Today is day one of Doodle’s psychoeductional evaluation to determine if she has dyslexia or potentially some other form of learning challenge. For those in the dark about the above seriously long term, a psychoeducational evaluation refers to the psychological test used to analyze the mental processes underlying a child’s educational performance (GreatSchools.org). Since my first post regarding our journey we have learned a titch more about the sweet girl that is the Doodle.

From a school perspective we have learned that her benchmark testing (that occurred in the school phycologists office) deemed her completely and utterly average. I have never in my whole life loved the words “performed as an average third grader would” more than I did a couple of weeks ago. You see, I’ve never questioned my Doodle’s smarts, I’ve simply questioned the way those smarts are evaluated in a school setting. The catch to the results of those benchmarks tests are simple; the environment in which she tested in was unique and nothing like a classroom setting. She tested in a quiet environment with one on one attention. But, frankly, I love that we found out that she is completely average. Her smarts are exactly where they should be, which says to me the learning environment is where she struggles. Chaos is not her friend. It is refreshing to hear that someone does better in a quiet, slow paced environment. I mean, that’s just not the way this world works these days.

Doodle also saw the eye doctor and we learned a bit about how her eyes are working for, rather, against her. She has three minor issues that we will address once we learn the comprehensive details of her evaluation. Doodle’s minor issues include: tracking, stigmatism and far sighted-ness. Based on the eval results our eye doctor will work with me to determine the next steps for her eyes which may include doing nothing at all, getting a pair of glasses (Doodle’s preferred solution) or seeking therapy for her eyes (similar to that of speech therapy, but for her eyes).

And here we are today, starting the evaluation process. A grueling 8 hour evaluation that takes the place over two days, broken into 4 hour segments. But, before we get started I wanted to ask Doodle a few questions to see how she feels, what she thinks, what she fears and what may excite her.

Here is our Q & A (please note, she knows this Q&A took place for the blog):

What do you think is going to happen during your evaluation?

I think I am going to get tested about math and reading.

What do you think they are trying to find out?

They are going to try to find how good I am at math and reading. 

What do you think the testing will be like?

I think it will be kinda hard and kinda easy. 

What parts do you think will be hard?

The multiplication and math if there is math. 

What parts do you think will be easy?

Um, the reading. 

What excites you about this evaluation?

That I get to meet a girl evaluation person. 

Do you know why you’re having this evaluation?

Yeah, because you think I have an infection or something.

What do you hope will happen after the evaluation?

That we will wait until we see the scores and then they tell me if I have dyslexia or not. 

What do you think will happen at school?

I don’t know. 

What do you hope happens at school?

That I have more time to do things. 

How does school and school work make you feel?

It makes me feel like school and work are getting harder because school does get harder. I don’t want anyone else to know how I feel about my struggle at school. 

How does getting evaluated make you feel?

Ok. 

And there you have it, strait out of the mouth of my babe. She has shared so much more emotion over the years, but those emotions come out during struggles or victories, not during our Q&A session. Today she is simply just matter of fact. Today she is facing this head on and focusing on the task at hand.

Many have asked me questions about how I feel, about my perspective, about the why’s, how’s and motivations from a mother’s perspective. I will share my feeling next week.