Thanks to all of the great information we have found on this forum, we have decided to have DD8.5 investigated for dyslexia/dysgraphia. Writing has ALWAYS been a huge issue for her. At the end of grade three, the gap between her writing work and her cognitive ability has become immense. I cleaned out her desk at school the other week (so she could move to her new school), and when I went through her work my heart sank. She has not had any 'real' homework this year... the odd math sheet or fill-in-the-blanks. I can't even begin to describe how bad her writing is, and the spelling is even worse. We have repeatedly asked her teacher this year if we should be concerned and she said it was improving. I like to think that I am not a pushy person, but my mommy-sense is tingling. She is a 'B' student and I have always had this feeling that something is missing with her ADHD/HG+ label. Not that I would ever wish another problem on her! But something has to be done to help her. My nephew has dysgraphia and I have seen how his diagnosis has helped him access extra help at school.

I called her psychologist this week to talk about it and she wants to bring her in for a writing assessment. Does anyone know what this would entail? I know she did quite poorly on the spelling part of the WIAT at 7yrs. She is booking into next year at this point, but is going to squeeze DD in after hours at the beginning of September so she can have the information for a school meeting right after school starts.

Also, any advice to help her with writing in the meantime? When I say that writing is the worst form of torture for this child, I am NOT joking. We encourage her to type as much as possible. Is this the way to go for now?

Thanks in advance. You have no idea how grateful I am to have found this forum. There is not a single soul I know that I can have this conversation with. Our family thinks that we are looking for things to be wrong with her and her school thinks that all is well because she is doing 'okay'.


Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it. — L.M. Montgomery