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Post by dhfl143 on Feb 2, 2011 17:55:00 GMT -5
A new member of LDOnline, Emmy Vesta, has asked for help understanding test scores. Though some of you might be willing to provide some insights.
She wrote: "He qualified for IEP last year in kinder for SLD, they refused. This year he still isn't reading. He hasn't progressed at all in writing. (I have 13 year with SLD in auditory Processing and Dyscalculia girl, 12 Asperger's with language SLD boy, Pragmatic Language Impairment and visual spatial weakness 10 year old boy,) My 1st grader was diagnosed by UC Davis Mind Institute as Pragmatic Language Disorder(PLI).
Tests: October 2009 Standard Scores WIAT-II Mathematics: 105 Oral Language: 128 Word Reading: 104 Numerical Operations: 94 Math Reasoning: 115 Spelling: 91 Listening Comprehension: 122 Oral Expression: 123 CAS Planning: 100 Simultaneous: 116 TAPS-3 Overall: 101 Phonological: 119 Memory: 99 Cohesion: 83 VMI: 125 MVPT-3: >145 December 2009: WPPSI-III Verbal: 108 Performance: 140 Processing Speed: 94 General Language: 116 May 2010: TOPL: 5th %ile January 2011: DAS-II: Verbal Ability: 144 Nonverbal Ability Reasoning: 122 Spatial Ability: 129 Working Memory: 109 Processing Speed: 84 WRAML 2: Verbal Memory: 117 Visual Memory: 103 Attention/Concentration: 109 General Memory: 113 CTOPP Phonological Awareness: 113 Phonological Memory: 124 Rapid Naming: 97 WISC-IV: Processing Speed: 94 NEPSY-II(Percentiles): Auditory Attention Total: 50th %ile Auditory Attention Combined: 37th %ile Design Fluency: 84th %ile Inhibition Total: 91st %ile Inhibition Combined: 95th %ile Statue: 91st %ile (Social Perception) Affect Recognition: 75th %ile Theory of Mind: 63rd %ile VMI: 107 WIAT-III: READING COMPREHESION: 77 (6th %ile) WRITTEN EXPRESSION: 80 SENTENCE COMPOSITION: 83 ORAL READING FLUENCY: 84 TOTAL READING: 85 WORD READING: 88 MATH FLUENCY – ADDITION: 92 BASIC READING: 92 MATH FLUENCY : 93 MATH FLUENCY – SUBTRACTION: 94 TOTAL ACHIEVEMENT: 96 (39th %ile) PSEUDO WORD DECODING: 97 SPELLING: 103 NUMERICAL OPERATIONS: 108 LISTENING COMPREHENSION: 111 MATHEMATICS: 111 MATH PROBLEM SOLVING: 112 ORAL LANGUAGE: 123 ORAL EXPRESSION: 128 Arizona Articulation Test: Normal Limits, emerging and stimulible. TOPS 3 Making Inferences: 98 (44th %ile) Sequencing: 103 (57th %ile) Negative Questions: 92 (29th %ile) Problem Solving: 112 (79th %ile) Predicting: 113 (80th %ile) Determining Causes: 104 (60th %ile) Test Composite: 104 (60th %ile) Vineland-II: (Only Teacher Submitted, we forgot to turn ours in) Communication: 86 (18th %ile and they call that adequate) Daily Living Skills: 84 (14th %ile) Socialization: 92 (30th %ile) Motor Skills: 81 (10th %ile) Adaptive Behavior Composite: 84 (14th %ile)"
I have replied and placed a link to this thread. Thanks in advance fir you help!
