Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) evaluation!

[Ktllc]

Got it done today (while my parents took care of Sweet Pea and Partner. ).
He did show some issues: decoding (phonemic issues and comprehension in noise), auditory memory and auditory sensitivity (covers his ears in loud noises).
The doctor seemed to be very thorough and explained everything. She even gave me her direct number to share with our Speech Language Pathologist (SLP).
She was not surprised that he could not learn pre-academics.
She gave me a few pamphlets about those specific areas and what we can do about it. Her full report should be ready within 1 week. Which is excellent: I'll have it before school evaluation.
She also mentioned visual therapy while we were going over V's challenges. I'll have to look into that and talk to our Occupational Therapist (OT). The Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) had also mentioned dyslexia which I think is a visual problem in reading??
We are accumulating issues, but at least we have some answers, we know what we are dealing with.
I can't wait to share the report with Speech Language Pathologist (SLP). V is really challenging him... he is actually not getting anywhere with him right now. And V is increasingly frustrated, fidgety and distractable during speech session. He tried to incorporate writing to help him memorize words (days and months) and he was baffled! V was so focused in his work but the result was a disaster: the letters were all mirrored, upside down, side ways, etc. And no consistency in it either. Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) said he had never seen that.
It gives me a small preview of what school will be next year. It does not look pretty and I really need to obtain an IEP to protect my little V. Faced with someone who doesn't get it: it will be a disaster and I'm afraid V will be crushed...
Any practical advise on the cautionary Auditory Processing Disorders (APD) diagnosis (since he is under 7, he can't have a firm diagnosis) applied to school??
Has anyone heard and use the customized personal filters (kind of like a hearing aid but to filter background noise. not fm system with transmitter and receiver)?
Thanks for any input!

 

[InsaneCdn]

Has anyone heard and use the customized personal filters (kind of like a hearing aid but to filter background noise. not fm system with transmitter and receiver)?

FILTERS? I wish. I went hunting, but couldn't find. It's hard for systems to figure out what "background" noise is! Which is why they use the FM systems to make a difference between background and foreground sounds.

The closest I know about is musician's ear plugs - specially designed to maintain sound fidelity while reducing overall decibels.

Maybe if you combined the two? Used musician's ear plugs to reduce ALL sound, and then pipe in the "right" sound with personal fm?

 

[Malika]

Well, Ktllc, no-one could have got more information so early as you seem to have done. Bravo. Miles more to walk, I realise, but bits of the puzzle are starting to come. Knowledge is power so...

 

[InsaneCdn]

He tried to incorporate writing to help him memorize words (days and months) and he was baffled! V was so focused in his work but the result was a disaster: the letters were all mirrored, upside down, side ways, etc

Well, now... another set of challenges that can come from multiple sources... (oh joy).
Like - sure, it could be something like dyslexia. But... it could also be neuro-motor. You don't get to choose (unfortunately), but neuro-motor is easier to deal with, because it affects writing but NOT reading.

At 4, they are expecting him to be writing letters with pencil and paper? Ya, I know, some kids do. But... some kids don't/can't/won't for a variety of reasons. Some resources we had access to told us (when difficult child was much older than V!) to go BACK to basic motor training... instead of pencil and paper, write in foot-high letters... in the sandbox, or with water and a brush on the pavement, or paintbrush and poster paint... BIG. Give him letter shapes that size to trace over and to copy... work on BIG, not small. With 4-6 inch letters, have him trace with his fist (as though holding a crayon in his fist)... not with a pencil-grip.

You don't have to learn to write, to learn to read. (really) See if your library has a book called something like "Teaching your Baby to Read"... they claim that kids can learn to read in parallel with learning to speak - techniques in that book might help V. (NOT based on writing AT ALL)

 

[BusynMember]

It is VERY young to know if he has dyslexia. When I was six, I wrote completely backwards and left to right. If you held it to a mirror you could figure it out. I did not end up with dyslexia. It corrected itself and I was always a very good reader. This is NOT uncommon. He is just too young to know if this will change.

I would not label this yet with this. It is pretty good that at four years old he can write even backwards. I work with four year olds. Some can only scribble. Unfortunately, patience is sometimes our friend. I am a little disturbed (and this is in retrospect) that so many kids are not given a chance for their brains to mature a bit more before they are labeled in certain areas. HE IS FOUR YEARS OLD!!!! Gawd! A lot of the boys in our four year old class can not write their names well. Some girls can't either.

Honesty, back when I was a kid they took things more in stride and probably more k ids did not get help (including me), but in some areas, they rush too fast to say there is a problem in my opinion. Sometimes I wonder what they think a normal child is. in my opinion no two children develop at the same rate and girls are often faster in reading and writing.


Hugs and keep us posted!

 

[InsaneCdn]

MWM - the irony is, the kids that should get early intervention, are given the wait-and-see treatment... and the ones that should be wait-and-see, are jumped on. <sigh> Ours should have had intensive early intervention, and yes, it was subtle in kindergarten, but... he'll be paying a price for the lack of early intervention, for the rest of his life.

