slow processing speed, illegible handwriting, "interpreting questions wrong", difficulty filling in bubble sheets, trouble with writing. 73 percentile spread between verbal to processing speed.
I am tossing a few ideas around my head here:
1) are you familiar with the diagnostic criteria for ADHD since the year 2000? It's not what it used to be...
2) if those diagnostic criteria happen to fit and you were to pursue evalaution for diagnosis, would that be specific and familiar enough for the administration to recognize need?
I'm seeing your post through the lens of my son's ADHD. His discrepancy between verbal index and processing speed index is 68 percentiles, I believe. He's NOT hyperactive. He does not look or act like the social mythology of ADHD. When I pulled him from public school and was schooling him at home, I began to see patterns. He *could not* copy. No matter how hard he tried, he could not copy a problem out of a text - not in English, not in Math. He couldn't keep his place while reading. Reading was tedious because he spent most the time looking for wherever he left off. He couldn't look up a word in the dictionary... or he could but it might take 45 minutes. He could write to save his life either!!! There's no way he could keep his place on a bubble sheet!!
With ADHD treatment, he can copy, he can read fluently, he has made significant progress in writing. His FSIQ jumped up about 30 points. He started ADHD treatment before last school year. His standardized test scored jumped up and he was approved for 3-grade skip for this fall. More importantly, he can make and meet his own goals in play. Last summer, his version of play (8 years old) was to wander around hitting grass with sticks. This summer, he is practicing doing track stands with his bike, and troubleshooting why the brakes squeak. Before ADHD dx/rx, he was anxious and slipping into depression. He's pretty normal cheerful kid with treatment on board. ❤️
It sounds like your son might have a bit more going on as far as complexity of his 2e difficulties, but I wanted to share the similarity of how your son's struggles match right up to how my son's ADHD symptoms affect him. I can see how a school administration questions why a child labeled "language impaired" but performs within norms without accommodations would need the accommodations. However, if he does in fact meet the diagnostic criteria for ADHD and you had that diagnosed and documented, I would expect the school administration to be more able to understand what his needs are and to be willing to level the playing field for him.