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Post by healthy11 on Feb 2, 2011 18:54:52 GMT -5
dhfl, I'll "take a stab" at this, but I have some questions that you probably can't answer ...When the poster says, "He qualified for IEP last year in kinder for SLD, they refused" I'm wondering if she ever requested an evaluation by the public school, or if she was basing her statement solely on the testing done by the Davis Institute? In addition, I'm wondering exactly how old her son was at the time of the testing, in Oct. '09 and Jan. '11. (I am not familiar with the TOPL, and can't speak into that, in May '10) Truthfully, the younger a child is, the less reliable the test scores, and it does seem "premature" to state that a child who just entered Kindergarten has reading or written expression SLDs. In view of how well Emmy Vesta's son did on the CTOPP, and average scores on the WIAT for pseudoword decoding and spelling, it doesn't seem like he's dealing with dyslexia in a "typical sense." In a lot of cases, tests that measure processing speed involve pencil and paper, and while I'm not certain of the DAS-II, this site: media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/03/04702252/0470225203.pdf says several of the DAS-II subtests may not be appropriate for students with sensory or motor disabilities. I can't help but wonder if that's a bigger part of Emmy Vesta's son's difficulties? Again, I'm not sure what specific tests are part of the Vineland, but when I think of things like Daily Living Skills, I think of buttoning clothes, tying shoes, etc. and her son is lowest in that and motor skills.... I wonder if he could benefit more from Occupational and/or Physical Therapy, which could presumably help his writing, too?
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Emmy Vesta
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Post by Emmy Vesta on Feb 2, 2011 19:43:59 GMT -5
He was assessed last year(age 5) for an initial evaluation by the school district, due to issues in the classroom. We were told that he didn't qualify for a SLD or for an IEP. Although, the copy of his psycheducational report I got, stated that he qualified for IEP with a SLD.
He had assessments done with the UC Davis MIND Institute (Medical Investigations of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.) In February, the doctor said not ASD but no speech evaluation was done yet. He was diagnosed with Pragmatic Language Impairment by the MIND Senior SLP. He has been re-referred to assess for ASD, as my oldest son was diagnosed with ASD this year too. All three of my boys have severe prag lang delays.
We requested new school assess my youngest(age 6 almost 7) because he is having a really difficult time reading, writing, and processing what he learns. He will sound out a word, and read it. But next day is like its a new word again, and he's reading it for the first time. His writing hasn't progressed since the beginning of the year. Neurologist said his IQ is most likely over 145 or even 150.
All my other 4 kids started reading prior to starting kindergarten, he is 5 months into first grade and even with being given the tools he isn't picking up on it... and he isn't up to grade level with math.
He has had the same personality since he was a baby. He was born at 30 weeks. There has been no traumatic brain injury, etc. He received services, as an infant and toddler, for a significant developmental delay (at 9 months, w/ adjustment age of 6 1/2 months he was determined to be at the level of a 2 month old.) He received developmental therapy, occupational therapy (twice a week), physical therapy (twice a week), and speech therapy (twice a week from 9 months to 24 months, and once a week from 24 to 34 months) from the age of 9 months until 34 months.
He is a very serious, literal child. He stacks everything. He prefers things that aren't real toys(like cups, paper clips, etc.), unless it is blocks and legos. His favorite topics are Mario from Super Mario Bros., and Roblox (online game that is like legos). He is able to converse about other topics, but doesn't usually ask about the other person's ideas, likes, dislikes, thoughts, feelings, etc. Although if you do tell him, he will then know. But never occurs to him LOL He loves watching the science and history channels, and will repeat the information back to you.
They are qualifying him for a SLD in processing speed. But I don't think that is what is keeping him from achieving. He scored low in VIQ(108) vs. PIQ(140) last year... so the IQ score given to us isn't even considered valid. His WMI was low in comparison as well.
BTW, the SpecEd teacher stated that the WIAT-II scores from last year are because the Kindergarten children have "easy" tests and that as long as a "warm body" is there, they'll get a good score. Basically, saying the scores last year are invalid??? Is this true?