 

[TerryJ2]

Congrats!
I was all set to say that he clearly has measurable Learning Disability (LD), but then I realized he's only four, so as his brain and neurological issues mature, he may "grow out of" some of that. However, if he has true LDs, then you'll know by the time he's six. I know you want to know everything NOW and it's so hard, when you want to get an early start ... sigh.
You seem worried about protecting him, and I am wondering what the "teachers" or aides will do to aggravate him ... with that age group, most teachers are young and fun, so I would worry less about protecting him and more about making a plan.
It really does make a difference when it comes to the teacher.
Gosh, at age four, I would still be focusing on basic shapes, maybe one or two numbers and letters ... Also, a lot of kids memorize stuff at that age that makes them look like rocket scientists, and then they forget it in six mo's. So the idea is that they *can* memorize and that their brains *are* working, regardless whether they retain the information.
If that makes any sense.
I'll give you an example. I attended a party where the next-door-neighbors brought over their 3-yr-old daughter recited everyone in our gov't, back when Hillary Clinton was 1st lady, the Sec of state, vp,etc.
I ran into them 2yrs later. "Let's hear you name our top gov't officials."
Mom: "Oh, she doesn't remember those any more."

 

[buddy]

Quin uses an auditory trainer. Unlike a hearing aid there is no mic. on the aid and it can be worn with a soft tube that holds it by the ear canal so what comes thru the mic is louder than the background noise. Teacher or therapist wears the mic. Q wears his with custom earmolds to reduce sound around him further. It is called isense by phonak. Total cost was 2400$ but his waiver paid. In school they supplied their own. More like a typical hearing aid in that there is a mic on the receiver as well as the teacher wearing a mic. That is no cost because assistive technology is mandated.

 

[buddy]

Oh and I agree not to worry abt writing. I worked in preschool and kindergarten and no way do kids typically get that at 4 or 5 even. Until lots of slow practice etc. Q learned finally in 2nd grade. We used handwriting without tears which is not expensive and starts with large muscle movements and how they learn is really cool ...google search you'll get lots of hits. Our Occupational Therapist (OT) 's love it. Any kid can use it.

 

[BusynMember]

MWM - the irony is, the kids that should get early intervention, are given the wait-and-see treatment... and the ones that should be wait-and-see, are jumped on. <sigh> Ours should have had intensive early intervention, and yes, it was subtle in kindergarten, but... he'll be paying a price for the lack of early intervention, for the rest of his life.

InsaneCanadian, not everything is a disability. It is very common for kids to write backwards and up and down when they first learn to write. This doesn't mean they need early intervention or labels. I really think we have gone too far with labeling of children under seven. in my opinion it gets ridiculous. If there is obvious Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), yes, or other very severe behavioral issues. But t his is something that could have to do with maturity. the more I read and am on this site, the more I think that the normal things are often seen as disabilities that will last a lifetime, such as dyslexia. And it's often just not true. JMO and observation.

 

[SocRocks]

There is a lot more to dyslexia than just reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and it is not a visual problem. Midwestmom dyslexia is way more than just normal. Children with dyslexia have difficulty in learning to read despite traditional instruction, at least average intelligence, and an adequate opportunity to learn. It is caused by an impairment in the brain's ability to translate images received from the eyes or ears into understandable language. It does not result from vision or hearing problems. It is not due to mental retardation, brain damage, or a lack of intelligence. To have dyslexia you must have at least normal IQ. It can affect spelling, reading, and math. It does run in families. Two of my kids have dyslexia and they both have high IQ scores, but their reading is below grade avg.

 

[Ktllc]

Insane, the reading method you describe is called "whole language" reading method. You don't use the alphabet code, it's like sight words to the fullest extend possible: every word is a sight word. Most of the time kids learn through a mix method of whole language and phonics.
I have used the sight word method with V and funny thing: he only remembers words that he can relate to (names of family members, cow, chicken, cat, etc...). Any verbs, pronouns, etc he CANNOT remember despite his best effort.
The reason I want to protect him: when he "can't hear" he appears unfocused and if pushed becomes kinda rude. It's just that he is pushed to his limits. I don't want people to draw the wrong conclusion.
But true: we need a plan, not protection.
As far as his writing: I am not labeling him yet. He IS too young for that, I get it. But I do see it as a HUGE red flag. Even his drawing is not age appropriate. Without my help (directing him, reassuring that he CAN) he would only scribble. And he draws in every direction as well (upside down houses, or flowers, whatever we work on that day).
His birthday is coming soon as well: he is almost 5.
What makes me also think that there is an issue: he wants to learn. He really tries and he SO proud when I help him succeed. But if I'm not right there, helping him in every little step, then he really cannot do it... If it wasn't for the spatial issues, his letters are actually good enough for his age.
Buddy, I will check the isense and ask if it would be recommended. I'm thinking when we go to noisy places (restaurants, stores, school events) it might help V understand what is going on.

 

[BusynMember]

All I can say is, I read a little later than other kids and passed them up quickly and am an avid reader and writer today. I do think four is a bit much for the diagnosis of dyslexia. My daughter DID NOT have dyslexia and she had a terrible time learning to read, but she was already in third grade when she was finally diagnosed with a processing problem, which did not show up last year in her extensive neuropsychologist testing at age fourteen (she reads fine now, by the way). Different kids mature at different times. Now my daughter gained much through special education in reading, however her diagnosis completely changed. She has NO INDICATION of any processing problems anymore.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that four in my opinion is a bit young to diagnose almost anything, but certainly a good educator can help if a child seems to need it in certain areas. I started out here all gung-ho about labels and early diagnosis...and I am still in favor of early help. However, I've read about too many kids who were diagnosed XXX at age 4 and were suddenly diagnosed as yyyy at age twelve and it is not always a projection of what they showed while young. I think, just as we were not quick enough to help kids in my day, maybe we are too quick to say, "Aha! It's a problem with a name!" in this age. And maybe I'm wrong. But that is the conclusion I personally am starting to think as the years go by. Maybe we are overcompensating? Maybe I am just plain wrong? I don't know...