Update - Meeting with school psych etc re dd6 testing, behavior, way forward

[SKL]

Yesterday I got the school's brain dump and had a discussion. The testing indicated about average IQ (104) and average to above-average academic achievement in ALL areas. No weird outliers to speak of.

 

The psych and speech teacher had observed her in class and one-on-one, and agreed with my experience that she does great one-on-one in a quiet environment, but in class, doesn't look at or appear to listen to the teacher much. When the teacher is talking she is usually working on her own in a workbook, often on a different page than the rest of the class. Sometimes behind, sometimes ahead. Yet where class involvement is invited, she raises her hand so she can have a turn to read, and she does read from the right spot. Hmm.

 

They said she shows no emotions in school. No smiles, no frowns. Just wears the same blank face all day (excluding recess). Weird. That’s exactly how she is when she needs to get a shot at the doctor’s. Never a flinch; just living through it. I’m thinking she’s more stressed out at school than she lets on.

 

Behavior – it’s hard to say, but it seems the teacher filled out the behavior stuff long before I did, back in December when my kid was serving detention for stealing a candy cane. Teacher said she sneaks, steals, and does not appear sorry for doing wrong. These three items got her a high rating for aggression/defiance, oppositional defiance disorder, conduct disorder, etc. Teacher agrees that her behavior has improved greatly in recent months. So I’m not sure what to make of that. Maybe I should have declined the behavioral stuff, but in a way, it’s interesting to see what the teacher is willing to document re her opinion of my kid.

 

I told them I don’t want her missing any more recess or lunch, that they should send unfinished work home instead. After expressing offense at the suggestion that the teacher kept my kid from lunch (along with a tirade about my kid’s untrustworthiness etc.), and insisting that the lost recess is only 5 minutes max (which I doubt), they refused to send work home. They noted that sometimes kids get better grades on homework than classwork, making them think the parents are “helping too much.†I reminded them that some kids, like mine, actually do better work outside the classroom setting (which they observed themselves). However, I’m pretty sure I lost that battle.

 

Psych says the learning issue looks to her like APD and I heartily agree, but teacher seems to want it to be a character flaw. Sigh. The psych gave a few suggestions such as moving her chair (teacher has her in the center of the classroom despite telling me she'd move her to the front), giving her a task list to follow, putting her in a “cubicle,†etc. But the reality is, as long as the method of teaching is classroom lecture, my dd is not going to learn much that way, at least until maturation and therapy do their magic. So it’s going to be a long 7 weeks until the end of school.

 

On the positive side, the testing proved that my kid is appropriately placed in 1^st and is in not a candidate for retention. Here’s hoping for a better 2^nd grade year.

[Tiramisu]

Definitely, without a doubt, sounds like APD like me. And I think you're spot on about her being stressed.

 

And this is how I feel about that teacher :mad: or maybe even :cursing: . Why did she get into education if she doesn't seem to like kids or want to help them learn???

 

About the weird face, I've heard it can be depression but in my experience I'm likely to think anxiety. If you're in a situation where you're not quite sure what's happening around you because you don't hear it right, especially when you know there are things expected of you and you don't exactly know what they are, it's going to make you pretty nervous. My dd had one teacher who interpreted that as an attitude. She was the only person who ever felt that way about her and I think over time, it became clear to me that the teacher's interpretation said more about who she was than dd, if that makes sense.

 

Your post brought back a memory of one teacher telling us that dd was never on the right problem or the right page but she always got the problem right. :)

 

I can't say enough how great it is that you're on top of this, both the auditory issues and the emotional stuff :grouphug: .

[Terabith]

What is the plan for second grade?

[SKL]

What is the plan for second grade?

 

The school folks had nothing to say about the plan for 2nd grade. I did lay out what I was doing / planning to do so that my kid starts 2nd grade a lot stronger. We're completing primitive reflex therapy and listening therapy ("The Listening Program"). She's signed up for 9 weeks of vision therapy in the summer.

 

To do better on her graded work, given that she isn’t listening well, she needs to consistently read, understand, and adhere to written instructions. So that has been a focus of my afterschooling and will continue to be a focus of what we do in the summer. We’ll use some practice workbooks that I acquired that parallel the ones she’s using in school.

 

A developmental pediatrician recommended that she read a short book and then put it down and retell the story orally. Supposedly that exercises the part of the brain that does auditory processing. So we’ll do this a lot.

 

I’ll give her practice in listening to multi-step / detailed instructions and set some goals for improved listening in her extracurriculars etc. I have the “see it / say it / do it†book and related “organize it†materials, so we’ll see what we can do with that.

 

That’s all I can think of at the moment. Other suggestions are welcome.

[Tiramisu]

Another exercise we were told about is to put something in a bag so dd can't see it, have her put her hand in the bag, feel the thing, and describe it.

 

Simon.

 

Bop It.

 

Audio books. My dd has a weak processing side. We were told we could have her put an ear bud in that side and have her listen to audio books that way.

 

I don't know if you could as easily identify a weak or strong side without a sound booth, but it would be interesting to try. Usually, but not always, in young kids with APD, their right ear is better for processing. In a room with background noise, try speaking on one side and then the other and see which side "hears." Or, have two people talk, one on each side, and see which one they "hear." In a poor listening environment, dd won't "hear" on one side. It's helpful to know because it's better if the "good ear" faces in the direction of what she needs to listen to. Interestingly, if the "bad ear" faces in the direction of kids making noise in the back of the class, for example, dd won't necessarily be bothered by them. There's supposedly a researcher in Pittsburgh working on improving processing when one side is weaker.

 

Also, anxiety can make APD symptoms worse. It's just more interference in a system that's already disorganized. It's hard to work on anxiety when a kid's teacher isn't very understanding or nurturing, though. Grrr.

[SKL]

Tiramisu, that is very interesting! I would not have thought of a "good ear / bad ear" aspect. ... My kids do have Simon and Bop It, so we should try those. My dd will be happy to do that kind of therapy! ... As for the audio books idea, I wonder if that would work with her DS. Hmm.

[EKS]

My son has APD (in addition to dyslexia, ADHD, and visual issues). I think the single best thing I did to help him with it was to read aloud to him for at least an hour every day. Many days it would be 2+ hours. I found that by reading aloud rather than using audio books, I could gauge his level of understanding and slow my speech if needed during tricky passages. We never did any formal therapy for the APD other than trying Earobics for a while.

[Tiramisu]

Tiramisu, that is very interesting! I would not have thought of a "good ear / bad ear" aspect. ... My kids do have Simon and Bop It, so we should try those. My dd will be happy to do that kind of therapy! ... As for the audio books idea, I wonder if that would work with her DS. Hmm.

 

I don't know if all kids with APD have it or have it to such a significant degree as mine, but it would be cool to test it out.

[MomatHWTK]

Glyphs are good for learning to follow instructions:

http://www.abcteach.com/free/g/glyph_balloons_a.pdf