It's helpful to look at what each subtest actually requires a child to do to help make sense of an uneven profile. For instance, on the WJ-III Achievement test, each subtest labelled "fluency" is timed; the other subtests aren't timed. A student who writes slow, for whatever reason, might have lower fluency subtest scores than other subtest scores.
[quote=GeorgeC}nteresting. I do wonder if there is such a thing as "borderline dysgraphic."[/quote]
While I agree that dysgraphia can occur as a "spectrum" (from mild to severe), I do think that there is a component of yes/no (has it or doesn't), and it's important to understand if a child who has symptoms and test scores suggesting it either has dysgraphia or doesn't have dysgraphia.
My ds is dysgraphic. His diagnosis was made by a neuropscyhologist who observed a significant discrepancy in processing speed scores on the WISC-IV and a pattern of uneven test scores on the WJ-III Ach. The key is - she also looked at samples of ds' handwriting and followed up with other tests to tease out, was it dysgraphia or something else (finger-tapping tests, visual-motor integration). Even if you feel you know for certain that a low processing speed score and low fluency subtest scores indicate dysgraphia, the other tests I mentioned were extremely important in teasing out the *cause* of the dysgraphia (fine motor vs visual processing). Re the samples of handwriting, there are some typical clues for dysgraphia that you can look for in your ds' written work. Dysgraphia isn't just slow writing speed, it is a neurological disorder which prevents development of automaticity of handwriting. A dysgraphic student's handwriting samples might include letter reversals, mixing up capitals vs lower case, uneven pencil pressure, inability to follow lines when writing, lack of punctuation, poor spelling. If you watch a dysgraphic student write, some dysgraphic have extremely odd pencil grips, and some will have wrist pain (they will hold their wrist or elbow while writing). You might also notice that a dysgraphic student doesn't form letters consistently using the same pattern (top to bottom etc). A student with dysgraphia will sometimes refuse to write or will tire quickly when writing.
Given that you see a pattern of relatively low fluency tests combined with (I'm guessing here) a relatively low processing speed on the WISC, and you've observed that your ds writes slowly, I'd look for the other clues of dysgraphia in his handwriting samples. If you see other clues, I'd consider trying to get further testing to determine if he's actually dysgraphic and if so, what is the cause.
I wouldn't wait for a year to see if the gap widens, because if it *is* dysgraphia (or some other challenge), that year in school struggling with a challenge which other kids aren't struggling with can be very frustrating and potentially damaging to a young child's self-confidence and self-perception.
Best wishes,
polarbear
