Free Webinar: "Solutions for Language and Auditory Processing Problems in Children with ADHD"

[kbutton]

This was in my FB feed today. I'm hoping it's fantastic.

 

http://www.additudemag.com/adhdblogs/29/11608.html#st_refDomain=www.facebook.com&st_refQuery=/

 

Webinar TODAY. If you register, you will get a link to listen to it later even if you don't attend the webinar today.

 

"In this free webinar, Martha Burns, Ph.D., will discuss:
1. How language and auditory processing overlap with attention in the brain
2. Why learning disabilities and ADHD often co-occur
3. The neuroscience behind brain plasticity and brain-based approaches to intervention
4. How to improve attentional skills, auditory processing and language, and learning disabilities through brain training"

 

Adding bio:

"About the Host

Martha S. Burns, Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and leading expert on how children learn. Director of neuroscience education at Scientific Learning Corporation, a joint appointment professor at Northwestern University, and a fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Burns served on the medical staff of Evanston-Northwestern Hospital for 35 years. The author of over 100 articles, three books, multiple book chapters, and the Pearson Assessment Burns Brief Inventory of Communication and Cognition, Burns speaks frequently on the importance of applying the science of learning in early childhood education, understanding the adolescent brain, and the K-12 classroom."

[WoolC]

This looks great! Thanks for sharing!

[PeterPan]

Bummer, I was busy today and missed it!  Be sure to tell us what you learn!  :)

[WoolC]

I really enjoyed the webinar. A lot of it was new to me, but I haven't done much research into auditory processing yet because I only suspect that we're dealing with it along with comprehension issues.

 

Anyway, she started off pretty heavy with the neuroscience behind language and auditory processing disorders. She showed the main sensory areas of the brain and how they all must mature so that an infant can build language, processing abilities and integrate information. These perceptual systems get mapped over time and build upon each other. If even one of these areas is weak it affects the development of others and so that is why you see these processing disorders along with adhd, ASD, etc.

 

She talked about how the brain's regions are connected, how using a region strengthens it, brain plasticity, etc and because of this they can be strengthened. Attention, working memory, auditory processing, language processing and sequencing skills are most effectively strengthened when you work on all of these processing systems together from the ground up through training exercises such as Fast Forward.

 

Practical suggestions for working on this at home included reading aloud and asking questions so that the child has to engage, playing games that target skills of attention, working memory, etc and making a daily habit to require the child to attend for a set of amount of time each day either to a conversation, book, etc.

 

Hope this helps for those who couldn't listen. I'm looking forward to hearing what others got out of this as well!

[PeterPan]

I wondered if it would involve a promo for FF, since it said FF was sponsoring the webinar.  ;)   So what was the jist of why FF would be useful, and how was she suggesting you would know if it would be useful?  Did she give alternative homemade ways to work on those FF skills?  

 

That's an interesting point about putting sequencing *together* with the other skills.  I hadn't thought of it that way.  Did she give examples of how to get that kind of integration?

 

I've heard talk that ADHD meds can make a *significant* difference in APD symptoms.  Did she discuss this?

[WoolC]

She didn't give a lot of practical suggestions beyond the reading aloud and recommending "brain training" programs in general. She did mention playing concentration games or card games that require attention and working memory. She really didn't give much info on the FF program either, other than to say it's like a video game with exercises targeting the different processing regions of the brain.

 

Her argument for brain training being useful was that the exercises target all of these different processings areas, which in turn increase attention. she talked briefly on distinguishing between a language processing disorder vs an auditory processing disorder by saying that the language disorder is more pervasive and affecting vocabulary, reading, comprehension, etc while a child with auditory processing issues are able to compensate in a lot of areas and usually just struggle with tuning out or comprehension. I think she recommended the FF type program for either issue though (I had kids running in at that point so may have missed some details here).

 

There was no discussion of meds at all. It seemed to mainly be an intro to understanding the latest neuroscience and how it can contribute to learning disabilities, without going into the solutions with any real depth. It was really interesting for me just because our ASD diagnosis is still fairly recent so I've been researching and tackling that but I'm just now starting to branch out and figure out some of the processing issues that go along with it.

[kbutton]

I didn't get to attend, and I'm waiting for my link. This sounds good. It also makes me feel better that maybe there is an overlap in what I can do with my son via therapies. For a while it was looking scattershot--just lots of potential things that may or may not go together  It also kind of explains why *some* things have gotten better seemingly without reason (I attribute some of it to piano lessons). 

[PeterPan]

Piano is really good.  On the other hand, just the fact that he can DO it is reflective of good things, kwim?  My dd struggled to read music and actually play, finally giving up.  She resumed at 14 and has slowly taught herself.  She can now peck out just enough to satisfy herself.  Ds I figured never would be able to, and the MT has this curriculum (Occupational Octaves) meant for ASD that has opened it up to him.  So to me, if someone can just sit down and take regular lessons and actually learn and do it like a typical child, that's FABULOUS.  I did, but it hasn't been in the cards for ds or dd, sigh.  

