Thank you both. My gut feeling is that the discrepancy between his visual learning ability and auditory learning ability is just huge--and probably indicative of something. I appreciate you confirming that I'm not out in left field. (Our pediatrician hasn't been concerned about speech development, even when ds dropped below normal ranges.) His hearing is actually very acute. No history of ear infections, and he sailed through a hearing test at his check-up this week. There are certain sounds that he just doesn't pronounce, and I'm not sure if it's because he can't get his mouth to form the sounds or if he can't tell that the sound he's making is different.
What kind of testing would I need to seek and what would be the best "next step"? Should I contact our school district? Or should I seek an evaluation from a psychologist who specializes in 2e issues? (I'm starting to realize that I've probably underestimated ds's intelligence because of his speech issues.)
