bluemagic - DD8 was reading around the age of 4 and she also is very advanced and well above grade level, so no one is worried about these things but me (and DH). I'm just waiting on either someone to tell me what is going on or for this issue to become a real problem, enough for someone else to step in and say something. I would really like to figure it out before it becomes a problem.
When she had her psycho-educational testing done we asked them to specifically look into dyslexia and dysgraphia. Their results were that she has a very high IQ and huge memory, but they didn't see any major signs of dyslexia or dysgraphia that they were concerned about. They did note a few minor things they witnessed like she spelled a couple words wrong and mispronounced a word while reading. They readily explained these things away as words well above her level and tricky phonics. We also had her do some further testing and they too told us she is very advanced. The only problems they found were phonemic issues that could be explained away by her poor hearing due to fluid in the ears. Another thing we would hope a speech/hearing eval might tell us is if these phonemic issues they found are temporary or more permanent due to years of ear infections and tympanostomy tubes. Maybe her hearing explains more than we think. Could her ear infections be the cause of her not hearing the words sounded out correctly and therefore she didn't get the right phonics of the words in the first place and that is causing her to have issues spelling, etc? This might explain some of the issues, but not sure that would explain why she constantly forgets to put a capital at the beginning of a sentence. Something new to think about and talk to the doctor about!
For having such a high IQ and huge memory...
I always dread sentences that begin that way.
Please don't take these words the wrong way - I know how they sound and I heard it myself when I typed it. I'm just trying to figure out if there is something more going on that we haven't pinpointed yet. When an exceptionally bright kiddo with through the roof memory can't recall how to spell cheese and family and that every sentence starts with a capital, then what is the reason? In fact that memory may be what is holding things together and masking a real problem.
One of the things on our list is a comprehensive eye exam from a vision center that does visual development testing, dyslexia testing, cognitive processing testing, and educational consulting services as part of their exam. Maybe it is her hearing and her vision causing her issues (all wrapped up in a pretty bow)!
