There are many different things that could be going on - that's where a neuropsych exam is really valuable in helping to tease out specifically where a challenge lies. You're still in the process of considering a neuropsych (from what you've said in recent posts). What other types of screening/evals has your ds had? Has he been through a dyslexia eval by either his school or a reading specialist?
Your description of your ds and reading sounds sooo much like my dd who has a challenge that impacts reading. She is not dyslexic as it is defined by traditional screens, but she has a dyslexia diagnosis from a reading specialist. Her specific challenge is in associating symbols with sound.
I think based on what you've written, getting your ds into a private neuropsych eval would be extremely helpful if your insurance covers it or if you can afford it. Diagnosing a reading challenge in an intellectually gifted student can be extremely tough. Our dd, as you mentioned with your ds, can read and understand long complicated passages because she gathers a lot of information through context, yet she has difficulty reading simple 1-2 sentence instructions and understanding them on things like worksheets etc because she struggles to decode simple words. She scores either solidly high average or higher on most of the specific types of reading tests, with the exception of any test that has to do with associating sounds and symbols... and she has low scores (25th percentile or lower) on certain parts of the Gray's Oral Reading Test (GORT).
The one thing that is different about our dd than your description of your ds is that she does not love reading. She does only choose books with pictures, but she is not excited about any of it. She loves loves LOVES audiobooks - have you tried any with your ds?
polarbear
ps - does your ds actually have a dysgraphia diagnosis or are you guessing he's dysgraphic based on what you see with handwriting etc? FWIW, our dd's handwriting when she was around your ds' age looked like she might be dysgraphic - lots of reversals, horrid spelling, messy handwriting etc. She didn't have the odd pencil grip though, and didn't have uneven pencil pressure or wrist pain like our dysgraphic ds did (not all dysgraphic kids have those same issues). As she's grown older (she's in 4th grade now, almost 10), her handwriting has improved significantly and no longer looks dysgraphic (and she's not). OTOH, her spelling hasn't improved much at all, which is related to her difficulty with associating sounds with symbols.
