A hearing aid also amplifies the sound, correct? That in itself is a big difference. The filters do not amplify sound. They merely filter the background noises and are made according to the deficits of the wearer. So, another filter would not work with Riv because it's not made to her specifications. Yes - and even the Moms in the group are quick to say it's not a cure-all. Able Kids also recommend FM systems. I think it all depends on the patient. The doctor went over a list of accommodations for Riv, but since we homeschool, I admit I didn't pay close attention. lol That's a wonderful way to look at it. You are so right. We will be emailed a full report in 4-6 weeks.

A lot of people have said it is life changing. So, I'm hopeful it will be for her as well. Her CANS (central auditory nervous system) is still developing and will continue to do so until around 16. We could very well grow out of this by 16, but if not, at least we have a device to assist.

I don't know specifically which versions of APD are better for the filter. I do know that they test two parts of the brain - in a sound proof room, my daughter was able to correctly relay sentences with 90-100% accuracy. When she had a competing sentence in either ear, she was still able to relay with 90-100% accuracy. That accuracy dropped to 24% in the right ear and 16% in the left ear when background sounds were added. So, I would say that for sure a filter would work for Auditory Hypersensitivity. When I get the full report, I'll share it with you. :) I would think that for your son, it would help. In the group I'm in, the kids who seem to have a lot of sensory overload are the ones that the filter does best with since it regulates the input. This is the Facebook group I'm in. They're far more experienced than I am and could probably answer your questions more. We currently are not doing auditory therapy. We're only in speech (though they do work on multi-step directions), but due to the APD, she has some expressive language delays. Her grammar is atrocious. So, they're working on a lot of grammar skills. I discussed the possibility of the Buffalo Model or other therapies with the audiologist. She (after years of doing tons of different therapies) does not think that they help as much as the filter (and from all I'm reading online, the parents seem to agree). So, without really saying so, she kind of discourages the additional therapies. IF we do it, it would only be without the filter in place. But, we're going to see how she does with the filter for awhile. We'll definitely see how the filter affects her at church. It can be sensory overload for her and she has to wear ear phones to help with the noise. The dr said that even with the filter, she may want the headphones for a time (like a blanket for comfort), but eventually, she should be able to function without the headphones. With as young as she is, she may not be able to express the differences and I'm hearing that for some parents, it can be very subtle changes...until you don't have the filter. Then, you notice. So, we'll see. A lot of parents have seen that the ADHD symptoms go away completely as well. I'm hopeful!

Folger's has one as well - It's called Simply Smooth. My mom drinks it. It's not bad.

:grouphug: You'd think the doctors would have tested for that!

Thank you. :D Have I told you before that I grew up in NWA? (Assuming you mean, the Fay/Spring/Rogers/Bent area...)

Before going, I was in such a quandary. Like - Do I hope she has this so we can have a dx? Do I hope she doesn't so she doesn't have to deal with it? I didn't want her to have it, but I definitely didn't want to leave there without a dx. DH was very happy as well. It takes him awhile to really think things through and process, but he's happy we've gone and that we know at least a big part of what's wrong. There's still the potential for dyslexia, as we've talked about in other threads. But, we've at least taken two things off the table now. Yes, the differential was WITH the meds. I'm honestly curious how much of her issues are pure sensory overload from her "super hearing". Part of the test was listening to sentences with classroom background noises (rustling papers, pencils writing, the air conditioner blowing, etc) and per the doctor, it was quieter than her talking to us. She bombed that portion. She hears EVERYTHING too well. After the test, she was crazy hyper and DH had to take her across the street to the park while I finished up our meeting. The doctor said "That is incredibly common. Pure auditory overload right there. Almost all of our littles do that." So, I'm wondering how she will be after wearing the filter - will we actually need the meds? Are we medicating a misdiagnosis or does she still have ADHD? I'll be talking to her doctor once we get the filter and we might experiment a bit to see if she actually needs the meds or not. (APD is very frequently misdiagnosed as ADHD, usually inattentive, though. This also makes me question the SPD diagnosis.) We will probably not pursue any auditory therapies at this time. We'll continue with speech for her MRELD and her OT, but the audiology clinic has been tracking the data and the growth of almost 200 kids doing therapies vs no therapies and the growth is almost the same. She said that it's obviously up to us if we still want to pursue additional therapy, but she doesn't believe it's necessary. if we were going to do an auditory therapy like the Buffalo Model, FastForword, etc that we should take the filter out (basically so that if therapy doesn't help, the therapist can't blame the filter...which has happened). (She used to do a lot of different therapies like The Buffalo Model prior to working for Able Kids and she says that the filter has shown more progress than she ever saw with the others. And, I know the filter is their "thing", but the girl who was there before us was saying she didn't meet the requirements for a filter, so I know it's not a "let's give everyone a filter" type thing.) I'll have the actual report in 4-6 weeks. I took pics of what she showed us, but I honestly can't remember what all the numbers mean now! lol

