Hi Verona,

You are right � the Special Ed regulations and process in Canada are much different! The forum I suggested has a group of Canadian members, so when the time comes you might want to check in there for some guidance in terms of resources and laws.

You ask why test now. Given that you are already providing speech and language and OT support, you most likely have initial benchmarks in those areas and could put off testing. But, what you don�t have is an understanding of your child�s learning profile and a data for reading acquisition and other academic skills. You only have red flags that my gut (and I think yours) tells me might indicate an issue. But, without testing you don't know. The therapies you are using most likely will not address the reading difficulties, if there are some. If he has a language based learning disability such as dyslexia, he will need an explicit, systematic, multi-sensory, rule based reading program to learn how to crack the code. By waiting, you could loose precious time and perhaps allow your child to fall further behind. Given that remediation is much more effective when a child is young because their brain is more malleable, I would hate for you to lose this window of opportunity by waiting. If the testing comes back and indicates he is right where he should be, and there is no reading disability, you will have confirmation that you are addressing the priority areas with the OT and S&L, and you can relax and put your �wondering� about reading remediation to bed.

Note � if you do pursue more testing, be sure to get the names and versions of the tests that have already been used. Most tests are not valid if administered more than every 12 months. Your new evaluator will want to know the what tests to avoid and would most likely find the test scores helpful for background knowledge and developmental history. These domains are usually interrelated.

On another note, you write that you are considering vision therapy. When my son was 7 he participated in a year of behavioral VT. Initially the results seem to be positive, but they were not sustained over time. The therapy takes a large commitment and ongoing practice of the exercises. Over time, my very compliant son resisted. My experience is that the results were minimal and not sustainable. Additionally, the therapy does not address dyslexia � it only improves skills in the visual domain so that the child is more able to access the reading instruction. Here is a recent report on VT: http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;102/5/1217 Again, you want to make sure that your resources (time and money) are targeted to the areas of priority. While VT could be part of the solution, I don't think you know whether it is the most important aspect of your child's remediation plan without data about cognition and academic achievement. You would get this important data via a neuropsychological evaluation.

Since you are in Canada, you may be interested in exploring the Arrowsmith School approach. I recently heard the founder, John Eaton speak. While I am not completely sold on the approach, it did seem interesting. And since I am fairly conventional, I tend to feel more comfortable with traditional approaches to remediation � you might be more open to alternative therapies. Here is the website: http://www.arrowsmithschool.org/. I'm not sure if there is a location nearby - I realize that Canada is vast!

Hope this helps � follow your gut � information is king.