ebeth, I truly believe my DS8 would do just fine in 7th grade science (with accommodations) if he were so lucky to have had it offered to him. Not sure if your DS is in public or private, but our district's detailed curricula are posted online. Not only that, but our district's 7th grade science refers the kids to the kid sites, while DS has spent hours (or months, as the case may be) on the regular sites. Writing, and probably reading, would be a big issue for him, however (and he'd have to catch up on the math, depending on the course, which does not appear to be an issue for your DS).
So, thought I'd mention that we are training him on Dragon Naturally Speaking 10. He's only had one session, and as long as he doesn't mumble, it hears him almost perfectly. I expect your DS8 would be able to use the software very easily. I just got it. The new version is still on sale for $99 (Dragon Preferred 10). It is great. They also have portable transcribers, so he could dictate his observations into his lab book. Of course, being 8, he'd probably be too self-conscious to do it, but you might want to look into it. It is the great equalizer, as far as I'm concerned. The only problem I've experienced so far is that my DS doesn't want to type or write, just dictate, now that he sees how easy and how much fun it is (especially in the early round where it misunderstood him.)
Maybe this helps?
