Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Need info on Dysgraphia skewing IQ test results

Keep in mind that under IDEA, if a child with a learning disability needs services beyond accommodations to continue to make progress, they should stay on the IEP even if they are now at grade level. The question is whether or not your son can continue to access the curriculum without the specialized instruciton, modifications or anything else on his IEP. It sounds like both you and his teachers don't think so.

As you've pointed out, the team should also keep in mind that once a child is in MS, the structure and supports in a general classroom tend to diminish, the amount of writing across all subject areas tends to increase. They should consider this when making the eligibility decision.

Finally, tell us more about your child's dysgraphia. Is it only a visual motor/handwriting issue or are there other issues going on? Often times organization, attention, processing speed, spelling, working memory issues create troubles in writing. Many of these were not tested based on the scores you posted. Here is a great article on writing evaluations.http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/test.written.lang.htm

If for any reason you are not happy with the results of the evaluation, you are entitled to an independent educational evaluation by a qualified evaluator of your choice paid for by the district. If you are not satisfied with how the meeting goes, I would recommend asking for the IEE, rejecting the finding of inelegibility. Until the new evaluation is completed, and the team reconvene's, the current (old) IEP stays in place under IDEA"s Stay Put clause.

As far as your initial question about dysgraphia impacting WISC scores - visual motor skills are required for the Processing Speed Index. Based on what you reported, they did not do these subtests. Occasionally motor skills can lower the block design scores a bit too, but your child seemed to do ok. The GAI basically takes out the negative impact of dysgraphia.

I think that the basis for dysgraphia can be complicated and could affect more than the PRI. I'm thinking that things like block design, picture concepts and matrix reasoning could also be affected.

Sometimes gifted kids have "stealth dyslexia" which has more impact on their writing than on their reading skills. They are using other skills to compensate when reading. They may still have weaknesses in visual perception, however.

Read here for more information: http://eideneurolearningblog.blogspot.com/2005/09/stealth-dyslexia-when-writing-is.html

Just wanted to add - if all you want are accommodations such as word processing, more time, dictating as needed, these can be given under a 504 plan. Generally speaking, a 504 plan does not provide the same level of protection as an IEP, and does not give you the procedural safegaurds that an IEP provides, but it is a way to document that your son needs certain supports (not modifications or instruction) to access the curriculum.

Again Wrightslaw is a great resource to learn more about 504. Here are some links that may help:
Understanding the Differences Between IDEA and Section 504 http://www.ldonline.org/article/6086
http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/accommodations
IEP/504 Similarities and Differences http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/504_IDEA_Rosenfeld.html
Generally speaking, an IEP offers more and if you can keep it, you'll be better off.

Yikes! I am not an expert on IDEA, but don't let them drop his services if you think he needs them. I believe they cannot change his IEP without your consent. If you don't sign the new one, the old one remains in place. He won't have new goals, but at least he can keep the accomodations.

I think you need some outside testing. A diagnosis of dysgraphia from an outside psychologist is going to be hard for them to ignore. I also agree with getting an outside OT assessment. You might also want to talk to an advocate. Try the yellowpages on wrightslaw.com to find one.

keet - you are right. What you are referring to is Stay Put: http://www.spedwatch.org/files/Stay-Put.pdf

Thank you all so much. I feel like an army is behind me now as I prepare for the next meeting at school.

To answer a few of the questions I can remember - yes, we're addressing his OT outside of school as well as in school. Some skills that were impossible a couple of years ago (swimming) developed quickly this summer as he's matured a bit more. He's even considering joining the club's youth swim team next year where we took him for lessons.

The dysgraphia has a much broader reach in terms of challenges in my son that just the neuro-motor issues. He is a slow reader, doesn't retain a lot of what he reads, doesn't understand written instructions if they are multi-step, forgets assignments that are given orally between the time he hears them and goes to write them down in his planner, has had difficulty memorizing his times tables, makes a myriad of computational errors in math, and is - on good days - an abysmal speller.

His strengths are in his recall knowledge of things he's listened to or watched in a video, his ability to extrapolate information out to broad and diverse ideas, a strong global understanding of how and why things work and drawing conclusions about how those interactions affect other things - sometimes related, sometimes not. He has a keen understanding of human behavior and a heightened, strong sense of humor based on those observations. He has a strong sense of right and wrong which he lives by - even when it means getting himself in trouble by confessing to someone in authority. He is a natural leader and has been since he started school, and he is very good at compensating or deflecting when he is confronted with something he cannot do. He has excellent pitch, can recreate music after he hears it, composes his own songs, and harangues his family into performing in theatrical productions which he creates, adds the music, and directs - usually in our living room over the span of summer break. He won second place last year in the state fair Lego competition and shoots and edits his own movies, mostly humorous mockumentaries.

The psychologist who tested him a few years ago had attended elementary school with someone who is now one of today's most famous movie producers. He told me that he'd never come across someone who reminded him more of what that producer was like back in elementary school.

And because I see these amazing strengths - and see them often masked by things he struggles with - I worry more about how to help him successfully navigate the school system to get what he needs to develop his strengths and and strengthen his weaknesses so that he can live up to the potential he has once he is an adult.

Complicated kid! Those are awesome strengths.

This won't come through for you in time for the IEP meeting, but I'd suggest queueing up for private testing-- as complete as you can get. The math errors, the written instructions-- those seem to me to reach beyond "disorder of written expression" into executive function and language processing areas. Can you find a private neuropsych who can test across the whole range of strengths and deficits?

Armed with that information, you will do better with the school over the longer term-- and you'll know if there's something to address, and how to target your efforts. IMHO far better now than later.

I wouldn't trust a school psych or district diagnostician to make recommendations for a kid this complicated. YMMV.

DeeDee

I would recommend the Eides http://neurolearning.com/

IQ scores can very much be skewed by a learning disability. My son's GAI went up by 35 points (FSIQ went up by 23 points, but was not reportable) in five years due to intensive efforts at remediation. I believe his most recent GAI is still being depressed by 10 points or so, but that's a whole lot better than being depressed by 45 points!

I agree with DeeDee - if you can swing private testing I would do it. Private testing is often more diagnostic than school testing and will contain comprehensive recommendations. Schools generally test to determine eligibility and base line for IEP objectives. Their recommendations are often based on "what they can provide" and "resources" rather than what the child really needs. You probably see this with private OT vs the school OT.

Given the issues around understanding verbal instructions and reading comprehension, I would include a full speech and language evaluation along with the neuropsychological evaluation. Make sure the professionals you select are experienced with children, learning disabilities and school. If there are teaching hospitals, universities and or LD schools in your area, they can give you some good referrals.

If you think you may end up in a legal battle with the school district, you should find out if the evaluators are willing to testify as expert witnesses. You can use their report as evidence that he should remain on an IEP and he needs certain services. If you would like the district to pay for the testing, read up on IEE's Independent educational evaluations.

Given the enormous strengths and the significant difficulties - it makes sense to get an unbiased and expert opinion on how to proceed. Based on what you describe, it seems like he should remain on an IEP.