Ed.psych says not dysgraphia because he is not significantly and substantially impacted academically, when doing grade level work. However, his coding score has dropped from a 9 to a 6, leaving a PSI of 97. In comparison to working memory (141 but two years ago), that is a huge discrepancy.
CAMom, is the ed. psych. saying that she can't give your ds a *diagnosis* because he's achieving at grade level, or is she saying that your ds won't qualify for accommodations at school?
I'm on my way out the door and don't have time to reply at the moment - but fwiw I have a 2e ds12 (7th grade) who is dysgraphic as well as has an expressive language disorder which impacts written expression and an IEP. If the ed psych is saying that your ds needs to be below grade level in achievement to be diagnosed with dysgraphia, she's incorrect - the diagnosis is not related to academic achievement, it's related to a neurological inability to develop automaticity of handwriting - which *in turn* impacts a student's ability to use handwriting to fully show their knowledge (which may also be very well ahead of grade level). If the ed psych is saying that your ds needs to be below grade level in achievement to qualify for IEP services or 504 accommodations, that's also incorrect.
I could go into more detail, but I've got to get out the door for now... and it would help to know which way to interpret the ed psych's comments before I start rambling on ad nauseum about dysgraphia/disorder of written expression and expressive language disorders - so let me know and II'll give you some ideas re your next steps.
Best wishes,
polarbear
ps - is your ds getting all that daily instruction (writing, typing etc) during the school day? Or are you after-schooling those things? Or did you say you were homeschooling - I'm sorry, I already forgot! Do you think he's getting enough time per day on intellectually challenging work, not just the frustrating things that he is challenged by? If the time balance is weighted heavily toward writing/typing/etc I would think about pulling back a bit on the handwriting instruction, and moving the typing "practice" to typing his regular schoolwork but not drills and then add in study in something he's really good at and enjoys. With kids who are dysgraphic, trying to do too much re handwriting remediation can backfire, with kids who are 2e, giving them a bit of intellectual stimulation can go a long way to get past the frustrations of dealing with a disability, and back to kids with dysgraphia, depending on the cause, typing might not be much easier than handwriting, just different. It *will* go faster than writing by hand, but he might not turn into a rapid-fire typist. Last thought before I really have to go - if he's trying to learn touch typing and not making much progress, let him make up his own system.
