Agree, agree with both of the above. Identification is key but mixing remediation with strength development is next.
If I were addressing educators about my 2e son I would say:
1) No one ever laid his in school achievement testing, his in class performance and his grades side by side. If someone had, he would have been identified as needing testing for a possible LD after kindergarten rather than in 4th grade (by me!) The spiky testing profile along with his superior in class discussion ("He's so bright! You have nothing to worry about. He'll grow out of it.") and very inconsistent grades were classic for a 2e kid.
2) If a teacher really means to put his accommodations into practice EVERY day, consistently, perhaps they should be added to the daily lesson plan. That's my #1 gripe about the well-meaning, supportive teachers we have had. They just forget DS' disconnect between his great, creative contributions to class and his ability to show what he knows in writing. And I have to remind them and remind them.
"How did the test go today?"
(nervous glance, fingernail chewing)
"Not well I guess. What happened? I know you studied."
"Well, we had to write an essay question at the end and I was already behind so I didn't have time to go get my computer. And then everyone started turning their tests in so I started freaking out."
"So he didn't give you (sigh) more time? Or warn you about the writing part?"
Or the art project in history that counted as an exam grade where DS's project looked like a kindergartener did it because they had to cut out a life sized figure and color it with markers. Argh.
Then I have to do damage control because they keep "forgetting" he has LDs. 'Cause he's so darn smart in class.