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Post by healthy11 on Feb 2, 2011 20:54:49 GMT -5
First of all, let me say I want to start by saying that I'm not a psychologist, just a mom who has been trying to decipher my own son's issues for many years, and help others with what I've learned, so they don't have to "reinvent the wheel." My own son is now 20 and studying engineering in college, and he is considered highly gifted, along with having ADHD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia. My son was first tested at age 4 1/2, then again at 6 1/2 and 13 1/2...He had the WPPSI, WISC-III, and WISC-IV... I heard over and over again, how testing of young children (such as on the WPPSI) is really considered less reliable and more variable than testing done on older children, and for many kids, it seems true. My son, despite his LDs, has always has scored very well on the IQ portions of evaluations. Achievement testing is another story... Truthfully, the PIQ testing on the WPPSI is "simplified" and consists of tests where kids are asked to draw things like a line, circle, and rectangle. I know that some kids might not be able to complete the task, even if they can physically draw the shapes, because they might not know that a "circle" is round, or a rectangle has two long sides and two shorter sides. Your son, like mine, who liked science and history channels, probably performed very well as compared to more "typical" youngsters. Once students are older, and move beyond the WPPSI, the subtests become much more complex. I'm not sure why your recent evaluator decided to use the DAS-II versus the WISC (except for the WISC-IV processing speed subtest) but I suspect it's because your son's processing speed seems to be the biggest area of concern, and it does involve pencil to paper tasks. If the evaluator had used the WISC, there's a computation known as the GAI (General Ability Index) which basically focuses on PRI and VCI, and not the working memory or processing speed scores, to come up with a "cognitive potential" score that is often more meaningful than an FSIQ... You may already know this, but low WMI scores are often an indication of attentional difficulties. That's the area my son is weakest in, too. Since you mention that your son was born prematurely, and did receive OT, PT, and speech as an infant/toddler, can I ask why they stopped? Did they evaluate him as being totally up to speed with his chronological peers? I know it doesn't fully explain your son's apparent reading difficulties, (although children with speech issues may also have more difficulty with sound-letter correlation) but it certainly seems like it could contribute to his writing problems. Given your family's history, and the way you describe your son's behaviors, I think a re-assessment for ASD is wise. I don't know if your son has ever been evaluated for CAPD, but I think having an audiologist do that would also be appropriate. I hope other Millermom members will chime in and share their thoughts, as well. You might also want to look at some of the resources I've listed here, for "2e" students (twice exceptional, also known as gifted with ADHD and/or LDs) millermom.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Education&action=display&thread=9972
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Emmy Vesta
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Post by Emmy Vesta on Feb 3, 2011 3:15:16 GMT -5
I calculated the GAI for my oldest daughter, and at her IEP yesterday... the School Psych had no idea what it was and I had to show her the technical appendix, and explain it. Kind of blew me away.
I've been doing the IEP, testing, etc. for about a year now. But I'm a bit overwhelmed by my son's stuff.
He was phased out because of age and because at the end testing he scored a year advanced.
I am currently fighting with my middle son's school because they claim their paper and pencil tests ruled out CAPD, even tho at 3 his articulation was sooo bad that the SLP felt he had CAPD but that at 3 he was too young to be assessed.
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Post by michellea on Feb 3, 2011 7:51:31 GMT -5
Emmy Vesta - welcome!
Like the others, I am not a psychologist or educator - but a mom that has seen a lot of scores with my own kids and the scores of other students that I advocate for.
I am sure you know that your child is very bright and has very solid reasoning ability. It seems based on your description of his playing and social interactions that you are concerned with AS and any resulting issues. From an academic standpoint, writing seems to be the big problem right now.
The test results confirm a difficulty in writing. Overall his reading and writing scores are below what one would expect and they confirm an ongoing difficulty. (WIAT III Scores are all in the 80's). Since his processing speed on WISC and DAS are both weaknesses, I wonder how much of his handwriting skills affect writing. However, I wouldn't attribute his troubles only to this, since overall, his academic achievement is lower than one would expect from a student this bright. But, slower overall processing and poor graph motor skills I am sure trip him up.
The Vineland also indicates some difficulties with a host of skills often associated with AS. I am not as familiar with the construct of this assessment, so cannot comment on the individual subtests - but the low scores certainly raise red flags and warrant a closer look. I wonder if he has difficulty with planning, organizing and staying on task? These are skills that would affect writing in a big way, affect reading comprehension, as well as some of the social and self care skills measured in the Vineland. I'd want to know more about his ability to see the big picture and then integrate the details. The Rey Complex Figure Drawing is a test that measures this and also looks at visual memory and visual motor.
Has he been evaluated by an OT and a SLP? This may be your next step to help you dig a bit deeper. But for now, I see red flags in language arts - both reading and writing. I would press to get some help in these areas.
