When was the last time (if ever) that he had a workup by a neuropsychologist? And a very thorough vision exam? I'd want to do those...
& audiology
I second each of these suggestions, and would prioritize the neuropsych eval.
The other thing I'd do is ask for some informal accommodations through his teacher - can he be seated up front, close to the board? If so, does that help with the copying from the board issue? Or with hearing the teacher? Can he try wearing ear plugs or headphones to see if they help drown out the background noise?
In the meantime, think back over his early development as well as school experiences and list anything that seems a bit "off" or challenging for him. Also make a list of all the things you are concerned or wondering about.
And… you can also request an eval through the school. It's been my experience (which is very limited, and at a difficult-to-deal with school) that the private neuropsych eval is much more thorough and useful than the school eval so I would pursue it first. However, if you find an issue that requires remediation or accommodations at school, you'll eventually go through a school eval anyway, so you could go ahead and start the request now. What to do re where you start first (school vs private vs pursuing both at the same time) is such an individual decision I can't really help with it - but fwiw, it's worth considering time frames for appointments etc in your area, private resources vs public school resources, willingness of the public schools to provide thorough evals, etc and then decide which direction to proceed.
Best wishes,
polarbear
