Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Does my son have a LD? - accomodations needed?

So I am new here, but I have a 6th grade son who has ADHD-innatentive and possible dysgraphia and/or dyslexia. He has been in a small gifted class for the last two years, but middleschool has become a struggle. He is only in the GT class for 3 periods of the day and in much larger classes for the other 4 subjects. He is really struggling with organization and time and his grades are slipping. I am wondering if the testing I had 3 years ago would be valid or if we would have to redo everything, and if he would qualify for an IEP at school. The psych did list dysgraphia and possible dyslexia on his IQ report, but I don't know if that is valid. Any thoughts or ideas?

If the testing was done three years ago it will need to be done. He may qualify as OHI for his ADHD or in one of the LD areas. The issue is in getting the school. You can request in writing that he be evaluated. The school then has 60 days to address your concerns. This is from a sped teacher. If nothing else it would accomadate his organization and time issues

Having two older boys, I think sixth grade is a common time for them to grapple with organization and time management issues. Maybe if you make it a project to work on it, he will be successful and won't need a new IEP? Just a thought.

Another thought-- gifted students might struggle more (and later) with such problems because their intellectual gifts have allowed them to "get away with" being less organized.

I have seen this especially with one of my sons (15 yrs old) as well as with a very highly gifted nephew. I remember once when my MIL was complaining about how disorganized these two grandsons are (compared to all the other boys that age she knows), I suddenly realized both boys are so very bright they have rarely had to "manage time" for homework or review for tests. Left totally unchallenged in school, how or when would they have had the chance to learn proper study or organizational skills?

Maybe your son is short on such skills because he also has not had the chance to develop them.

Thanks for your responses. I guess that I think there is more to it than simply time management and organization. Although, that is a huge part.

When we he had his testing done the discrepancy between the working memory and processing speed subsets and the rest of his test were HUGE which made the tester think dyslexia or something. He is a great reader so we never really looked to much into it. And then his elementary gifted program was so great and indidvidualized that he didn't need it. But, that said his handwriting, spelling, and grammar are so bad that maybe I should rethink it.

I have had two girls go through the gifted program and done wonderfully so part of me wonders if I just am not used to how boys work. He does very well on all of his tests, but still at the moment has two "D's" and and "F" due to missing or incomplete assignments which I am sure is the ADHD. I just don't want to find out later that he did have something more serious going on and was able to just skate by due to his IQ.

I guess my biggest worry is that he will continue down this path and even though he has a gifted mind will have such bad grades he won't even be able to get into college. The school has never suggested an IEP or 504 since 2nd grade when they had an OT test him because of his handwriting. He scored in the 8%, but he had to be 7% or below to receive services.

Has anyone gotten an IEP for ADHD alone in there school, and if so what did you do? Or should I push to have him retested? I don't know at this point if finding out he does have dyslexia will make a huge difference...how would they accomodate for that?

Thanks for your input!!

That 8% must have been frustrating. It seems crazy they would deny services like that (saying he needed 7 or below). OTOH rest assured you have plenty of time to figure everything out. You have years before his grades will even count for college applications. Just do your best and don't look too far ahead (and it sounds like you are very attentive and are doing a good job).

If you lived near here, you would find plenty of writing tutors/organization coaches. Also, all the private and better public schools I know here in NYC have special help in these areas (they seem such common areas of difficulty). These schools have so-called "achievement centers" for kids who struggle in exactly the areas you describe, and in many cases the kids get class credit for attending a couple days a week. One of my kids was getting C - grades just last semester and finally pulled up his grades under threat of having to drop an elective and sign up for the "achievement center." He is in high school, and the C - grades in high school are more damaging potentially (to a college application) than D or F grades in 6th grade (which the colleges will never even see, and would not care about anyway). I'm not losing any sleep over it though since in this child's case I think it has all been a great learning experience for him. He DID pull those grades up (way up) and never did have to set foot into the dreaded "achievement center." His grades fell last term because he bothered too little with assignments (lots of late and several missing homeworks and projects), and he also had simply taken on more than he could handle (in terms of extra-curricular and audited classes he would have been forbidden to take for credit because the load would have been deemed too heavy).