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Post by healthy11 on Feb 3, 2011 7:55:11 GMT -5
My understanding is that CAPD assessment can begin after age 6 for most children, as it is related somewhat to their physical growth/head development. I'm sure you know that it's diagnosed by an audiologist, not pencil to paper testing. In my area, a very highly regarded expert in CAPD is Dr. Jeanane Ferre, and you might find this presentation to be of interest: www.ocslha.com/Ferre.htmThere are a lot of other Millermom members from California with "2e" children (like mamak and zippity) and hopefully they will be able to give you additional advice.
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Post by SharonF on Feb 3, 2011 8:03:53 GMT -5
EmmyVesta--
(I love the caption under your photo BTW!)
I think your knowlege and experiences as a mom have taught you more than many educators know. That's not a slam on educators. But when you live with it everyday with four kids, you learn a lot more...and learn it a lot faster!
Like healthy, I'm just a mom. But here are my thoughts:
1) Your son may still be too young for the experts to make clear diagnoses. But the extremes within his scores are incredibly large. Most school psychs and teachers aren't used to score patterns like your son's. Even developmental neuropsychs don't see many kids with that extreme scatter. Because your son's scores are not typical, even for kids with LDs, that's probably why there's so much confusion about what's going on and how they can help him. 2) Your son has many traits from the Autism Spectrum. I think you may need to have him reconsidered for the possibility of Asperger's or that lovely catchall LD-NOS--at least for now. As he gets older, his strengths and difficulties may become more clear...and that may help make the diagnosis more accurate.
3) You already have a daugher with an Asperger's diagnosis. Keep in mind that no two people with Asperger's are exactly alike. And girls with Asperger's sometimes have different issues than boys with Asperger's. Not always. But there are some generalities that often apply by gender. I guess I'm trying to say that if your youngest has Asperger's, his Asperger's may be very different from your daughter's.
4) I'm surprised that your school district has an IEP category for SLD-processing speed. Federal law doesn't have an SLD category for processing speed. Maybe California has interpreted fed law differently. The good news is that his IEP category shouldn't be a big deal. The only possible problem may be if a different SpEd director takes over, or if you change schools. Based on federal law, other educators or school districts may not consider him eligible for an SLD IEP based on processing speed alone.
4) I do believe his low processing speed and low working memory are significant reasons why he is not achieving in school. Pure "g" or intelligence measured by the VCI and PRI) are not enough to do well in school. The PSI and WMI show how effectively he can use his intelligence. I believe his high GAI is being locked in a box by his relatively low PSI and WMI.
HOWEVER--I agree that there is more to his learning problems than low PSI. Rather than being the cause of his learning problems, I think his low PSI is the effect of something else. That something else may have a name, such as Asperger's. It may not. It may just be how his brain is wired.
5) A paper/pencil test for CAPD for your middle schooler? Was it the CELF? The CELF is a language processing test, not an auditory processing test. Testing for CAPD should use purely auditory measures such as the TAPS and SSW. And it is my strong opinion that CAPD testing should be done by a development audiologist or specially-trained Speech-Language Pathologist. Some school SLPs have that additional training to evaluate for CAPD but most do not. (Yes, age 3 is too young to assess for CAPD. But middle school is not too young. And if his last CAPD eval was at age 3--and you still suspect auditory processing difficulties--he needs to be re-evaluated.)
I'm sure I've raised more questions than I've answered. But welcome to MillerMom!!
