Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment help with dyslexic DS5

My DS5's teacher said that she suspects dyslexia. He has an older brother who is dyslexic. We will be homeschooling DS5 next year. My question is: should I just start using an OG tutor with my DS5 now? Is there any benefit to having him wait until he gets tested first? I called a couple of testers and they said to wait until DS5 is at least 7, to test for dyslexia. One of my concerns is that if I start OG with him now, then when he is tested in 2-3 years, he will not appear dyslexic and therefore, will not receive needed accommodations down the road. But if I start the tutor now, he will have the benefit of learning the way he needs to learn. (No, I don't want to teach him to read now, but he is begging to learn and his teacher, who has a lot of experience herself with dyslexia, says that she "strongly" suggests dyslexia.)

I would think about your long-term goals for him. Is the long-term goal for him to receive accommodations, or to become a fluent and efficient reader? If remediation causes him to not test as dyslexic, with no apparent need for accommodations, because he has become such a good reader, how will that affect your long-term goals for him, and his long-term goals for himself?

There is data to suggest that early, intensive remediation of reading disabilities using evidence-based, phonemic awareness-focused structured instruction in pre-reading and reading skills alters the way dyslexic brains read, so that it more closely resembles the (more efficient) reading brain behavior of neurotypicals. If his brain is retrained so that he doesn't require accommodations, won't that be a better outcome than waiting to remediate so that he can qualify for accommodations? And if intervention now is unsuccessful at teaching him to read efficiently, then he will still end up qualifying later.

Keep in mind that OG is good for nearly all early readers, not just dyslexics, and is actually used as an at-risk intervention in some school districts for all of the children who are below grade-level in reading (an estimated 30-40% of all primary-age students).

Peetri, I'll second ash's advice. I have a dyslexic dd, who was not diagnosed until 3rd grade. I would give anything to be able to turn the clock back and start remediating when she was just learning to read. Intensive reading tutoring starting in 3rd did help her catch up to reading at grade level (now in 6th grade), but the difference in the vocabulary she *hasn't* picked up on in all those years as a struggling reader is tremendous when compared with her peers. She also simply doesn't like to read - so even though she *can* read and reasonably well now, she doesn't *choose* to read, which, again, makes a difference by the time a student is in middle school. It also closes out a section of culture which might not matter to some, but my other dd, by contrast, reads anything and everything, and she is able to discuss and enjoy popular books with her friends.

Reading also isn't a skill that is needed only in language arts - my dyslexic dd is really good at math - it's her area of strength - yet she doesn't test well, most often because she misses small things or misunderstands when she reads problem descriptions.
I'm surprised that you weren't able to find a tester who would test your ds. I realize that a number of years ago (I have friends with older children), it was thought that testing for LDs wasn't reliable until 7-8 years old, but my ds was in class with a girl with a dyslexia diagnosis in kindergarten, we have relatives with dyslexia who were diagnosed early, and most of the children who attend the same tutoring clinic my dd does are clearly very young, not yet in 2nd grade. The entire focus of the clinic is teaching reading to children with dyslexia and related challenges. My dd was diagnosed later, but in her case the impact of her dyslexia was very stealth and she kept it very well hidden for her first few years of school, up to the point she just couldn't hide it anymore.

Last note - accommodations are for intended for students who need them. It's possible your ds might need them, or he might not, depending on how learning to read goes for him. I would choose being able to read well over accommodations *anytime*. It will be MUCH less frustrating for your ds. Reading tutoring won't guarantee that he won't need accommodations, but it will give him reading skills which will be beyond beneficial. It will also give *you* a professional who knows your ds well and has worked with him - which may be exactly what you need when/if you do request accommodations for him in school.

Best wishes,

polarbear

Couldn't agree more with the above. Teaching him properly, now, will save him a world of misery later. It's so much easier to learn correctly the first time, than wait to fail with standard teaching and have to unlearn/ relearn whilst ridden with anxiety and falling ever-further behind. Furthermore, if his teacher is already flagging the problem when he's only five, that suggests dyslexia may be having quite significant impact already.

I get where you are coming from with having him properly recognized later, though. Gifted dyslexics can compensate so well they look like they don't need any special consideration, but they have to work so incredibly much harder to keep up, it's not a level playing field. I'm not sure what kind of testers you've called, but maybe keep calling? In particular, are you able to access a psych who specializes in 2E? As PB notes, the underlying phonological deficits are quite detectable, even at 5, to someone who knows what they're doing. If you can get the dyslexia documented now, and also start remediating now, that's the best of both worlds.

Thanks for the responses. Yes my only concern was about getting accommodations much later, like for SATs. We are new to the world of dyslexia, but I've been told they have it "for life". So I didn't want to have DS sitting for the SATs someday sweating it out to do barely ok instead of him getting whatever accommodations he needs to do the best that he can. I know that's a ways off, but I just want to make sure I get everything documented and do whatever is best for him....which you are all telling me to make interventions now. So we will be sure to set up his tutor and keep calling for someone to test him.

And in the meantime read to him - stuff with complex language and ideas so that his vocabulary continues to expand.