This topic is hitting home for my third grade son and I need help in getting him the right tests to figure out what's going on.
He's bright (though his fifth grade brother is extremely gifted) and strong at math. This year his handwriting and spelling has regressed. The descriptions of dysgraphia and/or stealth dyslexia seem to fit what I have observed.
He was in speech therapy through first grade -- but 'graduated' at minimal aided levels when the school district had cut backs. His current teacher just had him observed by the school speech therapist but because he is bright, won't be considered for further speech testing.
In today's parent teacher conference the teacher and I started putting together a lot of the issues that have come up this year, including regression in handwriting to almost illegible, with basic spelling mistakes and very short answers. Even his math has hasty mistakes and illegible numbers. Rewriting assignments doesn't make it better. The other concern is missing assignments or not handing in his work, which I first thought was an issue of taking responsibility.
Then we started combining these issues with his toe walking (he still walks on his toes but not as pronounced), bites on his collar and doesn't realize he is, speech issues, and his wanting Mommy to read more at bedtime rather than him reading. While he does well at reading, he has always been reluctant to read and prefers books with lots of pictures. He is also not recording/taking the classroom tests for the books he is reading. When little he did have problems with backwards letters/numbers. Because he is bright I think he has been able to cover up any issues.
Something is going on and I would love any advice on how to handle this with the school district or getting our own testing done. Thank you in advance for any insight.
I think your gut is telling you something's wrong and you should pursue getting him an evaluation. Based on your and the teacher's observations, you can put in writing to the school that you suspect a learning issue with your son and you'd like him tested asap. The school is legally required to pursue testing regardless of how he is performing in class.
My son with dyslexia had similar issues to what you describe when he was that age (although he was diagnosed at 7, in 2nd grade). He sucked on his shirt, he couldn't say his "r"'s until the spring of 3rd grade year, his handwriting was chickenscratch (but it always had been), and he made letter reversals and he was good at math, but made errors mostly because of his poor handwriting. He never wanted to read, but loved being read to.
What is your son's reading level? If he's behind, I would pursue tutoring or intervention immediately, and not wait for the testing to be complete. It could be several months before the school has a plan in place and this is valuable learning time for your son.
FWIW, my son is doing great in school now-- advanced in all his subjects. But his handwriting and spelling are still terrible.