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Post by empeg1 on Feb 4, 2011 2:22:19 GMT -5
Wow, that is a lot testing for one little guy. Here's a few things to know about testing with such a young child. The scores do not mean that much at such a young age. So the results of the WPPSI and the DAS contradict one another. And academic testing at kindergarten are not that predictive. One problem is that the sample of test items at te bottom age level is not that large so a difference in one answer can really show as a big difference in a score when it is just one answer. Who in the world thought to over test a kindergartener. What you can see in the test scores is that your child is having difficulty with processing speed. The above will not only affect his ability to produce work quickly; it will likely affect his ability to process what is said to him, if the auditory channel is also affected. And, the Test of Pragmatic Language (TOPL) is one test that research has shown not to have good validity. It is not used much by SLP's these days for the above reason. And, again, your son was at the bottom of the normative age range, so one answer or two can show up as a big difference in scores. I am much more interested in your description of your son's social interaction and communication. We get hung up on scores too much when it is the description, the pattern of behavior a child is showing, especially a young child, that tells the story, not the scores so much. It does sound like your son is having difficulty with pragmatics and he does have flavors of what is often seen in ASD. Why not treat the difficulties that your son is showing? I would zero in on the beginnings of social thinking, interaction with his peers, and pragmatics. Finally, not all children read by kindergarten or 1st grade. If one knows Piaget, it makes sense that the above is the case. My nephew did not learn to read until 2nd grade and he left 2nd grade reading adult books! He is a Harvard grad, a Fulbright Scholar and a PhD student at MIT, so learning to read in 2nd grade was not a hindrance. it is so unfortunate now that the curriculum is pushed down to younger and younger ages with the view that all children can learn academic skills at a younger age. Not so. BTW, I learned to read in the 3rd grade and became an excellent student. In Finland, reading is not taught until 8 years of age and their students out score ours, hugely. So, although your other kids learned to read early that does not mean that your youngest child's brain is wired that way. I would pick books that specifically fit your son's interests. And, give him one book while you have another copy. Read together- you read out loud and have your son follow your reading with his finger or a ruler. My oldest, she learned to read in the 2nd grade with National Geographic, of all things. None of the other books interested her and her teacher, a great teacher, decided that the best way to teach her was to go with my dd's love of nature. It worked. The above can happen with a very bright child.
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Emmy Vesta
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Post by Emmy Vesta on Feb 4, 2011 2:40:24 GMT -5
Is it ok if I post the letter I sent to my older son's school district as a formal complaint? I would of course take out names and such... but maybe ya'll can see what I am trying to avoid with my so beautiful random first grader... who is a LOT like his older brother...
I want to say I sent the letter on December 4th. Was told that the district was aware of my concerns and would get back to me... they never did... so I filed it with the state... and they looked into it and decided to open a full formal investigation... with 10 counts of violations against state/federal law... one of those is 4 counts with it itself.
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Emmy Vesta
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Post by Emmy Vesta on Feb 4, 2011 2:45:10 GMT -5
Sorry I've been not too responsive as well, usually am talkative Daughter had one IEP on the 1st, tomorrow is the follow up since they weren't prepared to answer questions... am emotionally and mentally done. I am so tired of fighting... I am fighting one school district within three schools for services... for four kids... thankfully my youngest daughter at 8... is doing okay... because I am not sure I'd have the energy...
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Post by dihicks6 on Feb 4, 2011 7:44:30 GMT -5
Welcome! Just wanted to add that I hope one of the state's requirements will be a CAPD evaluation, done by a qualified audiologist. Great job, Mom!!! Lots of parents are not able to bring themselves to file with the state, when it can be the quickest route to accountability and action by the district.
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Post by dhfl143 on Feb 4, 2011 22:39:20 GMT -5
Welcome Emmy - you're in good hands here. Hope you get some useful perspectives
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mum
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Post by mum on Feb 6, 2011 17:15:18 GMT -5
Welcome Emmy, When I went searching for CAPD testing for my DS here in MA, I was told the earliest a child could be tested was at 7 ... by Children's (otherwise it was 8). Children's is able to test early, because they have a good statistical database for analysis ... because of their associated research. Notwithstanding, there was one subtest (temporal) that they could not do until he was 8, because they explained that that part of the brain's processing is otherwise not mature enough. Note that when the temporal test was done, a battery of previous tests was repeated to ensure a solid baseline.
The wait here is 6m to 12 m AFTER they receive all paperwork (knowing this I applied when DS was 6.5yrs, and he was tested at 7yrs 1wk). They then assess the paperwork (neuropsych testing etc.) to determine if your child is accepted for testing. Children's does NOT accept Dr referrals - parents have to contact and apply directly.