I wonder if they have some kind of achievement center or organization coach at your child's school? Maybe you can access that help? There MUST be other kids struggling with the same issues. Have you asked the school what they suggest?

If you think spelling and grammar are real problems for your son, I would get a tutor for these areas, but the rest might sort itself out with time (and you don't need to wait TOO long before seeking opinions or testing for possible LDs). But don't feel rushed, you do have lots of time to figure it all out (and so does your son for that matter).

By the way, I hope someone else can help you with answers to your question about IEPs for ADHD alone, etc. I mainly wanted to reassure you not to worry too much about the D and F grades. For boys I think they are not so uncommon -- maybe you could even consider it a "stage"?!

Thanks HannahZ

You have reassured me somewhat. Hopefully it is just a 6th grade boy thing or a "stage". Do you know much about the IQ and achievement testing to tell me if you think that his scores warrant further testing to look for an LD? Do you know anything about how dysgraphia can be accomodated at school? Hopefully someone else will let me know about IEPS for ADHD. Maybe I'll post a new thread for that.

The only thing the school suggested for his organizational stuff is for me to either look at upping his ADHD meds, or having me come in once a week to clean out his locker and meet with the teachers. I want HIM to be accountable, not me, and his meds are right where they should be right now!

I will ask around about an achievement center type option. We are in the Northwest, not in NYC unfortunately and I haven't heard of anything from anyone.

Thanks again!!

"or having me come in once a week to clean out his locker"
I am sorry, I really got a good laugh from that! Don't we do enough cleaning up after our kids at home? I know I do! If you managed not to laugh back at them in response to that, you did well (I might not have had the self control). Seriously though, the kids are in school then and part of the program should be for the kids to learn to manage without mom doing it all for them! I think your instincts are 100 percent correct (he has to be accountable, not you).

I am sorry I don't have any info on achievement testing, and honestly we have never succeeded in treating fairly obvious dysgraphia (all three of my sons appear to have that). At a certain age the handwriting is less of an issue (papers are eventually typed). I am only now trying to make my 8 yo understand that writing can be messy and he can take longer to produce it (fine) but that does NOT excuse him from using proper punctuation. I hope you can get helpful responses from others on these issues (and I look forward to hearing about ways of managing the dysgraphia).

I hope you do find some kind of tutor or achievement center option. Surely there is something available nearby (if not in the school), as there is no way your child is the only one struggling with these issues! Good luck, and again I am sorry I can't be helpful about interpretation of scores.

Yes, ADHD can get an IEP under "other health impared" minor. OHI. This is the catchall group for many issues. Sometimes identification can also add in group testing or some collages offer continued accomadations for students who have IEP's.

Thanks Master of none.

I think that what you've mention is very helpful. My son is only 11 so not too much ahead of your son. He also has pretty severe dysgraphia and part of it I think also is due to spatial issues. He can't read any of what he has written unless he goes painstakingly slow and then he is so frustrated that he writes the shortest response possible. He has some difficulties with appropriate pressure on the paper. We have found that using mechanical pencils helps him a little bit with this. We try to have him type his work when he brings it home. The biggest issue we have is work that is supposed to be done only in class. Then he has to write it out and he either doesn't finish it or it is illegible. Of course assignments he does at home have a way of getting lost on the way back anyway.

So his IQ report does list the diagnosis of dysgraphia but it was done in 2007 so I don't know if the school will take it.

Do you think they would do testing for me if I show them the old diagnosis?

Also...does your son feel like the accomodations make him stick out in a way he doesn't like?

And what about math? We have tried having my son do everything on graph paper which helps except when it is a worksheet. I am guessing we could write in using graph paper on a 504 or IEP. Does he get more time on written tests?

Does your son struggle with personal space issues at all? My son has absolutely no sense of personal space. It can be disconcerting for people.

I think that we have been picking up the slack for so long at home that his teachers haven't made an issue of anything. Now with 7 classes a day, I can't keep up with it unless the teachers are on board!

A lot of questions, but I appreciate your input.