So, in preparation for the possibility of a new evaluation I have been asking my parents for both of their versions of my academic history as well as their own history (that they felt comfortable sharing) I've learned some things about myself and them that I did not previously know. Both of my parents told me that my writing was so bad that my school wanted to give me Dragon Naturally Speaking (though I was not diagnosed as dysgraphic) and that this conversation happened at the same time that they wanted me to advance 2 grades (from 1 to 3 midway through the year) Which my parents resisted as they thought this would be bad for my social-emotional development (oh how wrong)

Apparently I was so articulate in a verbal sense that I could not recreate in writing and it was very much frustrating me. That combined with my general boredom at school led them to believe I needed a drastic change asap. I was also told I would double up and omit letters/words, and while everyone agreed it was because my brain worked a lot faster than my hands could write my school also suspected I was dyslexic. They ultimately decided I couldn't be dyslexic because I was such an early reader (I could read independently by age 3 1/2) and that was cast off and it was decided it was just a fine motor issue.

I have read a lot of the symptom clusters of dyslexia lately due to my partner having been diagnosed at 15 and only finding out now in her 20's (another story entirely) and I actually related to a lot of them, like having difficulty learning to tell time and multiplication tables, spelling words incorrectly in different ways (I often misspell in writing but I know it's wrong and correct it as soon as I see it, I just learned not to write in pen) not knowing the difference between left and right, and also an article about stealth dyslexia that I read which described having more difficulty with shorter texts than longer ones, which was something that always puzzled me. I have to read a word problem or a short paragraph question 2 or 3 times before I fully understand it but I can read a long article and take so much more meaning from it into the point that I can analyze it.

I have also found out that my dad is most likely dyslexic or has some type of language/reading problem. He described being in "remedial" english all through elementary school and that he was placed there because he had "difficulty making the correct sounds for words and knowing what sounds went together in what ways" and that this affected his reading ability. I know dyslexia is hereditary so this put my academic history in a different context. I haven't talked about this with my dad before because he has been openly pretty sore on the topic of my intelligence and school in general, which I now have much more understanding of.

On the other hand with my general reading ability I don't know that I completely buy that I have dyslexia in any form. I have only been tested with WAIS, I haven't done a full battery of tests but all that psychologist seemed to imply was a non verbal type of LD. My sister is also autistic and I've long suspected myself to be on the spectrum (which overlaps a lot with NVLD so that makes it more difficult to parse, but I also have sensory issues and repetitive behavior and interests) but I wanted to see what others thought. Is this all consistent with a NVLD?

Also it would be helpful if I could get a copy of my original assessment but it's proving more difficult than expected. Since it was done through the hospital at a satellite site and my parents weren't given a copy I have no record of it. They said it was in a basement somewhere it will just take a while to find

Your history is a little spotty on data and details, after so many years, so I expect there are lots of questions I could ask for which the answers would not be easily accessible. I can say, though, that my experience with NVLD is that quite a lot of individuals have early delays in phonetic reading or spelling (so their early identified disability is often dyslexia or dysgraphia), but that once they reach reading fluency (by whatever means works--some use whole word reading, instead of phonetic decoding), reading can really take off, leaving deficits in math and other visually-related skills to reveal themselves (so that, in some cases, the disability area actually changes to mathematics by secondary school). And many compensated dyslexics (another name for stealth dyslexics, that probably better describes situations like yours) can read without apparent difficulty, but still can't spell without excessive effort. A simpler description would be to leave it at dysgraphic and NVLD, which covers everything you've listed.

The shorter vs longer text phenomenon may be because you probably read (decode) more from context than you realize, so more context (longer passage) makes it easier to read and comprehend. If you have challenges in visualizing the meaning of the text, having more text to work with also may help you create a picture more easily. Also, word problems are math.

Thank you for the input I got a bit overzealous when I realized dyslexia ran in my family and knowing how heritable it is. After thinking about I read far too well. You're right, I probably have nvld and dysgraphia.

I do have some difficulty with spelling though. But I know I've spelled something wrong as soon as I see it and correct. I've just learned to not write in pen.