Does this sound like an Auditory Processing Disorder to you? (or something else)

[mykdsmomy]

Ds10 was born at 26 weeks gestation. As a result of his prematurity he is legally blind and has some mild cerebral palsy. (His fine motor skills are lacking and he is unable to write very well or open jars (that are tight), or button small buttons, etc. He also is very tactile defensive.

 

He has always been very articulate and was reading when he was 4! He is very smart :)

 

Here is the problem. For the last few years, we have noticed that he loses focus, cannot complete a task unless I'm right there talking him through it. He can't handle outside stimuli or he just can't focus on anything. He was just evaluated by an OT and has definite impairments in sensory processing.

However, the bigger piece to the puzzle is that he simply cannot come up with a sentence or answer to any question that uses his recall ability. If he reads a paragraph in a book, and I ask him what he read, he cannot even begin to give me an answer. However, if I ask him a specific question, he can answer it (like what was the name of the character, etc).

Today for grammar, he had to come up with a story that he has heard (ANY story) and write some adjectives about the characters. He could not come up with a story. Then I asked him what book he was reading this morning (Harry Potter). He couldn't answer me. Finally when I said "You were reading Harry Potter", he said "No, I was reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's stone". He couldn't think of the whole title so he didn't think to give me just a partial answer.

He also is VERY literal.

The other day when we were talking about his problems with coming up with ideas for writing, etc. He said "It's like a maze in my brain that dead ends". :( When I said that back to him in question form, he corrected me and said "That's not what I said", then he went on to say the exact same thing :confused:

I made an appt. for him to see an Audiologist in a few weeks. They are going to test him for CAPD. He will also be getting a speech and language assessment through the school district (he is in K12 virtual academy).

Anyway, does it sound like CAPD or maybe something else? For the longest time I thought he was just arguing with me just to argue but he's actually just not understanding what we're saying or he hears it differently.

[gardenmom5]

It sounds alot like sensory processing disorder. the literal, rigidity, etc. that frequently has auditory discrimination issues. Partly it is develolpmental in that the two-sides of the brain aren't communicating adequately with each other.

 

I'm currently doing tomatis listening therapy with three of my kids (at least my oldest can pay for it herself.) who have auditory hypersensitivity, and auditory discrimination. The provider does two different types of auditory testing - the standard "hearing" one, and a bone conduction test. It's how those two results relate to each other that their treatment is based upon.

[emonline]

I suppose it could be auditory processing -- but, honestly, it doesn't sound like a typical CAPD issue to me. Most with auditory processing issues are missing the whole thing (that is, they cannot answer the big question, but they don't know the answer to the more distinct questions either). I would think it is more of a language issue, Obviously, he doesn't need a speech eval, but the language component might be helpful. I know that with some language issues, the children are extremely literal, have trouble drawing conclusions (that is, the cannot see the big picture), can't sequence properly, and don't understand humor.

[HeidiD]

I made an appt. for him to see an Audiologist in a few weeks. They are going to test him for CAPD. He will also be getting a speech and language assessment through the school district (he is in K12 virtual academy).

Anyway, does it sound like CAPD or maybe something else? For the longest time I thought he was just arguing with me just to argue but he's actually just not understanding what we're saying or he hears it differently.

 

Maybe. The only way to know for sure is to have the testing.

 

The speech/language eval has been a prerequisite for CAPD testing for both my kids. We had them tested by different SLP's, and being a total neophyte, I was amazed at the difference between the evaluations. So - lesson learned. :)

 

Son #1 received a cursory eval that lasted under an hour with a few very basic tests (including reading). SLP's anti-homeschool bias was so evident that I decided to take son #2 elsewhere (a major childrens' hospital). The contrast between the 2 evals was striking. Son #2 was evaluated for at least 4 hours combined over two days. The array of tests was wide and covered language issues of all kinds as well as comprehension, working memory, auditory commands, reading, spelling, written language, etc.

