Dyslexia is explicitly named in the DSM-V as a specific learning disorder in reading. OSEP guidance also states that it can be used interchangeably with SLD-reading.
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/guidance-on-dyslexia-10-2015.pdfhttps://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/oseplettertounnerstall4-25-16dyslexia.pdfIf they have identified her with dyslexia, then they have identified her as having a specific learning disability in one of the federally-recognized academic skill areas.
I would agree with the suspicion of dysgraphia raised by mckinley. (Your description also sounds a lot like my #2, whose profile is mildly dyslexic, and more significantly dysgraphic.) The core deficit in dysgraphia in many individuals is actually difficulty attaining automaticity for basic skills. It is not unusual to see this same core deficit manifest in low processing speed (which is part of what I was referencing with "low efficiency"), poor reading fluency despite adequate phonetic decoding skills, and even difficulty with arithmetic fact fluency, despite average or above math reasoning and conceptual understanding. Because basic skills do not naturally become automatic ("second nature" or rote) for them, they have to divert a lot of higher-level thinking and processing to managing basic skills, instead of being able to use those high-level cognitive skills for rich expression, comprehension, or problem-solving. These are the learners who, as I often describe it, can form letters, spell accurately, or express complex language, but not all at the same time.
And on a side note, I would prefer that spelling be taught correctly from the start, and that the joy of language expression be captured through scribing and use of technology (speech-to-text, audio recordings of expressive language), rather than invented spelling. My experience is that, though typical readers/spellers do self-correct as they are exposed to more standard spelling instruction, it can be hard for non-natural spellers to root out early mis-learned spellings.
