In this blog post, I share my personal journey of relying on my motherly intuition to initiate an evaluation for learning disabilities for my older son. I hope my experience with trusting my intuition helps others listen to theirs.
Early Signs of a Learning Disability
From the early days of pre-K, I noticed challenges in my son’s letter identification and writing skills. Although the preschool teacher reassured me that letter flipping was common, my son’s remarkable abilities in coloring within the lines and organizing items by shape and color led me to believe there might be something preventing him from progressing in the area of reading.
In his kindergarten year, my son, being one of the older students in the class, displayed a maturity beyond his peers. However, I observed persistent challenges in his ability to identify letters and their sounds. He also struggled with sight words, especially those with the letters b, d, p, and q. Moreover, his teacher began reaching out to inform me about his struggles in staying focused during class. Instances of getting out of his seat and impulsively blurting out became a recurring concern. While excelling in math, his reading skills and classroom behavior lagged significantly.
I suspected that my son might be dealing with a learning disability. However, when I expressed my apprehensions to his teacher, she didn’t share my concerns. She attributed his difficulties to common challenges students face at his age, such as letter flipping and struggling with word pronunciation. She also reassured me that energetic behavior was not uncommon in students, and with time, he might learn to better control himself. Despite her reassurances, I remained unconvinced and felt the need for further exploration.
Journeying through Home-Based Support and Professional Evaluation
I initiated home-based efforts with my son, employing sight word cards and beginner books in an attempt to improve his reading skills. However, his ongoing struggles with reading persisted, and I noticed that his writing tended to be large and disorganized. These signs increasingly pointed towards dyslexia. Additionally, his difficulty maintaining focus on certain tasks, coupled with moments of hyper-focus on others, further reinforced my suspicions regarding ADHD.
After allowing my son a year to make progress with minimal success, I concluded that it was time to pursue a formal evaluation. However, as his academic performance didn’t reach a significantly low level, the school lacked the necessary evidence to conduct an evaluation. Consequently, I took the initiative to seek out a psychologist who could assess him for ADHD. Following the ADHD evaluation, which confirmed his diagnosis, the psychologist then referred me to another professional for a psycho-educational evaluation.
The results of the psycho-educational evaluation revealed that my son possessed above-average intelligence but struggled with a specific learning disability in reading, identified as dyslexia. The assessment indicated limited proficiency in reading comprehension, reading rate, and spelling. The doctor estimated his predicted rate of success in reading to be 62%, underscoring the evident need for support in addressing his learning challenges.
The Impact of Trusting Motherly Intuition on Academic Achievement
It became evident that trusting my motherly intuition was a wise decision. Utilizing the evaluation findings, I successfully secured a 504 Plan for my son, granting him accommodations and additional support from reading specialists. Now in 6th grade, he excels in all subjects. The extra assistance he received during elementary school has proven to be an invaluable asset, contributing significantly to his academic success.
Trust Your Motherly Intuition
I regretfully did not heed my intuition as closely with my younger son, leading to delayed diagnosis and several years of behavioral challenges. Hence, I strongly urge parents to trust their instincts when it comes to their children. In an upcoming post, “Learning from Regret: The Importance of Trusting Parental Intuition,” I’ll discuss my younger son’s journey, highlighting the lessons learned from not trusting my instincts.