 

And I had that with dd, where I wondered for a good while if the reason she didn't test as dyslexic was because of SWR.  Obviously I'll never know.  However I do know that when I got in a situation with someone who was definitely absolutely POSITIVELY struggling with SLD reading, it was so qualitatively different that my struggles over wow, maybe she was borderline and I just masked it went away.  

 

I think sometimes it takes time to get to peace with these evals.  We're at what, a year since ds' first eval?  And I'm STILL just beginning to understand some things and piece things together.  It took me a couple years with dd to get full peace about hers.  I must just be a really slow learner, lol.  

[kbutton]

I don't think he would have been able to do piano if he didn't have OT first. He's extremely motivated. The piano teacher had to get really creative for the first six months or so as well--his hand strength was similar to what she'd seen in preschoolers, and that was post-OT. Older DS is taking lessons as well. I don't think he could've done it prior to VT. He plateaued in typing pretty quickly prior to VT and soared afterward. Our VT uses a lot of brain training and does tons of midline work. 

[Kat w]

Oh boy. I really would have wanted and needed to hear this. Does anyone have any links to a webinar or anything that I could even pay for (that's not to terribly expensive) on this?

I like NEED it. I am at a loss. Just when ya think ya have it all clicking along OK. Bam. Ya find out real quick...ya don't. Of ive learned anything its...expect the unexpected w these lil guys. I'm bout to seriously cry over here! :/ :)

[PeterPan]

Kat, are you trying to figure out how you can tell if there is an APD?  Our university will do very affordable evals.  Like $35 for a basic audiology plus the SCAN3 to screen.  Then, if you need the longer eval, well I don't know the cost.  But since their basic is a fraction of private, I'm guessing the full APD eval is similarly low.  Supervised, seemed to be good enough here, and affordable.

[kbutton]

On the topics of ADHD and CAPD, I found this today and found several slides to be really helpful: http://drkevintblake.com/live-seminar-updates-from-january-2012-on/

 

It talks about how the overlap is not really overlap. You have one, the other, or both, and outside of attention and distractibility, the symptoms are truly distinct. A booth test is the only real way to know for sure about CAPD. I did find several slides (in the early 40's by number) to be helpful in talking about accommodation and remediation (will be bringing them to the school ETR/IEP meetings).

[Kat w]

OhE. Yea. He has that. He was tested at the children's hospital here. I should have gone to the teaching hospital who has a fabulous rep and my old neurosurgeon 'retired' to go teach there. He was sought from people from other states. I feel very comfortable with them. I should have done that and will do that in the future for anything I can.

 

I couldn't even pull this up and thought it might have more info. I'm in seeking info mode. Had a major revalation here last week about my youngest.

 

They both have APD just did not fully understand and grasp the depth to which my youngest was affected by it.

 

While my older one was hiding under tables , not wanting to leave the house ,punching ( that one before meds) , etc. The younger one...though he appeared to be progressing and doing well through that progression...actually? Knows diddly squat. :/ and what I thought was obedience issues I've discovered over the last month are actually....APD and other issues. Yikes!

 

So now I'm scrambling . collecting all the usefull info I can on what to do or how to most effectively attack this issue.

 

I tell him. Go close the door. He stands there and looks at me. Completely confused at what I've just said . I've monortered and documented this for about 3 weeks now. Looking back over my notes. Yea. I'm in deep kimchi here lol.

[Kat w]

K button thank you for the link. I will pull it up later.

 

I do need to have this all done again I'm thinking. This time at the university. Thank you OhE for pointing that out. Do not know why it didn't occur to me sooner.

 

Ouy' . too. Many. Balls. In. The. Air

[kbutton]

I tell him. Go close the door. He stands there and looks at me. Completely confused at what I've just said . 

 

I am a little confused because you're talking about two kids, I think, but in general, look at the report again to see what areas are worst. Don't expect him to take in spoken language at a normal rate, so speak more slowly, or make more pauses/use shorter sentences. You'll have to play around with what works in that regard. My kiddo with CAPD can't listen and Do Anything at the same time either. Changing those two things makes a really big difference while we're sorting out all the problems.

[Kat w]

Thanks kbutton. True. I do speak of them both alot.

 

I am guilty of not speaking slow enough and having him repeat it to me. Boy. Simple everyday tasks doing it that way, though I know I need to, become very exhausting .

I just did not realize the younger one needed that to the extent that he obviously does. New revalation. Really thought it was obedience issues and just flat out, not wanting to do school jus cuz.

 

The PS missed alot with this lil one. Alot. The VP even asked about it when he got in trouble one day, and this child never acts out at home. Ok barely ;) but at school. All different child.

[PeterPan]

Not that you have to, but you have the option to go into your control panel here on the forums and add a signature.  Then you can specify your kids, what you're doing, whatever.  Helps with keeping things straight.  :)q

[Kat w]

On. That's a good feature. Yes. I'll work on figuring that out later today. Less confusion.

Thanks :)