Twice Gifted, gifted kid with LD??

Jennifer - posted on 06/04/2009

Her teacher actually did an evaluation, which showed that when the alphabet and numbers weren't visible, that she got almost all of them backwards. But, they didn't seem to think this meant anything. I got a book on Dyslexia, and what I think she has is a mild case,and she is compensating for it quite well, because she's gifted. She seems to have turned a corner with it, and has been doing better, but it tends to be more because of her judicious use of charts, aids and cheats then the way I see kids without these issues learning letters. I have her choiced into a gifted magnet school next year which seems much more on top of the issues and challenges that gifted children face then your average school. What kills me is that she had a GREAT teacher this year, and I still had all these difficulties. We are doing all children, not just the gifted, a serious disservice by not evaluating them when they begin school. It's ridiculous.

Rose - posted on 05/21/2009

Yes, write a letter to your child study team and request a child study evaluation be done. As a parent you have the right to have your child evaluated and they have to comply. I did this for my son. He has ADHD and is extremely bright. The school system wasn't complying with me so I consulted with a child physcologist that specialized in the Child study evaluation. I was told that the school system by law has to give your child an evaluation and as the parent you can request what type of evaluations you want done. I had my son evaluated by a pediatric neuro physcologist because they due an indepth evaluation that a regular physcologist wouldn't due. I get very frustrated with the school systems because they fight you on everything. My son is in 1st grade and his teacher told me that he is too advanced for that grade. When I asked what they could do to challenge him I was told nothing because the class size is too large. I am waiting on the results of his state testing and then will go from there to fight some more for my son. In the mean time I have sent in books for him to use once he finishes his work so he doesnt' get bored.

Alice - posted on 05/21/2009

As a parent you can request to have your child evaluated by the public schools for learning disabilities. I believe it has to be done in writing with a description of the issues as you see them. The school is obligated to conduct a screening within a few months time. They may balk at further testing, but at least it would be a start and your concerns would be on record. The writing problem would not necessarily be a symptom of dyslexia, but rather disgraphia (a writing problem). It is definitely true that many kindergartners write words backwards. She might be trying to make things more interesting for herself by playing with the letters. Hope this helps.

Morag - posted on 05/19/2009

Get a private test done if you can. My eldest has a variety of problems... she had 90% hearing loss, speech problems, Poland Syndrome. A couple of years ago we got suspicious that she might be have dyslexia but it always fell on deaf ears. First they blamed the fact that her mother tongue was English and not Spanish, and as she wasn't the bottom of her class it just wasn't possible. According to the teacher she was failing because she didn't work hard enough and wasn't doing the homework. But we sat every night holding her crying when she struggled to read, we spent 5 hours a night with her doing her homework so we KNEW she was trying.... but last September we got called in and we were told that she was failing badly. If she didn't make it through this year, she'd be held back. This time a protested and demanded a dyslexia test. She got it and it turned out she is quite severely dyslexic yet she has the most amazing memory. As her school work has become more centred on examinations and reports based on written prose, she has struggled more and more... before that she was just memorising what the teacher was saying in class or what was read out to her and bluffing her way through. But when independent learning was involved it just got out of hand. She has a special needs teacher now, and has extra classes while the other children take ordinary ones and my "lazy" child is now getting 9.5/10 in her exams (she would have gotten 10/10 but her compass broke and she couldn't draw a perfect circle)...she is doing well in subjects she never did well in before.

So it can happen where bright kids are able to bluff their way through for a while, but take that away and they will struggle.

I had to really fight to be listened too, but it worth the fight in the end and once she got the help my daughter has just come on amazingly well..

Jennifer - posted on 05/17/2009

I will contact her pediatrician and see if she can help me set that up.

Thank you.

Lauryan - posted on 05/16/2009

I'd suggest skipping the school system and taking her for a dyslexia test. Start at your local optometrist to ensure her eyesight is A-ok and then find a learning disorder centre (or whatever they are called over there) and without even mentioning the giftedness ask for her to be tested for dyslexia.



IF that doesn't work, find an educational psychologist or another specialist who specialises in gifted children and get them to do the testing.



Either way - I wouldn't leave it!