DD8 with speech and processing issues...

[KYHokiemom]

My dd8 has had articulation issues and started speech therapy this past August. She would also mix up syllables in words and she skips words often, if not always, when she reads. I thought she was just reading too quickly. She has a lot of difficulty expressing what she is thinking. I always thought she was just my quieter, soft spoken child, but now I am wondering if she just can't get her words out. As our reading selections have gotten longer (but definitely not past grade level), she seems to struggle more with comprehension. She just doesn't seem to grasp the reading even when I explain it to her. I'm just not sure if something is wrong, if it's my teaching or if I need to switch around curriculum. She loves to sing, but is very quiet in her choir class and struggles to keep up with her peers with pitch and lyrics. Another side note - she also picks at her fingers a lot and seems to be in her own world.

 

Anyways, any insight would be really appreciated. Just wanting to go down the right paths for dd's sake. TIA

[ElizabethB]

I like this website for teaching the speech sounds:

 

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#

 

You might want to try Webster's Speller with her, the focus on syllables is helpful for students with speech issues.

 

Also, here are some books divided into syllables, once she learns the syllabary from Webster's, they should be helpful.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/syllabledividedb.html

 

Many of my students whose parents or teachers thought they had comprehension problems actually had a lack of phonics knowledge. You really need to have the phonics basics over-learned to be a good reader, some people take a lot more repetition to get the basics learned to automaticity. (My daughter is this way for addition facts! We just bought a flashmaster after some recommendations here, that's helping some.)

 

I'm sure other people will have more ideas, that's just what I've picked up from working with my remedial students.

Edited December 10, 2008 by ElizabethB

[dtsmamtj]

Our son has Central Auditory Processing Disorder so we are using Megawords to work on syllables,etc. We are also using Word Roots to help with vocabulary. We are coming at the comprehension issue a couple of different ways right now using verbal questions that I ask after reading a chapter in his book, then we also work on a specific comprehension workbook by the same company that does the Word Roots. I have found other helps over the years at Linguisystems and Super Dooper. HTH

 

T

[KYHokiemom]

So, are your children at grade level or below or thriving? DD8 seems to have hit a wall. Are your dc in any kind of therapy? I guess I'm trying to grasp if this is a LD with more needs or just a bump in the road. Thanks.

[dtsmamtj]

Our son (age 11) hit a brick wall at about age 9 because things became more "abstract" in thinking out his school work. He is currently on par with math for the most part, but delayed (making great progress though) in language and writing. He has been in speech therapy for not quite 1.5 years now. We are on our way out though due to potential cut backs of my husband's job. Our therapist has said that she is willing to see us when we need to be seen so that way if I can't figure out a way to help him learn something she is there as a back up. I guess to answer your question for us it would have depended. We hit MANY bumps in the road, but when I couldn't get past the bump after trying many different things I went looking for some help. It was at that point that we found out that he had a "hearing" problem - actually it is understanding what he hears/reads. His regular hearing is great. Right now my "major bump in the road" is communication with others - teaching him to be able to have a conversation with someone.

 

 

T

[DebonLI]

Our daughter is 8 and in 3rd grade. She has PDD-nos ( just to give you an idea of what we're dealing with...it's really a garbage can type diagnosis) with big language delays, a diagnosed auditory processing disorder and sensory issues. She's also an international adoptee which may have something to do with it all. Anyway...1st and 2nd grade went pretty well but we hit big speed bumps this year. I realized she didn't realize what she was doing in math but was just using a great memory to do the math work. We put her back in ST, changed math to Making Math Meaningful which uses manipulatives, laid off the textbooks for science and are using the WTM approach and started using SRA's Language for Learning which is helping her with basic concepts.

 

This and ALOT of prayer are producing progress. I knew that 3rd grade can be critical in these situations and sure 'nuff...it was. At first I was very discouraged but decided I would be happy that we were able to see her weaknesses so we could address them. Better know now than later.

 

Prayer, patience and perseverance are in order.

 

Hope this is useful,

Deb on LI

[newlifemom]

Deb on LI

 

How is LI? I can't believe that I miss it so. Mostly the people. We moved 6 mos ago and whenever I meet anyone from around there I get so excited.:D

 

BTW, Ds was quickly dx with PDD/NOS. Haven't done full work up. Had a feeling that 3-5 grades might be a wall. Will look out for this thanks.

[EKS]

A couple things come to mind. First, dyslexia can cause the problems you are describing with reading and verbal expression. Auditory processing disorders can contribute to articulation issues (they mishear and therefore pronounce words incorrectly), reading issues, and problems with music. Visual problems can contribute to the reading problems that you describe.

 

So, I would first get a developmental vision exam. This is not a regular eye exam but is done by a developmental optometrist where they look not only at acuity but also tracking and other things important in reading. Also, I would recommend that you take a look at the books Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz and When the Brain Can't Hear by Teri James Bellis to see if anything in them matches what you know about your daughter. And finally, the book The Mislabeled Child by Brock and Fernette Eide is a great guide to sorting things out when your child seems to have many things going on.

[cillakat]

My dd8 has had articulation issues and started speech therapy this past August. She would also mix up syllables in words and she skips words often, if not always, when she reads. I thought she was just reading too quickly. She has a lot of difficulty expressing what she is thinking. ........she seems to struggle more with comprehension. She just doesn't seem to grasp the reading even when I explain it to her

 

 

I'd get a full psychoeducational battery from an educational psychologist. It sounds like possibly a language based learning disability. 'in her own world' can sometimes be a more common expression of adhd in girls (though plenty of girls have the hyperactivity component as well).

 

All the best,

Katherine in atl

(who's dd9.5 definitely has the "H" in the ADHD...along with dyslexia and dysgraphia....but not a language based ld generally speaking)

[cillakat]

Many of my students whose parents or teachers thought they had comprehension problems actually had a lack of phonics knowledge.

 

I definitely think that's more common than most realize. The red flag for me in the OP's case though is that even once she explains it to her daughter, her daughter still may struggle with comprehension. Also the difficulty getting her thoughts out. Those things indicate more than just a reading issue.....(though that can be part of it....even in kids who seem to read fine at the current level)

 

:)

K