new here...what do y'all think?

Hello.

I've been lurking here for a few weeks, trying to get a feel of the new territory in which I find myself.

My daughter (8) has recently been diagnosed (or same as...) with dyslexia. I have her working with tutors utilizing the Orton-Gillingham methodology.

I have a few frustrations..mostly to do with testing.

First, we knew last year that DD's reading was terrible. The public school said there was nothing they could do when we asked about testing. So we lucked out and found her current tutors who could run some perfunctory tests..and they said that dyslexia is her problem.

I'm relieved, but after reading this board, I realize there could be multiple underlying issues that could be contributing...(add, apd...)

When I bring this up to the tutors, they think additional testing is likely to give my daughter a complex. But the tutoring isn't going particularly well because DD isn't seeming to grasp the concepts.

I don't want to alienate her tutors because they are the ones who have shown us the light.. but at the same time, it seems we should look at the complete picture to determine if other/additional therapies are needed.

Also, we live in a rural area, and although the local audiologist can test for apd, they don't seem to want to.

A couple hours away and we can be in the Baltimore/Washington DC area. Could anyone point me to a place where we could take her and get a thorough panel done? It would be so great to be able to go to a 1 stop shop with all the specialists we might need for evaluation..

And..it doesn't help that my 5 year old son is showing signs too....so we have 2 (maybe 3..my 11 year old can read ok, but she shows symptoms of APD)

Honestly, I can afford a single big expenditure on testing.. but not the long drawn out cost of tutoring for 2-3 kids...so I'm seriously considering homeschooling if more than 1 need help.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

What do you want the testing to achieve? You might ask around a bit - on this site and among other parents in your daughter's school. If the results of tests will help you to feel you understand the situation better or help to put a good IEP in place for your daughter and other children, then testing can be helpful.

But sometimes with some learning differences, schools don't have any rabbits in their hats that help much. If your daughter would be found to have an APD, what would you like the school to do for her? It can help to have some answers to that especially when you go in to the school with testing results in hand.