Hi all,
Reviving this thread with questions about DS6. I've had this nagging feeling about the possibility that he might be dyslexic for some time now, but DH thinks I'm imagining it. To be fair, that's not unrealistic given that I once "diagnosed" DS6 with rickets. As DH says, the internet can be a dangerous thing.
Lately though, DS6's reading and spelling are causing me a bit of concern again. So I googled dyslexia characteristics and came up with a seemingly commonly used list of 37 characteristics. According to Dr. Davis (from dyslexia.com), dyslexics will exhibit "about ten" of the traits. Even when I am very cautious in my interpretation, I find that DS6 exhibits a solid 19-21 of them:
General:
- Appears bright, highly intelligent, and articulate but unable to read, write, or spell at grade level (intelligence). I would replace grade level for intelligence, because he does read at grade level.
- Labelled lazy, dumb, careless, immature, “not trying hard enough,” or “behavior problem.” We haven't labelled him as such and certainly not out loud (!), but those thoughts have crossed my mind.
- Isn’t “behind enough” or “bad enough” to be helped in the school setting.
- High in IQ, yet may not test well academically; tests well orally, but not written.
- Feels dumb; has poor self-esteem; hides or covers up weaknesses with ingenious compensatory strategies; easily frustrated and emotional about school reading or testing. He doesn't feel dumb, but the rest applies.
- Seems to “Zone out” or daydream often; gets lost easily or loses track of time.
- Difficulty sustaining attention; seems “hyper” or “daydreamer.”
Vision, Reading, and Spelling:
- Confused by letters, numbers, words, sequences, or verbal explanations.
- Reading or writing shows repetitions, additions, transpositions, omissions, substitutions, and reversals in letters, numbers and/or words. His reading shows everything listed, not so sure about his writing. But he does still reverse several letters and numbers.
- Spells phonetically and inconsistently. He doesn't only spell phonetically, his spelling is just odd. For instance, he will spell best as "bast".
Hearing and Speech
- Has extended hearing; hears things not said or apparent to others; easily distracted by sounds.
Writing and Motor Skills
- Trouble with writing or copying; pencil grip is unusual; handwriting varies or is illegible.
- Clumsy, uncoordinated, poor at ball or team sports; difficulties with fine and/or gross motor skills and tasks; prone to motion-sickness. Each of these applies in spades.
Math and Time Management
- Computing math shows dependence on finger counting and other tricks; knows answers, but can’t do it on paper. Not sure about this one, except for the fact that he is still dependent on finger counting, which seems to be inconsistent with his WISC-V results.
Memory and Cognition
- Excellent long-term memory for experiences, locations, and faces.
- Poor memory for sequences, facts and information that has not been experienced. This one seems to apply inconsistently. For instance, it took him a terribly long time to learn our telephone number.
Behavior, Health, Development and Personality
- Can be class clown, trouble-maker, or too quiet.
- Had unusually early or late developmental stages (talking, crawling, walking, tying shoes). He was late in each of these, and still can't tie his shoes. He only started walking at 21 months.
- Can be an extra deep or light sleeper; bedwetting beyond appropriate age. He is a very deep sleeper.
- Strong sense of justice; emotionally sensitive; strives for perfection.
- Mistakes and symptoms increase dramatically with confusion, time pressure, emotional stress, or poor health.
Apologies for the long post and thank you if you have read this far. I would appreciate any thoughts, including if anyone thinks I'm out to lunch on this one.
Platypus 101? aeh?
I would appreciate it if responses didn't quote the above. It seems like sensitive info to be posting about DS, and I will likely delete it after having received feedback. Thanks!