As others have said, CAPD testing is performed by a trained audiologist - no reading or writing is involved. The tests are performed immediately after a thorough hearing test (to rule out hearing issues). The child sits in the same acoustically isolated booth for the CAPD test as for the hearing tests. We got the results after about a 20min wait - straight from the audiologist.
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Emmy Vesta
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Post by Emmy Vesta on Feb 19, 2011 1:47:03 GMT -5
The school denied my son, Jack age 7 first grade, an IEP. They stated that environmental factors such as 9 absences in 120 days of school has kept him from accessing the instruction (even though he has weekly "talk/play therapy" as was recommended to help with functional language skills), and that RTI is what they will offer but not an IEP.
Last year they denied him an IEP saying that his exposure to divorce, multiple moves, etc., is why he wasn't learning.
Wonder what they will say next year? I really feel that they are denying him an IEP because he is cognitively in the very superior range, but just because he scores high on IQ, doesn't mean he does not have a specific learning disability.
Add on to all of that, he qualified per IDEA for an IEP with a learning disability; per their newest assessments. They found that he has a processing deficiency (per last year, and three different assessments this year), he scored very low in reading and writing on the WIAT-III this year and low in reading, spelling and numerical oeprations on the WIAT-II last year, and he isn't progressing in reading or writing in the classroom either in kindergarten nor in first grade.
I've read countless technical, research, and data driven reports, articles, and books that all state a discrepancy like he has between VIQ and PIQ is of clinical significance for dyslexia, or a language based learning disability. Add on the fact he has been diagnosed with Pragmatic Language Impairment by the UC Davis MIND Institute (he has a current referral in for assessment for Asperger's Syndrome/PDD-NOS), and received at home services from 9 months to 34 months for significant (more than a 6 month delay) developmental, language, and fine/gross motor delays. He was prematurely born at 30 weeks, was on the ventilator, and was in the hospital for close to 7 weeks.
2009 INTELLECTUAL ASSESSMENTS: Wechsler Pre-school and Primary Scale of Intelligence –3rd Edition Results: Information 10 Block Design 19 Symbol Search 10 Receptive Vocabulary 14 Vocabulary 9 Matrix Reasoning 18 Coding 8 Picture Naming 12 Word Reasoning 14 Picture Concepts 12 Comprehension 8 Picture Completion 17 Similarities 11 Object Assembly 15
Verbal IQ 108 70%ile Average (OUTLIER) Performance IQ 140 99.6%ile Superior Pr. Speed Index 94 34%ile Average (OUTLIER) Full Scale IQ 132 98%ile Superior General Language 116 86%ile Above Average
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mum
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Post by mum on Feb 19, 2011 8:37:07 GMT -5
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Post by healthy11 on Feb 19, 2011 9:59:09 GMT -5
Emmy Vesta, your son is clearly bright, but again, realize testing at young ages is often less reliable than at older ages. I don't think that's why the school is denying him an IEP. For better or worse, some of the "environmental" factors, such as frequent relocation and absences, can impact learning. Hopefully, those issues won't be a factor this year, and the school won't be in a position to use them as an excuse. I know you mention the PIQ/VIQ spread, but in the more recent DAS-II testing, your son's verbal abilities are superior to his spatial. Your son's results from the CTOPP are better than most children who have dyslexia, which is why it seems to me like he is dealing more with a processing issue. Unfortunately, even if your son has CAPD, it is not recognized as an eligibility category for an IEP. Some school districts will provide accommodations for it, but not all do. Most school personnel don't have the proper "soundproof booth" and credentials to do CAPD testing. I hope that you will have it done by an audiologist, and that it, combined with the upcoming Asperger's evaluation, give you more answers.
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Post by michellea on Feb 19, 2011 11:35:48 GMT -5
When was the WIAT 3 given? What were the reasons for the absences? While 9 is on the higher side, it certainly isn't over the top. And, if he made up work or if the absences were somehow related to his disability (anxiety, testing etc), I don't believe the district should hold this against him.
