DS11 has now completed 3 years of OG as part of his IEP. His OG teachers are well trained and generally considered some of the best in the state for the quality of their work. DS is engaged in the OG sessions, and everyone reports he works hard with focused attention.

In his 3 year re-evaluation, his WJ and TOWL spelling scores went down each by about a half a standard deviation. The split between his functional vocabulary, both written and spoken, and his spelling is now more than 3 standard deviations. He knows all the rules, but is unable to apply them even when editing if composing or editing. The writing samples I have indicate he misspells 25-30% of all words on first attempt.

I'm told there is nothing more that they can do for him besides accommodate with spell check. I'm hearing from the team that no one really knows how to address this in kids like DS. "Some kids with dyslexia never get to the point where they can spell reliably."

We have a truly amazing IEP team, where each person has a clear understanding of the 2e issues at hand. Everyone recognizes that many of DS's issues are fundamentally rooted in being 2e, as the spelling would be less of an issue if the vocabulary weren't so extreme. Accommodation only goes so far, as spell check and related tools require he be somewhat close to the target word. He also will not have access to spell check on AP exams, yet it was the goal of everyone on the team that DS have full access to advanced classes and associated exams in high school.

Help? Thoughts? Direction? Testing I should request?

Likely related info: DS will continue to qualify for an IEP under OHI as he's a disorganized mess without support. OG and an amazing gifted language arts teacher have largely resolved the decoding and writing composition issues that led to the initial IEP qualification. His handwriting is illegible, however OT data suggest the issue isn't motor control or strength. He skipped first grade where handwriting is taught. I suspect he's suffering from lack of instruction in this area. Handwriting will be part of the next IEP, and folks are looking into ways to address this productively going forward.