Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Diagnosing Dysgraphia

My ds has a diagnosis of dysgraphia, but the school wants to remove it from his IEP. The last time he was tested, his written expression subtest score (acheivement test) put him in the 40th percentile. His IQ was measured in the 99th percentile. I know schools sometimes don't want to use a discrepancy to diagonse LDs, but I think that's so they don't miss kids who only have a 19 pooint discrepancy. Does a 59 point discrepancy automatically qualify him? His teachers say his handwriting is legible so he shouldn't qualify. He's at a new school this year, and they really haven't pushed him to write anything extensive.

Keet, I'd think that legible handwriting is only part of it-- they'd also have to show that he doesn't tire or lose accuracy (more than peers) in long writing tasks.

Do you have an outside expert to consult?

I don't think there's anything "automatic" about qualifying for an IEP; certainly most schools seem to dismiss the discrepancy model out of hand these days. You'd have to prove that the disability continues to have an impact on his ability to participate in his education.

DeeDee

According to this, dysgraphic kids don't have to have bad handwriting.

http://www.apraxia-kids.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=chKMI0PIIsE&b=788449&ct=464199

Something I always wonder, to what extent dysgraphia results in an artificially low processing score on IQ tests.

At any rate, you might look for an experienced O.T. to give an opinion?

I agree with DeeDee that handwriting is only part of it. My DD9 has dyslexia with very mild dysgraphia. For her, facing a day of written work at school is, in her own words, "like trying to drive up a steep hill on my little brother's tricycle." Her handwriting might be legible, but it takes every ounce of her brainpower and concentration to do it. There is nothing left over for her imagination and creativity. She leaves out any 'decorative' words and uses simple sentences that lack description and detail. Sure, she can do the work... eventually. It takes her three times as long as the other kids. But, it is nowhere NEAR reflective of her imagination and abilities. As a parent, I would go to the floor to protect my child's accomodations. I have seen what this 'mild' disability has done to her self-esteem. We will never go back there again!

What accomodations does you son have now? Are they suggesting to remove all of them or just revamp the IEP?

One piece of information that might be helpful to the IEP team (including you) as they consider this is how his performance with appropriate accommodations and modifications differs from his performance without them. For example, what is his written expression like when he gets to use all of his accommodations, such as extended time, keyboarding, scribes, or voice recognition software? Is his writing without accommodations as fast, creative, complex, detailed, neat, and well-organized as his work with them? If you can show that the disability is significantly affecting his performance in any of these areas when he is denied accommodations, and that the needed accommodations and modifications help him, then that is very strong evidence that the disability is significantly affecting his educational performance, and, depending on the nature of the supports and interventions he is receiving, it is strong evidence that he may continue to need special education services.

My son was diagnosed with dysgraphia and a fine motor-neuro disorder when he was 7. We had to test him privately, because the school wouldn't test him since he wasn't two full years behind in his performance. Dysgraphia is so not just about handwriting. Yes, his was illegible, didn't follow the lines and drifted off the page at 5. He went to speech, occupational and physical therapy for several years and now has quite nice handwriting.

He still has dysgraphia (now sixth grade). And it still severely affects his performance in some areas - copying words from a blackboard or screen onto paper is a nightmare, doing rote calculations for beginning algebra means he gets almost all of the answers wrong due to calculation errors in following the lines, not because he doesn't get the concept. His spelling is random and quite atrocious, although he is now reading at a 10th grade level and his verbal skills tested at 10th grade as well. When he has to write essays, he only writes the basic words, but if he dictates, his writing is creative and engaging.

His accommodations that are still on the books: scribe when needed for testing, someone to read questions for testing, keyboarding instead of writing, audio books when available, longer time to complete projects, classroom assignments and tests, alternative projects when the assignment has too much writing or copying, and several more.

Advocate to keep the accommodations on the books, because if he has dysgraphia, the challenges are not going to go away. They will simply change as he masters some skills and finds he has new challenges when presented with more difficult tasks.

Hope this helps.

Is his IEP for SLD/Written Expression or for something else? If it's only for written expression, do you think he needs instruction? If not, you should be able to continue his accommodations for dysgraphia in a 504 plan.

