have a meeting with SENCo and I'm going to discuss with her again. I might ask why they don't feel he needs it's much harder to answer that than simply to ask of he can be assessed by one!

Yes, an EP report with a full assessment battery would highlight the reasons why his literacy is so far behind while his maths is ahead. The tests used tend to be either the British ability scales or the WISC, if you want to find out more about them. Both test various verbal, numerical and visuo-spatial cognitive skills.

When he first did the DST it highlighted poor working memory and I was given information about how to help him improve his auditory processing skills. I worked hard with him and 18 months later when they repeated the tests he came out as average

He still cannot cope with more than 2 instructions.

I think his executive function needs assessing. His pead cons recommended ep assessment at out last meeting - re his bowels but she agrees the bowels and allergy issues are likely sensory processing linked.

(I have a load of research to present her next month with regards this which I'm hoping she'll agree with!) even his continual feelings of itching which we related to allergies (but often presented without any physical signs like rash etc) I now believe to be sensory as well.