Does anyone know anything about Dyslexia?

[lorinick]

DS age seven. He's teacher told me today she thinks he has Dyslexia. But wants to get him tested. She doesn't have the expertise to know for sure. But she also doesn't know who tests in the school. If anyone could help me find out where to go from here. I thank you for any help you can give me.

[Karenn]

Are you in public or private school? A public school should have a special ed. dept. and the teacher should know how to make a referral. Private schools are more hit and miss. When I was working in this field, I had the best luck working with Educational Psychologists. There were also "Learning Specialists" & "Educational Consultants" that were well trained in this area. Ask around. There are definitely some professionals in this area that are better than others.

Dyslexia isn't as scary as it sounds either. There are some incredibly successful, well known people that have been diagnosed as dyslexic.

If I remember right, the IDA (International Dyslexia Association) was a good resource: http://www.interdys.org/

[lorinick]

Are you in public or private school? A public school should have a special ed. dept. and the teacher should know how to make a referral. Private schools are more hit and miss. When I was working in this field, I had the best luck working with Educational Psychologists. There were also "Learning Specialists" & "Educational Consultants" that were well trained in this area. Ask around. There are definitely some professionals in this area that are better than others.

Dyslexia isn't as scary as it sounds either. There are some incredibly successful, well known people that have been diagnosed as dyslexic.

If I remember right, the IDA (International Dyslexia Association) was a good resource: http://www.interdys.org/

Karenn,

Thanks so much for the feedback. He does go to public school. He is at grade level for reading and writting. But he gets his b's and d's mixed up. He also can't sound out works well. He is advantaced in math. The word Special Ed. is scary. I don't want him to be classified Special Ed. I will check out that web site.

[Karenn]

If he's reading and writing at grade level, that's great! And, that also means he wouldn't qualify for special ed. anyway, which explains a bit more about why the teacher didn't know where to refer him for testing.

A learning specialist could probably offer more insight into his learning style, and if the teacher thought that testing were worthwhile, it very well could be worth looking in to. At the same time, I really wouldn't panic. So many kids mix up their b's & d's at that age. Keep reading to him at home as often as you can and chances are that the rest of reading and writing will fall into place soon.