I'm concerned with the following scores (I added to percentile rank so that you would understand just how far behind his peers he is) WIAT-III: READING COMPREHESION: 77 (6th %ile) WRITTEN EXPRESSION: 80 9% SENTENCE COMPOSITION: 83 13% ORAL READING FLUENCY: 84 14 TOTAL READING: 85 16% WORD READING: 88 21%
MATH FLUENCY – ADDITION: 92 30% BASIC READING: 92 30% MATH FLUENCY : 93 32% MATH FLUENCY – SUBTRACTION: 94 TOTAL ACHIEVEMENT: 96 (39th %ile)
The reading scores are especially problematic. While he seems to have the basic phonological underpinnings as measured by the CTOPP, his actual achievement on reading measures is in the lower quartile.
I would look less about the VCI/PRI split to diagnose dyslexia. My son's VCI ranges from 5 to 25 points higher than his PRI (varies each time, but VCI is always higher), and he is one of the most profoundly dyslexic people you will ever meet. While many dyslexics show a higher PRI than VCI, this is not a measure that proves dyslexia by any means. The data you have on reading achievement is much more compelling.
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Post by mamak on Feb 19, 2011 12:42:16 GMT -5
Welcome - I'm a mom also . I have a bright son with Dyslexia, ADHD inattentive and recently diagnosed with APD. Much of what was previously blamed on ADHD is now explained by the APD. His original DX from the school was sensory processing (integration)disorder. He has been sort of a cluster of great assets and deficits I still wonder about him and the possibility of being mildly on the spectrum after the recent testing identifying problems in pragmatics and non literal lang. The services he has received so far has him entering high school in pretty good shape so I am very thankful that my advocating for him has paid off. It is a long hard uphill battle here in CA and with your four kids I can feel your pain and exhaustion. Millermom has been a great place to get support and I'm glad your here. That is quite a lot of testing done last year. You wrote: "He qualified for IEP last year in kinder for SLD, they refused. This year he still isn't reading. He hasn't progressed at all in writing. Then you said they qualified him under SLD for processing this year. What services are being provided as a result of the qualification this year? If the reading and writing remain deficient are they addressing this and how? If they are looking at a discrepancy model or waiting for him to fall far behind before providing services this will only make things harder to remediate latter as you well know. You've provided outside testing on the Pragmatic disability but the school did not provide a Speech and language assessment at that time? They are required to test in all areas of suspected disability and if they did not accept the outside assessment and it's results they should have done one themselves. If he has not had a Speech and Language assessment the school should provide one. School testing identified processing deficits. Was this in both auditory and visual processing? I'm also wondering about the child's gross and fine motor coordination although the VMI score is good it did not include the two supplementary test which can be done. My son had sensory integration difficulties but we didn't know that he should have had occupational therapy services until the 4th grade which could have helped him much more if he had received the services when he was younger. I'm hoping your going to find out much more information with the referral assessment. I am hoping they also compete a full reading assessment. You sound like you've been doing this for a while now so I can imagine your well aware of the CA Special Education and the hoops they make you jump through which seem to delay identification for as long as possible. Another member of this board knows of a very good audiologist up in your area I'll contact her and get the name for you. Here is a link to CSHA CAPD Task Force Document. 1. California Speech-Language-Hearing Association's. Guidelines for the Diagnosis & Treatment for Auditory. Processing ... citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.117.9770&rep=rep1&type=pdfIt will provide some good backup information to get your child assessment and services in this area. It is a long read but one well worth it. SLP can gather information but is not qualified to even do an appropriate APD screening. If the district has also identified a visual processing deficit than you also may want to pursue an evaluation done by a behavioral optometrist to see if your child may need vision therapy. In noticed the VMI only had one score. This test is also not timed so it really is not necessarily a good determination but the schools love to use it. There are two other supplemental tests that can be given that can assist. Have you noticed any difficulties with tracking or staying on the line when reading? Does he have difficulties doing tasks such as copying data from a distance on to his paper. What does the handwriting look like? It's kinda funny (not really) that they have determined there is a disability in processing and haven't done anything but that. Your requesting testing which they don't want you to know about, don't like to provide are however necessary in order to "assess in all areas of suspected disability". Request APD testing, sensory Integration processing(SIPT) and Visual processing testing if you suspect disabilities in these areas.
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