Our ds did qualify for an IEP (SLD/Written Expression) using the discrepancy model - he had a larger (much larger) gap in ability vs achievement in written expression on the conventional achievement tests.. and even then he didn't technically meet the official cut-off to qualify. What helped us most then (and continues to help as we continue to advocate for new/updated accommodations) is what was mentioned above - having examples of his work with and without accommodations.

It also helped us to always bring a brief write-up from a reputable source re what dysgraphia is to every meeting we went to because inevitably someone from the school staff would bring up the point "but his handwriting *looks* fine".

My 13-year-old son who was finally diagnosed with dysgraphia at age 11. He was tested by an OT a few years earlier but she said his handwriting was low normal so she didn't even work with him on it. Instead she wanted to work on his vestibular and proprioceptive issues in the only six weeks of therapy our insurance would pay for. The problem was that he was not tested for a long enough time for his handwriting to get worse. His low endurance and fatigue issues contribute to his dysgraphia. He can write legibly for about five minutes.

We couldn't get an IEP even though we tried. We talked to the special ed director at our public school after we had homeschooled for one year. We showed him the results of testing by an educational psychologist. The month my son turned seven he tested at a 4th grade level in math but wouldn't do any calculations on paper. If he couldn't get the answer using mental math, he just wouldn't do it. The special ed director didn't see this as a problem. We also told him about the low muscle tone and lower than normal visual motor coordination and the fatigue issues that made it difficult for my son to color in the lines. The kindergarten teacher had wanted to hold my son back a year to practice coloring in the lines because this was more important than learning anything else, yet they would not provide OT because he wasn't failing. We asked about appropriate education. We learned they have a very different idea about what an appropriate education is so we had no choice but to homeschool.

I have always had trouble understanding how any good teacher could deny the use of assistive technology or extra time or whatever the child needs to succeed.

At home my son uses a whiteboard to do algebra problems. This worked for him when nothing else did. It is easier for him to write and easier for him to erase. It also cuts down on the amount of writing he has to do. He uses the markers with eraser on one end. He tried graph paper. Didn't work for him. He still uses a lot of mental math. He does whatever he needs to do to get the correct answer quickly. We just kept trying different things until we found what worked for him. He can type his notes on an iPhone or iPod that he can carries in his pocket. He can even use this for essay questions on tests if the teacher will allow it. It just seems crazy to me that there are so many teachers who would not allow the accommodations my son needs to succeed.

My husband says that the people he hires have to be able to pass tests that include math and he doesn't care how they get the answers. The important thing is accuracy and speed, which is why we are using IXL for algebra practice. You don't want to make mistakes with IXL because it takes points away and it takes longer to finish. It forces my son to write legibly enough and find shortcuts to get the right answers quickly.

I think my son's fine motor disabilities/dysgraphia did affect his IQ scores, but not as much as the migraine and fatigue issues he had during the all day testing. His mental processing ability has always been much faster than mine but his disabilities slow him down when he has to physically do things.

As a neophyte here, I am not familiar with some of the terms and abbreviations used. (The child about whom I am concerned is too young to have had difficulties with school rules and policies.)

Would someone be so kind as to clarify:
ds ,DD9 or similar terms. I see they refer to the child but...?

IEP looks like Individual Education Plan. Is that correct?

OT could be Occupational Therapist. Do members of that profession help with these problems? (Or is OT something different?)

SLD/Written Expression What is SLD?

Thanks

This thread might be helpful.


IEP is Individual (or Individualized) Education Plan.
OT is either Occupational therapist or Occupational Therapy. OT can help with some aspects of dysgraphia.
SLD is Specific Learning Disability.

Her's a link

http://giftedissues.davidsongifted....of_Common_Gifted_Acronyms.html#Post13990

oops I see that it has already been posted

Ds can still keep his IEP for ADHD, but I'm afraid they will want to take away his writing help. He's only getting an hour a week of help a week, but that's one-on-one time. His accomodations are a keyboard, extra time, partial notes, graphic organizers, and lines/grids on his paper.

Thanks, "Aculady"!