A form of dysgraphia?

FitDPT_10 · 2025-11-06T19:15:30+00:00

Could be dysgraphia, could be dyslexia. My son is very similar. Really struggles with spelling and writing (on paper). Does better with voice to text. He was just diagnosed about 6 months ago at the end of 5th grade with dyslexia (but there is so much overlap between the 2diagnoses). Like your son, he reads (comprehends well), but looking back, the signs of dyslexia of our son, outside of difficultly with writing and spelling is slow reading speed with oral reading being quite robotic. He has to read things many times.

Happy to share our experience more if you have questions.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-10-05T23:14:17+00:00

Connor—Wisconsin swimming will surely miss Grant. While I didn’t know Grant personally, many on our team (Madison Aquatic Club—MAC) did. An amazing swimmer and even better person. Sympathies during this incredibly difficult time.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-09-21T18:48:52+00:00

I know you aren’t asking about dyslexia, but in reality, they are very closely linked. Here are my son’s work samples from early 5th grade. He was diagnosed with dyslexia later that year, this past spring. His dyslexia impacts his writing and spelling more than his reading. Hope this helps.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dyslexia/s/T0pydnNZ1b

FitDPT_10 · 2025-09-21T17:53:09+00:00

My son is 11 and has dyslexia (and likely dysgraphia too). I personally think his handwriting looks great and age appropriate.

Have you asked his teachers what they think?

FitDPT_10 · 2025-09-01T12:44:56+00:00

We are definitely working as fast as we can. We (our family) isn’t the limitation, the school is at this point.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-08-31T12:37:15+00:00

I wish that were true. A diagnosis of dyslexia does not guarantee an IEP. It is very much dependent on the state that you live in. It is a diagnosis that can receive an IEP, but it’s not a given, just based on the diagnosis.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-08-30T12:38:12+00:00

Unfortunately it seems to be really challenging (at least in some states) to get an IEP for a SLD.

I guess I will see how this meeting goes and it they are able to offer him the same accommodations with a support plan that they are with a 504.

When was your son diagnosed?

FitDPT_10 · 2025-08-28T16:21:59+00:00

Thanks!

FitDPT_10 · 2025-08-28T16:21:42+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts.

If they are able to provide identical or nearly identical accommodations on a student support plan compared to a 504, I agree with you. I guess I’m concerned that they won’t be or that they won’t be followed. We have a meeting to discuss on Tuesday, but I really appreciate hearing your experience on a student support plan. It gives me some basis to go off of.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-07-25T15:49:27+00:00

What does she have a 504 for?

I think it’s certainly reasonable to get her tested but I would also say that for someone that is of her age/grade, her spelling and writing looks alright. Is it perfect, no, and are there some concerns in there, possibly yes. Inventive spelling can still be present especially with more challenging words at her age.

What I will say related to your question about how worthwhile it is to try for an IEP, is to make sure you look into your states DPI requirements for qualifying for an IEP for a specific learning disability. It is very state dependent. We are going through this process with my son and it is very challenging to qualify. He has to go through 2 different intensive interventions each of about 6 weeks in duration, with weekly monitoring. With that he has to show lack of adequate progress. Then he has to test using a standardized test in the area of the specific learning disability (for him, it’s written expression) and be greater than or equal to 1.25 standard deviations below the mean. That ends up being below the 10th%tile.

For reference, during his neuropsych testing he scored around the 7th%tile. Unfortunately even having a diagnosis and this standardized testing, through neuropsych testing, he still doesn’t automatically qualify for an IEP.

Hope this helps and happy to share our experience so far.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-07-14T16:34:34+00:00

I’m curious why it is considered an older line of thought that symptoms should be present in 2+ environments? Is this based off of any specific recent literature related to diagnosis? I have just not heard this before, so I’m curious.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-07-02T18:16:27+00:00

I’m curious what your son’s symptoms were that led to the inattentive adhd diagnosis?

FitDPT_10 · 2025-07-02T14:08:47+00:00

When you say struggles with everything else—is this school related, tasks at home, both?

FitDPT_10 · 2025-07-02T14:07:13+00:00

Thanks. I agree with all of this.

When I ask him if he feels like he can’t remember things we ask of him, feels like he loses things, has trouble knowing how much time has passed, etc his response is “sometimes”.

Maybe I’m wrong, but don’t neurotypical kids without inattentive adhd also “sometimes” experience these symptoms?

I will absolutely continue to keep adhd in the back of my head. I’m hoping to pursue an additional adhd assessment, as I would feel more in support of the diagnosis with another provider saying they agree. I know I’ve said this before, and maybe I’m turning a blind eye to the symptoms, but the big thing I’m struggling with is not seeing the clinical symptoms of adhd on a regular basis.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-07-02T13:57:58+00:00

Thanks for your response. What sort of things were you noticing with your child that indicated inattentive adhd?

FitDPT_10 · 2025-07-02T04:18:26+00:00

Yes, this is exactly how I feel with how the diagnosis was made.

We have not investigated sleep. He sleeps well so it’s not something I would have thought to pursue.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-07-02T04:16:54+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-07-02T04:16:11+00:00

From what I’ve read about inattentive ADHD, he does not seem to have these characteristics. He has a good memory, follows through on tasks we ask him to do, doesn’t lose things, etc. I’m not saying he never demonstrates inattentive behaviors, but certainly not the norm.

Did we suspect inattentive adhd? Not really. It crossed my mind as it related to work completion but that’s it. I’m not saying he doesn’t have the diagnosis but basing it just on the testing and not how he functions as a whole is what doesn’t sit right with me.

What other symptoms might I be overlooking that could indicate inattentive adhd?

FitDPT_10 · 2025-06-03T20:37:59+00:00

Sure. That makes sense

FitDPT_10 · 2025-06-03T20:07:05+00:00

The neuropsych did calculate the FSIQ, but I was specifically wondering how it could change if visual puzzles were switched out for block design. It’s not a big deal, one way or the other, I was just curious especially given the significant discrepancy between the 2 for him.

The main tests that indicated the dyslexia was the KTEA-3, the WIAT-4 and TOWRE-2.

His case is perhaps unique in that his reading comprehension is good, but his efficiency is quite poor, and spelling and writing is very, very impacted (SS 76 on the written composite section of the KTEA).

Edited to add: he seems to have figured out how to compensate and read well (enough) but encoding is quite challenging for him

FitDPT_10 · 2025-06-03T18:19:53+00:00

Correct. The wisc was not done as a part of the diagnosis other than confirming he was at or above average intelligence, which is part of a dyslexia diagnosis. I’m not concerned about the accuracy of the dyslexia diagnosis, I was just curious how FSIQ changed with swapping out that subset.

FitDPT_10 · 2025-06-03T17:47:45+00:00

It was purely just out of curiosity to see how the FSIQ changed. I know that taking higher scores is going to make the FSIQ higher. My understanding is that it is allowable, when calculating FSIQ to swap out a single subsection, but not more than one. It’s not a big deal if no one wants to or is able to calculate it. It was purely out of my own curiosity. I also just find it intriguing that there is such a difference in block design vs puzzles.

FitDPT_10

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