We just got back from Colorado and kiddo DOES have Auditory Processing Disorder. Poor baby. She is correctly hearing MAYBE 50% of what we say. It's no wonder everything has been such a struggle. Anyway, this clinic has a filter that they produce themselves. It looks likes a musicians ear piece, but has a small white piece in it that is the actual filter. (description stolen from someone else) 1. It filters out high-frequency tones from the one ear that it is in. This helps with background noise. 2. But the big magic is that it slows down the input into one ear, balancing the input signal in time between both ears. One of the major causes for CAPD can be that one ear is hearing before the other, so by the time the signal from both ears meets in the brain, they are off in time by a microsecond. The ear filter corrects for this. **When she did a portion of the testing without the filter, she could only identify 56/100 words correctly. With the filter in her right ear, she had the same score - 56/100. However, when they put the filter in her left ear, she was able to correctly identify 92/100! So, Riv was a candidate for the filter and we should receive it in 3 weeks. She will wear the filter in her left ear. The audiologist said that after she gets the ear filter, we should see progress in quite a few areas. When talking to her about our struggle with the alphabet and sounds, she said, "Of course she can't remember the sounds or names. Up until now, she's probably only heard the correct sound or name every 3rd or 4th time. That makes it hard." I'm not expecting immediate and perfect improvement, but this is definitely a huge piece of the puzzle.

She and Riv need to meet ASAP!

This clinic is wonderful. They're some of the few who will test this early. It was a gamble to go since we didnt' have a previous diagnosis, but I don't think I will ever doubt my gut again.

Hi all - Haven't read all the days I've missed, but I hope everyone is well. Just popping in to give an update. We just got back from Colorado and kiddo DOES have Auditory Processing Disorder. Poor babySo, is correctly hearing MAYBE 50% of what we say. It's no wonder everything has been such a struggle. The audiologist said that after she gets the ear filter, we should see progress. "Of course she can't remember the sounds or names. Up until now, she's probably only heard the correct sound or name every 3rd or 4th time. That makes it hard." Anyway, this clinic has a filter that they produce themselves. It looks likes a musicians ear piece, but has a small white piece in it that is the actual filter. (description stolen from someone else) 1. It filters out high-frequency tones from the one ear that it is in. This helps with background noise. 2. But the big magic is that it slows down the input into one ear, balancing the input signal in time between both ears. One of the major causes for CAPD can be that one ear is hearing before the other, so by the time the signal from both ears meets in the brain, they are off in time by a microsecond. (Actually what's really going on is that there is more brain circuitry connected to one ear than the other) The ear filter corrects for this. So, Riv was a candidate for the filter and we should receive it in 3 weeks. I tell ya...this mama cried when all my gut feelings were validated. I mean, I knew I was right, but getting other people to listen? It's hard. I'm so happy to have an answer!

My daughter is near my teaching room, so I just move her into my bed. It's also darker in there, so she sleeps longer. I can teach with her in her room, but in case a student and I have too much fun (I can get loud just because I have a voice that tends to carry), I like her in the other room. With a good mic, though, you just talk at a normal level and it's no big deal.