 

With the concerns you've described, I think a thorough and extensive evaluation is what you need to get your questions answered.

[mykdsmomy]

It sounds alot like sensory processing disorder. the literal, rigidity, etc. that frequently has auditory discrimination issues. Partly it is develolpmental in that the two-sides of the brain aren't communicating adequately with each other.

 

I'm currently doing tomatis listening therapy with three of my kids (at least my oldest can pay for it herself.) who have auditory hypersensitivity, and auditory discrimination. The provider does two different types of auditory testing - the standard "hearing" one, and a bone conduction test. It's how those two results relate to each other that their treatment is based upon.

 

I'm going to look into that, thanks!

 

I suppose it could be auditory processing -- but, honestly, it doesn't sound like a typical CAPD issue to me. Most with auditory processing issues are missing the whole thing (that is, they cannot answer the big question, but they don't know the answer to the more distinct questions either). I would think it is more of a language issue, Obviously, he doesn't need a speech eval, but the language component might be helpful. I know that with some language issues, the children are extremely literal, have trouble drawing conclusions (that is, the cannot see the big picture), can't sequence properly, and don't understand humor.

 

I think his sequencing abilities are fine. He also understands humor of all kinds (my husband's humor is VERY dry and he gets it fine).

 

He does tend to take longer to answer the specific questions but can *usually* answer them with some thinking. It also depends on the context.

 

 

Maybe. The only way to know for sure is to have the testing.

 

The speech/language eval has been a prerequisite for CAPD testing for both my kids. We had them tested by different SLP's, and being a total neophyte, I was amazed at the difference between the evaluations. So - lesson learned. :)

 

Son #1 received a cursory eval that lasted under an hour with a few very basic tests (including reading). SLP's anti-homeschool bias was so evident that I decided to take son #2 elsewhere (a major childrens' hospital). The contrast between the 2 evals was striking. Son #2 was evaluated for at least 4 hours combined over two days. The array of tests was wide and covered language issues of all kinds as well as comprehension, working memory, auditory commands, reading, spelling, written language, etc.

 

With the concerns you've described, I think a thorough and extensive evaluation is what you need to get your questions answered.

 

What type of evaluation did the hospital do for your son? More specifically, what type of Dr./therapist administered/interpreted it? I would love for my ds to have a thorough evaluation. He's had a few done through the school district (basic tests for cognitive ability, etc). He's also been seen by a Neurologist but she was testing his gross and fine motor ability more than anything else.

[HeidiD]

 

What type of evaluation did the hospital do for your son? More specifically, what type of Dr./therapist administered/interpreted it? I would love for my ds to have a thorough evaluation. He's had a few done through the school district (basic tests for cognitive ability, etc). He's also been seen by a Neurologist but she was testing his gross and fine motor ability more than anything else.

 

The person who did it (MS, CCC-SLP) is a Coordinator of Speech Pathology Services at a major childrens' hospital. She is experienced in assessing for CAPD, and as you can see by this array of tests, there is a lot of useful info to be gleaned not only in regard to some kind of diagnosis, but also to help you design an appropriate curriculum.

 

List of Tests:

 

Peabody Picture Vocab Test - 4

Expressive Vocab Test - 2

WRAML 2:

Story Memory

Number Letter

Sentence Memory

 

Clinical Evaluation of Language- 4:

Word Classes - Receptive

" " - Expressive

 

The Fullerton Languange Test for Adolescents

 

Listening Comprehension Test Adolescent:

Main Idea

Details

Reasoning

Vocab and Semantics

 

Test of Language Competancy - Expanded Edition:

Ambiguous Sentences

Listening Comp - Making Inferences

Oral Expression - Rewriting Sentences

Figurative Language

 

Test of Word Reading Efficiency:

Sight Word Efficiency

Phonemic Decoding Efficiency

 

Gray Oral Reading Tests:

Rate

Accuracy

Fluency

Comprehension

 

Test of Written Spelling

 

Test of Written Language:

Story Writing Task