[happy2bme]

Over the past week or so ds1 has been bringing home his school books. To say I am disappointed is an understatement.

A bit of background - last year ds1 had issues in his fyos we ended up doing IQ testing & seeing child psych however these proved inconclusive. At the start of this year we moved & he started at another school. I didn't give the school or teacher any background on the testing we had done because I wanted to see if it was school problem or a problem with him. We spoke to the teacher parent teacher & see advised he was doing really well however there was a gap between his comprehension & his written ability. Basically if he was tested verbally he would excel at school but his written ability was a bit behind. At this point the teacher wasn't concerned. Then at the end of term 3 I met with her again & she advised that she had been giving him extension work (year 2 level) & she found that in most things he was "exceptional" ( her words not mine). Unfortunately she went on leave for term 4. A few weeks into term 4 I decided to meet with the guidance officer & I gave her the IQ test results. At the end of the meeting she basically said she would read through the report but she felt that it indicated he was just average on everything & the things that stood out in the IQ test his peers would eventually meet up with him so it means nothing.

I left that meet really confused & decided that I would not persue things any further. Now I have received his books home & it is quite obvious that his written does not match his actual comprehension & that he gets distracted/bored.

Obviously there isn't anything I can do now as school finishes for the year on Friday but I don't know if I should be still looking into something - what I don't know or if I should leave things & see how they go over the next year. I just don't know what to do - I feel something isn't right & that I should be doing something but I keep getting so many mixed messages from professionals. I just want to cry cause I don't know what I should be doing. Part of my thinks maybe the standard of work he is doing is normal & if there was an issue even his new teacher would have said??

I just don't know

[lizzie04]

Hi, this sounds like my DD. On the IQ test she had very high verbal comprehension, average nonverbal and high average working memory and the other one (can't remember sorry). At school she just didn't seem to be getting the results I thought she should, and it was my choice to get testing done to work out if there were any issues.

Anyway, when I saw the high verbal score I thought 'aha!'. That explains why it seems there is a mismatch. I have since spoken to a friend who is a school psychologist, and he shared that in those tests the working memory and the other one are actually the indicators that will best predict academic outcomes. Once he shared this, it helped me accept that my expectations were out and that it is not the school not understanding her - they are doing a great job! I need to ensure I am helping her with homework so I can work out where she might need support, ensure I am reading with her and encourage her to write as much as possible to improve these areas.

Not sure that this is help - sorry if not. More than happy for you to PM me if you have any more questions.

[howdo]

What in his workbooks make you think something is 'not normal'?

[roses99]

What about the IQ test was inconclusive? Are you concerned that he has a learning difficulty? Or that he's falling behind, or not as far ahead as he should be? Are you thinking that he might be twice exceptional?

Sorry for the barrage of questions Just trying to drill down to what the problem is. It sounds - on the surface of things - like his school books confirm exactly what the teacher had told you in the first place - that his verbal comprehension skills aren't matched by his written skills. But is there more to it than that?

I will say - as a teacher - that you ARE doing the right thing by him if you're actively trying to help and support him. But don't put too much pressure on yourself either. It would be good to meet with his teacher early in the new year to work on a strategy. You can support him at home by helping him with his written skills; his teacher should be able to give you some ideas.

[feliz6]

I'm with roses his bookwork will be written work which you say you know doesn't match his verbal ability. So, what is it about the bookwork that's surprising? You say he's obviously bored. Tell us more about that? Is it possible the idea of written work is boring to him because he finds it difficult and possibly tiresome. While I would value and acknowledge his verbal skills the ability to express oneself in the written form and to complete written tasks is important.
I think people can expect too much of kids with good verbal comprehension. Kids with good verbal skills often stand out more than kids with non verbal skills because when we talk with them - what did you learn today? What do you think about? .... we don't say - and feel free to reply in whatever format is ur strength like by waiting or through dance or song, we Ask them to verbalize their response. And ppl seem to assume that if they can verbalize their response they can write it and that other skills will be at the same level. That isn't really the case.
If you are seeking specific advice I think you need to be more specific in ur post

[Jemstar]

Everything above, plus I would expect a child's verbal ability to be better than their ability in writing at the age of your son. That's normal OP.

[happy2bme]

It's not that I think what he is isn't normal & he is my eldest so I have nothing compare to. His workbooks are extremely messy, I can't see any improvement in his writing, there is a lot of "doodling", unfinished tasks. All this may be quite normal. His original teacher didn't seem too concerned about it. Maybe my expectations are too high?? Should I just be guided by his teachers on this.

Feliz6 - I think you are right. He finds the writing component boring & tiresome so therefore doesn't want to do it.

I don't think he is behind in his school work - if anything he is advanced from what the teacher was telling me regarding him doing extension work. I just don't want him to get behind in the written stuff because I know that this is important. I also don't want to push him too hard & he completely shut down & he doesn't want to do written stuff at all. I also think that because he knows it is his head he doesn't want to prove it by writing it down.

Hope that all makes sense??