Dyslexia eval during pandas exacerbation?

[TracyRee]

DS is almost 8 and going into 2nd grade. His teacher was concerned about his spelling, handwriting and reading. We tried to get an evaluation through school since Decemeber, but it never got done. (long frustrating story)

 

DS has been diagnosed with Asperger's as well as pandas.

 

I'm pretty sure he has dysgraphia, but don't know about dyslexia. Definitely possible.

 

I found an evaluator to have it done independently. I want his evaluative done this summer so that we can get the IEP request in as soon as the new school year starts.

 

The evaluator can do it this Tuesday!! (after trying to get it done for so long I jumped at the appointment!!)

 

It occurred to me last night that DS's pandas may effect the results as he's in a bit of an exacerbation right now. Not MAJOR, but it's undeniable. (mouth wiping tic and some behavior stuff)

 

He was on omnicef starting about a month ago and now on flagyl as he ended up with major diarrhea.

 

 

 

 

Sooooo. Is it better to have the evaluation during a pandas exacerbation and possibly get inaccurate results saying he IS dyslexic and therefore have more pull in getting an IEP

 

OR

 

Wait until he's doing better (hopefully a month??), and get better results and avoid yet another diagnosis??

 

Opinions?

[philamom]

I would get it done now to help with getting the IEP.

[tpotter]

I agree. PANDAS flare or not, it certainly sounds like it's an issue. For the IEP, you can always write in that he gets the help when needed, if it turns out he has dyslexia.

[EAMom]

DS is almost 8 and going into 2nd grade. His teacher was concerned about his spelling, handwriting and reading. We tried to get an evaluation through school since Decemeber, but it never got done. (long frustrating story)

 

DS has been diagnosed with Asperger's as well as pandas.

 

I'm pretty sure he has dysgraphia, but don't know about dyslexia. Definitely possible.

 

I found an evaluator to have it done independently. I want his evaluative done this summer so that we can get the IEP request in as soon as the new school year starts.

 

The evaluator can do it this Tuesday!! (after trying to get it done for so long I jumped at the appointment!!)

 

It occurred to me last night that DS's pandas may effect the results as he's in a bit of an exacerbation right now. Not MAJOR, but it's undeniable. (mouth wiping tic and some behavior stuff)

 

He was on omnicef starting about a month ago and now on flagyl as he ended up with major diarrhea.

 

 

 

 

Sooooo. Is it better to have the evaluation during a pandas exacerbation and possibly get inaccurate results saying he IS dyslexic and therefore have more pull in getting an IEP

 

OR

 

Wait until he's doing better (hopefully a month??), and get better results and avoid yet another diagnosis??

 

Opinions?

 

Oh...see if they will do the Rey-Osterrieth (sp?) Complex Figure Test...PANDAS kids do really badly on that. My dd got in th 2nd percentile!

 

My PANDAS dd is a BAD speller, bad handwriting, but somehwere along 2nd grade something clicked with reading. She is a very proficient avid reader with great comprehension (just finished the 6th grade).

 

If you pm me your e-mail, I can e-mail you the full-text of this study. http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=181293

Edited June 9, 2012 by EAMom

[AmySLP]

My first thought was utilize this opportunity to ensure he qualifies for an IEP....I'd go for it now!

[EmilyK]

Odd that Aspergers and PANDAS plus difficulty in school don't already qualify your child for an IEP...Perhaps the eval rather than just adding another label could help demonstrate the impact on learning and need for specially designed instruction?

good luck

Emily

[norcalmom]

I'd get the eval when she's at the worst, that way, you can see what functions are specifically impacted. And, the provisions will be in place if and when your child needs them. Otherwise - if she does well the school may disregard your input that she needs assistance in an area - and refer to the testing - which was done during a time that your child's brain may have been functioning without the impairment of a pandas exacerbation (witch can last weeks, and often times the baseline does not return). We had DS evaluated, it was extremely enlightening. He also got in the bottom 2% on two test that measure ability to performa spatial tasks at the same time as fine motor (forget name, but sounds like it could have been the complex figure test, or very similar to the complex figure test EAMom mentions above).

 

So they recommend an alpha smart - which I would never have guessed - but of course my son was too old and too "cool" to use it. But I least I know why he has issues with math - copying stuff from the board while using the part of the brain that performs spatial function is impossible for him (or was at the time). We though he was too lazy to write anything down in down in math- because he could do math in his head that I could not - but as it got more complex, he was beginning to make little error, effecting the final answer (not to mention atht he was usually getting only 50% on correct answers for "not showing his work" - and then in trouble with me for the same thing because I thought he was being lazy!

 

There were other recommendations too. We didn't use the results for an IEP or 504plan, but I'm glad we had the test done when we did should I need to use it, but mostly for my own understanding of what was going on. One part of the brain can be so significantly impacted and the other parts function fine (or better than fine because they learn to compensate so well).

 

You just don't know what the testing may turn up.

[EAMom]

We had DS evaluated, it was extremely enlightening. He also got in the bottom 2% on two test that measure ability to performa spatial tasks at the same time as fine motor (forget name, but sounds like it could have been the complex figure test, or very similar to the complex figure test EAMom mentions above).

 

 

 

 

this is the rey complex figure test http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rey-Osterrieth_Complex_Figure

 

re the alphasmart

My dd still uses her alphasmart (6th grade)! She does lots of her assignments on the family desk top, but also uses the alphasmart. I think some private schools "assign" kids lap tops by the 6th grade, but our concern was that a lap top (for her to take to school--big public middle school) would either be damaged or stolen. The alphasmart is also light and no distractions (no web) which is nice.

 

She started using the alphasmart in the 4th grade. We were lucky b/c her teacher had a bunch in her class for the kids to use, so she wasn't a misfit in having/using one.

[TracyRee]

Thank you all so much for the thoughtful and informative replies! I'd never heard of an alphasmart and LOVE the idea of it. I'm afraid DS wouldn't accept using it as he has a lot of anxiety about being different, but it's definitely something to think about.

 

I am going ahead with the evaluation tomorrow. should be really interesting!

 

We applied for an IEP going into kindergarden and were denied as they didn't know what special help he would need at that time. He did great in kindergarten and I ended up agreeing that he didn't need an IEP. First grade was when things started to surface. The other kids handwriting improved, whereas DS still struggled. Spelling tests became more difficult as he can only spell phonically.

 

He NEEDS and IEP for second grade and I absolutely dread the process

[TracyRee]

Well, the evaluator called and rescheduled for next week. Darn it. He's already doing so much better than just days ago. (never thought I'd be anything but happy about that!!)