{"id":13833,"date":"2019-04-02T09:31:54","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T13:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/?p=13833"},"modified":"2024-02-03T11:58:07","modified_gmt":"2024-02-03T16:58:07","slug":"my-son-has-a-learning-disability-despite-his-high-iq-heres-how-we-found-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mayahoodblog.com\/my-son-has-a-learning-disability-despite-his-high-iq-heres-how-we-found-out\/","title":{"rendered":"My son has a learning disability despite his high IQ. Here’s how we found out."},"content":{"rendered":"

Early last year we found out that one of my boys had a learning disability (also, I hate that term. I prefer ‘learning challenge’ instead). For those of you who are unfamiliar, here is a the definition of Learning Disabilities (‘LD’):<\/p>\n

specific neurological disorders that affect the brain\u2019s ability to store, process, retrieve or communicate information. They are invisible and lifelong.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Unfortunately, there are a lot of misconceptions about having a LD. For one thing, it’s nothing that you or your child should ever be ashamed of. In fact, LD are usually due to genetic factors and an individual with a LD can still become very successful and thrive in today’s society. Lastly, LD’s do not discriminate based on your socioeconomic background or race. Meaning, they are very common (1 in 10 Canadians have a learning disability), even though you may not know anyone who has been formally diagnosed.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, I wasn’t sure if I should share this experience. However, I’m hoping that by opening up about my own experience with this, it will help other parents feel less burdened and guilty. But most importantly, I’m hoping that it might provide others with some assistance getting your child checked to see if they might have a LD so you can help them as best as you can.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Learning Disabilities can affect different aspects of learning and functioning. The specific LD that my son has falls under the umbrella of Dyslexia which causes issues with processing language. That means, he has challenges with his reading, writing and spelling. Noticing his challenges (aka symptoms), is what paved the way for us to get him tested.<\/p>\n

It all began when we visited his classroom during the school’s open house. It became pretty clear to us that his writing was lagging behind that of his peers. We also found out that he was placed in an easier group for his spelling tests. We decided to meet with our son’s teacher who confirmed that our son was reading below grade level (but not too far behind). We discussed our concern that it might be a learning disability (since it runs in our family), and she suggested that we get him tested.<\/p>\n

At this point, we had two options:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Test him through the school board (free but might take anywhere from 6 – 12 months)<\/li>\n
  2. Test him privately (costly but can be done almost immediately).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    We didn’t want to waste any time getting him the appropriate support if in fact he did have a LD, and since we had insurance through work, we decided to get him tested privately.<\/p>\n

    TIP:<\/strong>\u00a0If you go through private testing, there are a few separate sessions, so you might be able to split the cost over different insurance periods (i.e. half in December, half in January).<\/p>\n

    The assessment came back positive for LD. We also learned that our son has a very high IQ when it comes to math and memory. That helped explained why he was doing as well as he had done thus far and why it was hard to identify his disability.<\/p>\n

    If you suspect your child has an LD, I would encourage you to get a proper assessment. It was extremely helpful once we fully understood the circumstances. Testing was conducted by a registered psychologist with training in Child Clinical Psychology. We used Dr. Kelly Nash<\/a>, who is based out Toronto. You could also obtain great info from this psychologist<\/a> if you’re in the same situation.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    YOUR CHILD HAS A LEARNING DISABILITY; WHAT NOW?!?! <\/strong><\/h4>\n

    Once our son was assessed, it was time to put a learning plan for him in place. Both at school, and at home. While the public school system is slower when it comes to getting assessments done, they were great about putting an Individual Education Plan (‘IEP’) in place. Together with the school’s principal, vice-principal, counselor, special education teacher, and our son’s teacher, we came up with a plan that will assist him in the classroom moving forward. The best part about the IEP is that it gets assessed ongoing. Pretty much as often as your child gets their report cards. So if any changes need to be made, they can be. Nothing is ever set in stone.<\/p>\n

    Here are some examples of what the IEP can include.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Our son’s teacher often accommodates him through verbal scribing when it came to answering reading comprehension questions or any time he needs to write a long answer to a math question. This helps because with our son\u2019s LD he often thinks faster than he can get his answer down on paper.<\/li>\n
    2. Providing extra time to complete homework and tests.<\/li>\n
    3. Submitting a formal request for assistive technology (i.e. for your child to receive their own laptop \/ speech to text technology to help them complete their class work).<\/li>\n
    4. Requesting that they get pulled out of class for extra help with the special education teacher.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      This meeting is also a great time to identify what other potential school services might be available for your child. It was during this meeting that we determined that our son should also get assessed by an Occupational Therapist (OT) for his writing.<\/p>\n

      I think the most important thing for you as a parent is to advocate for your child in the school system. Make sure that their teachers are well aware of your child’s learning needs and how they can best support them.<\/p>\n

      TIP:<\/strong>\u00a0Before the start of a new school grade, request a meeting with your child’s new teacher. Use this time to go over your child’s strengths and weaknesses, and provide the teacher an overview of their learning needs and requirements. This way you’re setting your child up for success early on and getting their teacher buy-in early on in the process helps!<\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n

      While implementing these changes for your kid in the classroom is a great start, it’s not always enough. That’s why we also decided to hire a private tutor, opting for \u4e0a\u9580\u88dc\u7fd2<\/a>. While we started with a general English tutor, we eventually switched over to a tutor that specializes in my son’s learning disability. We searched for the ones that give the best primary english tuition lesson<\/a>. We reached out to the Reading School<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Toronto, that specializes in dyslexia and follows the\u00a0Orton-Gillingham<\/a>\u00a0based approach. Our son currently sees his tutor twice a week for an hour each session. These tutors specialize in growing the part of his brain that needs development. They basically start at the basics, which most other kids learned during kindergarten. The Reading School conducts their own assessment at the beginning to determine where their teacher’s need to focus.<\/p>\n

      One of our son’s peers was pulled out of school to attend another school that specializes in dyslexia. If you’re interested in going that route, you can check out the\u00a0Claremont School.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

      We have noticed a huge improvement in our son’s reading and writing abilities. Whether that is due to all of the extra support that he has received or due to his own compensations from his high IQ, I am not sure. Either way, it’s nice to see that his progress is moving in the right direction.<\/p>\n

      It is my hope that he will eventually find it easier to complete the same tasks that come easy to most kids. I find that he is so mentally and emotionally drained at the end of the school day, likely because his brain is on overdrive trying to keep up with his peers. That is why immediately after school, I give him a break and let him decompress (aka we don’t do homework right away). However, we don’t go ‘easy’ on him either. He still needs to complete his work and do it independently. Of course he can use the tools provided to him. We’re all still learning on how to best manage this. After all, it’s only been a year since his assessment, and I’m really proud of our progress to date.<\/p>\n

      Do you have a child with a learning disability? How was your process in terms of identifying the challenge and dealing with it? What tips or advice would you share with other parents who are going through this process?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Early last year we found out that one of my boys had a learning disability (also, I hate that term. I prefer ‘learning challenge’ instead). For those of you who are unfamiliar, here is a the definition of Learning Disabilities (‘LD’): specific neurological disorders that affect the brain\u2019s ability to store, process, retrieve or communicate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"My son has a learning disability despite his high IQ. 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