Explaining a Diagnosis: Template to Share with Parents

[Dr. Liz]

Hello community,

Talking to kids about their testing results is critical - but sometimes it's just not possible to sit down with a child and explain their diagnosis to them directly.  We may not have time, insurance may not cover it, and the child (or their parents) may simply not be ready yet.

For this reason, I've been working on some tools for parents to help guide them through this conversation with their child...on their own time.

Explaining a Diagnosis - for Parents

The above article is designed to be shared with the parents you work with, to give them a template for talking to their child about their diagnosis.  This builds off of the last article, helping parents understand the main take-homes from their child's report.

I hope this article and the conversation template are helpful for empowering the parents you work with to talk to their child about the testing results and keep that conversation going over time. Please share with anyone who may find it helpful!

Warmly,

Liz

Liz Angoff, PhD Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP #3115) Diplomate in School Neuropsychology (ABSNP #10803) (510) 423-3329 (office) www.DrLizAngoff.com www.BrainBuildingBook.com  NEW! Instagram: @ExplainingBrains

Office Location:

954 Risa Rd, Suite A

Lafayette, CA 94549

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic mail transmission may contain privileged and/or confidential information only for use by the intended recipients. Any usage, distribution, copying or disclosure by any other person, other than the intended recipient, is strictly prohibited and may be subject to civil action and/or criminal penalties. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail or by telephone and delete the transmission.

[Emily Tucker]

Hi All,

 

I am looking for some resources to better understand a unique dyslexia profile I have been seeing in my practice.  I have recently worked with several kids who had very early letter recognition and letter-sound awareness (as early as 2-years-old) and then hit a plateau.  As they progressed to early elementary school, they have struggled with emerging reading skills and clearly have dyslexia, showing below grade-level reading (and processing) despite strong cognitive skills and extra practice.

 

This is a confusing profile for parents as their kids seemed to be “early readers” yet now reflect a dyslexic profile and are struggling to make progress as fluent readers. I am hoping to gather a better understanding myself so I can better explain this developmental trajectory to parents.

 

Any feedback or suggestions are much appreciated!

 

Thank you,

Emily

 

Emily S. Tucker, Ph.D., ABSNP

Licensed Psychologist

3746 Mount Diablo Boulevard, Suite 201B

Lafayette, CA 94549

(925)787-1621

DrEmilyTucker.com

 

 

 

[Bert Green]

Good Afternoon,

One question to consider:  could it be that they are stuck in the alphabetic stage of reading, and do not develop proper orthographic processing for automatic and efficient reading?  If that is the case, I might look for  visual inefficiencies (assuming their PA stays on developmental course).

It is interesting!

Bert Green

413-374-5848

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "School Neuropsychology Interest Group 2" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to schoolneuropsych...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/schoolneuropsychology/A01FDE90-1A2C-433E-8BD7-3F59DC2A4B19%40hxcore.ol.

[Emily Tucker]

Thank you for that helpful feedback.  Interestingly, and I should have clarified, the profile is a mixed dyslexia – weaknesses in both phonological processing and orthographic processing.  Otherwise, I may have thought the same!

 

I appreciate your sharing those thoughts.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/schoolneuropsychology/CAD6VjhMAn%3DvBxg%3DogdmnSTk7a8yPCcWGbYhBETi0Cpe3hj8RgA%40mail.gmail.com.

 

[Bill Young]

Great question.  What I have run into there is no problem with CVC words and easy decoding but as the student tries to read multisyllabic words, irregular words, and vowel combinations they can't seem to process all the parts. It shows up most in 4th grade, maybe by third. It's also evident in their spelling.

--

[Tamra O'Keefe]

Wondering if it has to do more with the combining of sound/syllable groupings. Somewhat like our kiddos who can visually process simple information, but struggle when the page is visually cluttered. Likewise, perhaps with a simple repetition of pairing the sound and the symbol they can perform an isolated task, but combining them is too cognitively complex. "C-"-"cee" is simple memorization. Being able to combine letters/sounds might be more to do with visual/verbal memory, sound manipulation, blending, etc.

We are seeing a high incidence of kiddos who have stronger phonological awareness, but low non-word repetition skills. So they can blend phonologically, but not associate the sound/symbol in an unknown (non-memorized) word. 

I am still learning all about dyslexia myself, and have found " The Neurobiology of Dyslexia" by Devin M. Kearns, Roeland Hancock, Fumiko Hoeft,  Kenneth R. Pugh, and Stephen J. Frost very helpful as a reference tool.

In their article, they note that "The left precentral gyrus—a region involved in articulation (i.e., the production of speech sounds)—shows more activation in children and adults with dyslexia than that of their typical peers (Richlan et al., 2011). Currently, researchers have hypothesized that readers use articulation to compensate for their weakness in the temporoparietal system that involves decoding (Hancock, Richlan, & Hoeft, 2017). 

https://haskinslabs.org/sites/default/files/files/Kearns%2C%20Hoeft%2C%20Hancock%2C%20Pugh%2C%20Frost%20(2019)%20Neurobiology%20of%20dyslexia.pdf

This may also account for some of the phenomena you have seen.

Very interesting observation!

Thank you for sharing with the group.

Tamra O'Keefe, M.A.

Director of Special Education, 504 Compliance Officer/Coordinator, School Psychologist

"I always wondered why somebody doesn't do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody." Lily Tomlin

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/schoolneuropsychology/1AAC0B7C-563F-45A0-A9BD-9B9A1EEB5FBA%40hxcore.ol.

[Emily Tucker]

Thank you, that is a helpful perspective.  And I appreciate your sharing that article!

 

Best,

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/schoolneuropsychology/CA%2BfLtv3ayacHoX2_Wo2gPSZOLWHqOVuh6p3Zy4Yd4FhB2SXagA%40mail.gmail.com.