How early should I push for a diagnois?

Vicky - posted on 11/11/2011

Look for an educational psychologist in your area. It cost us $400 but it was the best money we ever spent.

Michelle - posted on 11/11/2011

I live in Ontario. I had to go to Toronto. I just looked up an educational psychologist.

Stacy - posted on 11/11/2011

I have an 8 year old in 2nd grade and my school district does not test for dyslexia and my dr had not found any facilities either. I know he does have it just not sure how and where I can get him tested.

Michelle - posted on 11/04/2011

Where do you get them tested? Im at a loss. Ever since kindergarten we get the same reports. I want to help him, but not sure where to even start - everything i find really doesnt lead me anywhere, please help!

Michelle - posted on 07/13/2010

Go with your gut! I knew in my heart that my daughter was dyslexic (formally learning disabled). I had to advocate (push, push, push). The school just wanted to put her on ritalin (not that ritalin is bad - putting a child on ritalin as a cure-all without finding the real problem is), the dr. passed me on to a pediatrician who said 'I don't know why all the dr.s keep sending me cases like this, I know nothing about it'. He then had her read a couple of things and said she was fine.

We finally had her tested privately (luckily my insurance paid for a big chunk of it) and sure enough, my gut was right. Now the school has to acknowledge the problem. She has an IEP and they can't keep telling me, she's just not trying, she's just not paying attention, she just doesn't try hard enough - not that the teacher's always do - they still say stuff like that - they are just not aware. I still have to push, push, push. You are your child's best advocate.

Michelle

Michelle - posted on 06/20/2010

my daughter is now 8 and i believed from about the age of 5 i had noticed she might be dyslexic but it has only been the past yr that i have pushed for a diagnosis, i think the sooner you try to find out the better as the school will be able to help him more

Stephanie - posted on 03/11/2010

If you have not already done so please get with your family Dr. and share these findings with them. I wish I would not have let the school push us along as far as they did. Early diagnosis is vital. A psychologist will properly diagnose your child, but the Dr. will have to make the recomendation. My daughter was diagnosed finally at 7, she should have been tested earlier.

Katrina - posted on 03/06/2010

Schools do not test for dyslexia. They test to see if the child is behind enough to receive special education help. BTW, Texas has a wonderful dyslexia law. Letter and number reversals are a natural process of learning for the first 2 years of handwriting instruction. So that would generally mean kindergarten and 1st grade. During that time it is normal. After the first 2 years of instruction, then the reversals would be a classic warning sign of dyslexia.
When did your child start to talk? Did he have trouble learning the order of the alphabet? or the sounds? Does he have trouble with saying longer multisyllable words? Does he know his phone number and address? Can he tie his shoes? Is he left/right confused? Can he rhyme? These are some of the classic warning signs of dyslexia. If you answered yes to at least 3 of these, please visit Bright Solutions for Dyslexia at www.dys-add.com
There is a great deal of help for dyslexia. Dyslexics can be excellent readers and decent spellers.

Tonie - posted on 02/25/2010

I would also encourage early formal assessment. The challenges at our small public school have been great, however they want to help. The best thing I did was purchase the book "From Emotions to Advocacy: The Special Education Survival Guide " (2nd ed) by Pam and Pete Wright. This is similar to the post above regarding www.wrightslaw.com . Best of luck to you!

Lisa - posted on 02/25/2010

My son strated showing signs of difficulty in first grade (he was 6). I started really asking when he was in second and did exactly what you said, wrote entire words and/or his name backwards. Then we moved towards the end of 2nd grade and addressed the issues immediately with the new school district. He was finally diagosed in 4th grade with a SLD in reading and written expression. He has had an IEP since then and is now being reevaluated (he is in 7th grade now). If you feel there is reason for concern, put a request for evaluation in writing and give it to the school. They generally have to respond to your request withing 60 days. You will likely have to fill out questionaire about the pregnancy and birth all the way up to present as well as stating your concerns. Even if something doesn't turn up in testing now, keep an eye on things. You can always ask for a new evaluation a year or two down the road. Good luck to you and your son.

Reagan - posted on 02/24/2010

I just had my daughter tested this year. She is in 2nd grade. This was the first year though that it became difficult for her. She would do some reversals then but the school told me it was normal at the younger age to do that because the kids are learning. But i would certainly keep an eye on it.

Tina - posted on 02/11/2010

If your child attends a public school, then the school evaluates for learning disabilities. Some states still do not recognize dyslexia, but do recognize reading disability. Each state has a department of education, contact them if you must. The longer a disability is left without appropriate interventions the more time the child has to lose ego strength and self confidence, not to mention that some issues get more difficult to re mediate as the child's brain ages. please check out www.wrightslaw.com for great information and resources.

Tina - posted on 02/11/2010

if you suspect anything write a request for an evaluation. Send copies to the class teacher, the principal and or the EC teacher if your child already has a relationship or IEP with the department. do not accept a screening if you suspect dyslexia, insist on an evaluation. Depending on your state, the school has 30-60 days to have the eval. completed. Dyslexia is better remediated early. Are there speech concerns? writing concerns? these oftentimes are all viewed as seperate issues, when in fact they are all possible signs of dyslexia.

Amy - posted on 02/09/2010

I'm having trouble with my daughter too. She is 5 and does the same things. She can even write her name perfect backwards...better than when her teacher makes her write it the way she thinks it should be. Her teacher (kindergarten) has gotten to the point where she refuses to grade brylei's paper if anything is written backwards on it. I talked to her and the school about testing my daughter and they told me their county doesn't do that...if I want her tested then move to one that does.

Marie - posted on 01/27/2010

depending on his grade level, you should go ahead and get him tested. however if he is still in kinder they may tell you to wait another year since he is still learning. I had my daughter tested in 2nd grade an ended up having to keep her back a grade because she fell behind. i feel the sooner the better.