Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment new here-"stealth dsylexia" ?

Hi...I am new here. I am a Christian homeschooling mom of two boys who are 9 and 11. When our 11 year old son was 4, we had him evaluated and found out he is gifted.
Fast foward 7 years to now....
we are having him evaluated again next week because he struggles so much to spell. In addition, when he reads outloud, he often omits words. The person who will be evaluating him told me that from what I have told her, she suspects he has something called "Stealth dyslexia." I had no clue as I thought that people with dyslexia had problems reading, and my son was reading at age 4, loves to read, etc.

I am not sure what to expect with the eval. It is a 3-4 hour appointment. The person doing the eval is very familiar with gifted kids and supportive of homeschooling. She said I might have to take him to an eye doctor to check his visual tracking.

Are there certain tests I should make sure to ask for?

My son is VERY strong in math and science. He is a happy, easy going child, eager to please, respectful, and responsible. He does not like to write, I think it is because spelling is so hard for him.

Any advice you can give would be great!

I'd make an appointment with the right kind of optometrist right away. To find one that deals with this sort of thing (tracking, etc.), go to www.covd.org . We've been through vision therapy for eye tracking issues and were very pleased with the results.

The other thing that comes to mind is that sometimes visual-spatial learners have trouble with spelling (so it is said; so far my two vsl's seem to be rather anal about spelling lol). See http://www.visualspatial.org/what_is_a_vsl.htm . For VSL spelling tips, see http://www.visualspatial.org/Articles/app2spell.pdf

Good luck!!

Hi!
I am not familiar with that term, but this is a great place to start asking questions about gifted, ld, etc. Good luck with your ds and welcome!

Hi, I think you may have responded to me in another forum. I cross posted because I was not sure where to put it.

The person doing the eval has this on her website-

"Mary Doe" M.ed is a Learning Specialist who has taught and evaluated children and adults with learning disabilities for more than 10 years. Her graduate work included the area of Learning Language and Reading Disabilities and she is certified as K-12 Special educator in the State of XXX. . "Mary" has extensive experience in supervising programs for students of all ages (preschool - college and beyond) with language based learning disabilities. She has special knowledge and interest in the area of evaluating and planning for gifted students. "


She is the one who mentioned that my son will need to see a behavioral optomestrist as well. She named one in particular and it sounded like she was very familiar with visual tracking issues. Do you think it is ok for her to do the eval even though she is not a psychologist?

This is from their website-these are the services they offer-


* Educational evaluations including assessment of cognitive, linguistic and academic strengths

* Specialized knowledge in language based reading and writing learning disabilities, Dysgraphia and Dyslexia, Non-verbal learning disabilities, and Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)

*Developmental assessments of preschoolers with particular focus on language and pre-literacy development

*Identification/evaluation and program planning for gifted and talented students (preschool - high school). Ongoing assistance is available to help schools meet the requirements of Title 16, Section 2902

*Curriculum planning for special needs and regular education students, with the emphasis on integrating oral language, reading and writing in the regular classroom and in pull-out programs. Curriculum planning, testing and advising for home schooled students

*In-school consultations to help develop Individual Education Programs (IEP), 504 plans

*Individualized Instruction and counseling (availability limited)

*Parent Education Classes to continue the learning process outside of the classroom

I read about convergence insuffiency-he does not have any of the symptoms on the list I read (blurred vision, covering one eye while he reads, words jumping on the page...) but I suppose it would be a good idea to have him seen by the eye doctor just in case.
Thanks!

Thanks. So I am assuming insurance usually does not pay for vision therapy? Is it expensive?

Thanks, I will check into insurance covering for it.

No, it is not an issue for us (having a licensed psychologist do the testing)as we homeschool and will continue homeschooling for the long haul.

I found out today one of the tests they are doing is the WISC-IV. She said if a child hits the ceiling on that, she gives the SB 5. I am assuming those tests are "good."

Update---He was diagnosed with mild orthographic aka stealth dyslexia and mild dysgraphia. I don't have the written report but will have it next week. I don't know why she is saying he has dysgraphia, other than he is slower than he should be when he writes. His penmanship is beautiful. He does not like to write and it is hard for him.

Ok, now onto vision issues-

I took him to the developmental optician yesterday. He has binocular instability and ocular motor tracking problems. I am not sure if those are the same thing with different names, or two different things. I am supposed to work with him doing daily vision exercises (using a Marsden ball) for 3 weeks and then go back. She said the whole process should only take 3 months or so.

I don't know if anyone here knows about vision but I have a few questions-

1. Are those diagnoses above, two things or one thing? Are they the same as "Convergence insuffiency" or different"

2. How are these problems related to dyslexia (he has stealth dyslexia, aka orthographic dyslexia...in other words, he can read and comprehend well but cannot spell well-also skips little words when reading aloud)

Thanks!

Binocular Instability refers to the ability to use both eyes together (more along the lines of depth perception)

Occulomotor tracking is the ability to move the eyes across the page smoothly as in reading. This may be why your child skips the small words, he may be missing them because of insufficient tracking.

Convergence Insufficiency is the abilit to move the eyes from far away to near, like attempting to copy from a blackboard (at a distance) to the paper on your desk.

Yes it can be related to dyslexia and several other diagnoses. Most likely, what narrows his diagnosis is his ability to read and comprehend and yet have the underlying visual motor/perceptual issues.

My dd7 has been in therapy for 5 months now and we are working on many of the same issues. Are you working with a school to help deal with these issues? We are having a terrible time getting the teachers to accept this diagnosis and make accomodations accordingly.

Good Luck!!

Thank you for your quick reply-it was helpful!

No, I am not working with a school as we have always homeschooled. The eye doctor is giving me exercises to do with my son daily (using a Marsden ball)and we go back in three weeks to assess his progress. She is confident that within about three months of treatment, he will no longer need to have vision therapy-but I don't know if that is too optimistic.