He was tested due to his 3rd grade teacher referring him for special ed, due mostly to his dislike of writing and some behavioral problems that only seemed to occur with this one teacher. The psychologist seems to agree that a special ed placement will allow him to get the accommodations that will help him should there be an frustration or struggling with mental manipulations which he suggests show from his test results. We have not noticed that and are in disagreement but need to understand more about the test results.
We know he doesn't like to write although he will if it's something he has an interest in, he does struggle with fine motor skills - holds things oddly, can't tie shoes easily, clumsy etc.
We had initially requested the testing for school purposes. We thought he may be gifted (taught himself to read and write by 3, taught himself to play the piano) but his most current teacher stated he had difficulty writing and couldn't read - both untrue. He doesn't like to write but will when it's something he likes.
Thanks for explaining why the testing occurred. You have a really bright ds! The thing is, I wouldn't necessarily discount what the teacher and psych have told you - 2e kids can be *very* good at compensating for their weaknesses thanks to their incredible strengths. There are three things I'd take into consideration before deciding that there *isn't* a 2nd e for your ds -
1) Two independent observers have found suggestions that there might be a challenge (teacher and psych)
2) He likes to write, but only when it's something that "interests" him - it's possible that what is interesting to him coincides with a specific type of writing assignment. My 2e ds, for instance, struggles with creative writing and open-ended questions, but can write about science/facts/etc. Because he loves science, it was easy for us to think when he was younger that he was not writing because he wasn't interested in the topic, but the reality was the times he wasn't writing - he couldn't write due to his 2nd e.
3) Struggling with fine motor skills - holding things oddly, not able to tie shoes easily, clumsy etc - that is not something that you will hear parents of most NT 3rd graders mentioning. You'll see it in younger children, but if it's persistent up to 3rd grade, that *might* be an indication of a fine motor challenge. Did the psych perform other tests such as visual motor integration or finger-tapping or suggest an OT eval? Or were the fine motor issues discusses as part of this eval? The tricky thing is - if he's struggling with these, whatever the reason, it's possibly going to impact him when he uses handwriting, and that might also factor into why he will sometimes write if he's really interested in something and other times avoid it. A fine motor challenge isn't necessarily something that will require an IEP (special education) but it may be something that your ds would benefit from having either accommodations (keyboarding) or working with an OT to strengthen muscles, correct grip etc.
Best wishes,
polarbear