I teach in a small corner in my guest room. And, like the others have said, you can definitely take vacation. You just don't open your spots. I'm not teaching again until Wednesday due to a trip. It's been the best decision I've made. I quit teaching due to a toxic environment and swore I'd never teach again, but randomly saw someone comment on VIPKID. I applied just to check it out and I've been teaching almost a year now.

Yeah, can't get it now. But, I'll talk to DH about it as soon as we get back from our trip to Colorado this next week. (One thing at a time with him - this trip for testing is costing a pretty penny too. Don't want to overwhelm him with this too. haha)

The school could test for the giftedness/IQ, but so can a neuropsych. The neuropsychologist would also be able to test for ADHD. I personally would go private. They will be able to give you more answers than a school psychologist would. That's the direction I would lean right now, especially since he's showing signs of boredom and is acting out as a result. The answers would be helpful for you, him, and the teachers. Also, poor kiddo! He's very smart if he's associating his own behaviors with the behaviors of another kid and hypothesizing outcomes.

I am so incredibly sorry for your loss.

I'm going to guess they gave him the CELF-5 or something equivalent. Those are more for receptive/expressive language. A good score on that does not mean "no APD." (Plus, there are 6 types of APD, so...) He could still have it, but you'd want a qualified audiologist to determine that. However, based on what you've said, it sounds more like he's a typical 5 year old (very intelligent and bored) little boy.

Mainer, Did you just purchase from Gander Publishing?

What test did she do? (Was it 3 hours long?)

He sounds just like my nephew. :) My nephew was doing planks at 3 mos old. It was crazy! My nephew is crazy smart and has a lot of the same things as your son. Inattentive, but not ADHD - "I learned this yesterday, can't we move on?" He ALWAYS knows the answers before the other kids, but they keep going over it, so my nephew zones out. Yup. Again, my nephew. lol His brain works differently and it's fascinating to see all he can apply to his thought process. I don't know, I'm new to all of this too, but I would probably look for a neuropsych to test my child and see what we're dealing with. I don't think you're dealing with ADHD, honestly, but time will tell. Also, I used to teach. I fully support teachers and all they try to do. BUT...sometimes, ADHD is the go-to for any kind of inattention - boredom, giftedness, simply being a kid, Auditory Processing Disorder, dyslexia... My friend just fought for 2 years to have the school district test her son. The teacher was adamant that he was ADD and needed to be put on medication. Even after a neuropsych said "there's no way", she kept having meetings to "put him on meds". It was ridiculous. Two years later, he is diagnosed with dyslexia. She was frustrated with him and just saw what she wanted to see. So, while I support teachers (within reason), I can't help but doubt her diagnosis that it's ADHD.

I'm confused by something (and I missed it if it was mentioned above)...who did the APD testing? An SLP? If so, I wouldn't rely on those tests at all. The ONLY person qualified for that type of testing is an audiologist and only an audiologist who specializes in APD. He's also quite young for the testing. The majority in the states will only test at 7years or older, sometimes 6 if there are continuing issues. Able Kids Foundation has developed their own picture-based testing for children under 7 (down to age 3), so testing CAN be done earlier if you find the right audiologist. Able Kids is in Colorado, so you have to be willing to travel. (We're actually leaving Saturday for Able Kids. Our appointment is Monday.)

Awesome! I was reading of several parents who did it at home, so that's very encouraging. The clinic owner also said she had no doubt I could implement it easily, so yay! I'll just throw that on the homeschooling list. :)

They aren't going to do it. I will be doing it at home. I just hadn't heard of FIS, so I asked the clinic owner what she knew. She hadn't heard of it, so she was going to do a bit of asking around and research to see what she could find out. She's confident I can do LIPS on my own.

That's what I was wondering since the SLP is pretty in touch with recent studies, materials, etc. I figured it must either be new or not that great.

Dd is unable to pass Barton's screening (she can pass section A/B, but C is too difficult at this time). Barton suggests LIPS or Foundations in Sounds. Has anyone used Foundations in Sounds? Our SLP clinic owner is going to research it, but I was wondering if anyone has first hand experience. :) It's supposed to be easier than LIPS to implement at home and it's cheaper, which I like, but I'm hesitant to purchase it over LIPS (recommended multiple times from multiple sources).