Tony Said:

is "visual perceptual processing deficit" the same thing as dyslexia?

We Answered:

Your son doesn't necessarily have dyslexia. Dyslexia is a form of "visual perceptual processing deficit" but not the other way around.

As for coping strategies and skills work very closely with the professionals at your son's school.

Norman Said:

If you child struggles in a subject, do you also teach that or leave it to the teacher?

We Answered:

As a teacher, it is detrimental to do either extreme. It is not only the teacher's job nor just the parent's job. If I had a kiddo struggling, I would if I were you.... Talk to the teacher and ask her or him what you can do at home to help him which may include some teachng or reinforcing of skills. This may also mean spending extra time on his homework rather than relying on your child to do it themselves. I also don't think that you should be completely on your own. Although teachers have 25 kids, you still have a home to keep up. My best suggestion would be to create a schedule in terms of homework etc... so that you don't spend all night and every night doing this. I would also look into getting a tutor if you financially can afford this or a high school kid that is in need of extra credit or community service and they could do it for free

Perry Said:

how to assess a child's educational level?

We Answered:

This is best left to a professional. This is such a touchy issue, I would ask for a formal assessment from a school psyc. This will be an IQ test as well as a test that will give grade level scores in all subject areas and show possible performance and learning deficits. Schools must pay for this if the parent or teacher requests the testing. If you are going to make an attempt at tutoring without this testing, forget about "grade level" and just work from what the student knows and does not know. Grade level and lables are overrated and are inappropriate for determining needs in some cases.