OTOH, a large difference in what a student will be able to descrive verbally vs on paper is also an indication of potential dysgraphia - in that instance, you can see a difference with the same *type* of writing request. But comparing a writing assignment on paper that is something like "write a story about an apple" vs telling verbally "what did you see happen in the science experiment" are two different types of expressive language skills, so the difference isn't necessarily pen-to-paper vs verbal, it's more likely in knowing how to deal with the open-ended assignment, which is where my ds' challenge is.
It actually seems like he has both issues. If you asked him to tell a story about an apple, he probably would not be able to do it verbally or on paper. Also, I did notice in his assignments that open-ended ones were much more difficult. He does have a much easier time when he can do an assignment verbally, though. His teacher sometimes scribed for him, which worked out pretty well, but she couldn't do it consistently. They said they were going to let him use speech to text on an Ipad but that never happened. Also, he had to bring his reading group questions home frequently because he didn't get them done in class--when I scribed for him I noticed that his answers were WAY better than when he had to come up with them and write them at the same time.
I just have to add a snide comment here (directed at the teachers remark, and and please know, I'm not a snide rude person, this just hits a very tender spot in my heart!) - yes, I'm sure it was frustrating for his teacher - but imagine how much more frustrating it was for *him*!
Yes, that's what I was thinking when she said it!
This is a typical thing (imo) for children who have some type of challenge. H'es experienced situations where he just *can't* do something, and it feels either frustrating or discouraging or whatever, so in turn he's hesitant to try other things that are new.
This is interesting. My son has been like this since he was a toddler, and back then it didn't look like he had any challenges at all, except that he was very physically timid. He started writing letters and numbers before he was two and sentences before three.
Again, thank you very much for responding. It has been very very helpful. Do you mind if I ask if there is a name for the specific expressive language disorder your son has? Also, should I ask a SLP to perform certain tests in an evaluation?
