Last week, on the very last day of school, of course, the school district psychologist were informed us that our son is very
gifted. We were also told he had a severe
neuromotor disorder. We were shocked. We knew
he was bright but didn't think anything of it.
We had been told he had dyspraxia (developmental
coordination disorder) and had been told he would
always be a clumsy kid. We never knew it could have such a severe impact on his written expressive abilities or learning. It was masking a "very superior" intelligence (probably even higher according to the District psychologist).
We did keep telling his teachers he seemed brighter to us than they were perceiving him.
They kept placing him in the middle to middle low
groups for reading and math and classrom placement. We did keep telling them that his dyspraxia and dysgraphia (a handwriting disorder
also diagnosed) was effecting his performance, but even we didn't know how much. Of course, the
teachers dismissed our comments.
About 4 months ago his 2nd grade teacher told us
he was exhibiting "attention" problems. We asked in writing for a full evaluation. The district
refused. We called in our state special ed advocacy board and they forced the district to comply with Wright's Law that says when parents request testing it must be done.
So, they tested and were shocked and excited (phbt!) about their findings.
Now we move on. Their plans are to place him in the gifted cluster in 3rd grade. We agree with the placement; however, we are concerned that with
nearly 2 years spent at lower levels in reading and math, he will experience knowledge gaps.
How do we address that?
Next, for the dyspraxia, it was discovered that he had severe neuromotor impairment and as such (as we knew) cannot write with the speed and efficiency of his age-group peers. So, the district plans on providing several assistive means of expression into place. They are going to provide a scribe for some of the writing tasks. They are going to provide an oral word processor for most of his day. In special education interventions outside of the classroom, they will address his writing delays.
So...next question...do you think this will work? The little guy is very high in social skills and is described as "sociable...pleasant...charming...caring...and kind" by his teachers and evaluators. He's going to be distraught by the interventions and their inevitable social implications with his peers.
The district said we would get back together for an IEP meeting in late August, but in the meantime, we are trying to find help and resources for the lad. We're grasping for help.
Any suggestions?
D-
