Shot in the dark - Auditory Processing Disorder

Anybody dealt with this in a child? My daughter's speech therapist brought this up to us. Just wondering if any parents have any real world experience with this. Thanks.

 

Actually my nephew just got diagnosed with this. Sorry, no more info than that right now. Never even heard of it before a week ago.

 

Yeah, me neither. Lemme know if you hear anything and I'll do the same.

 

Putter,
I have a student who has been diagnosed with this. I have worked closely with the parent and our special ed teacher. It does not make the student eligible for special education services, but we have the student on a part 504 plan to meet the specific needs. I have a bunch of test results and reports as part of the 504 paperwork. There are a lot of descriptions of the characteristics in there that I can share with you. It tends to manifest itself as the same descriptors as ADD. I also have the names of some of the places that did the testing and diagnostics on this student.

Hit me up with a PM if you want to keep it private and I will share with you what I can or just reply on here if you think it might be of interest to others on here. I can also give you some ideas that you can share with her teachers and principals. Our student is doing very well due to the care and attention from his parents and the easy accommodations put in place by his teachers. It is worth noting that due to personality differences between his teachers and the content area, one teacher has a much easier time with the accommodations. This is a very real condition that isn't easy to diagnose, but once identified isn't that hard to accommodate in a regular classroom or at home. I am also sure that this parent would be more than happy to talk with you about this. She is a physician and just that kind of a person.

 

My son has a version of this. Words go in and come out different. At first we thought it was cute when skunks became Stunks, saurkraut became sourcrap, and my fathers' Lincoln became Pap-paps Lemonsene. At school he couldn't make sense of what the teacher was saying, they thought he was "slow". We took him to Bloomsburg University where they have a leading auditory program to get evaluated. Once we knew the score we got the school to start giving him written instructions. He now has a Masters degree in EE....Don't let them take the easy way out, make sure to get a good evaluation by experts.

 

Ken, was this when you were in Minnesota? Kaitlyn has a speech therapist and she brought it up to us. So I don't even know what questions to ask yet. Have you heard anything about this condition being more prevalent in preemies? I'll take any info you've got.

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Thank you sir.

 

Thanks for the reply. All of that sounds very familiar. Horrible concentration, trouble enunciating, and having to write things down for her. She gets focused on one task and sometimes I have to say her name four times to get her attention. We have some calls in to see about getting her tested and if insurance will cover the tests (doesn't look like it). Glad things worked out so well for your son!

 

If anyone suggests medication, ignore them.

 

Her doctor brought that up when she was struggling in the early grades. We said no and got her started in speech and physical therapy.

 

If you need help with a certain area, the Mrs. is a reading coach and helps kids with everything from comprehension to retention on a day to day basis. It's absolutely NOT special education. It's more resource and alternative and specialized teaching methods.

I will second the thought on medication because what she is going through needs special attention, not medication. Down the road, she may need medication to help counteract certain things, but my philosophy (I am ADHD) is to learn to beat the problem so as an adult you can function without it.

 

Thanks Ben. I'll reach out when the time comes.

 

Anytime buddy.

 

Its actually something that is easy to misdiagnose. On at least three occasions over the last 10 years we have discovered this when doing behavioral plans for what were thought to be ADD students. Sadly, I have to hand those cases off because we focus on behavioral issues related to autism. I wish I could offer some help. Good luck.

 

This.

My 4 yr old goes virtually catatonic when she's into whatever she's doing. She goes full catatonic when the idiot box is on.

Putt-Slut, if there's anything you need, let Sarah know.

 

How am I gonna handle the teenage years?

 

We'll set up a play date. Man, that sounds ghey.

 

Thanks man.

 

Once it has a name drugging kids makes for a lucrative investment portfolio.

 

Putter,
This a current student here in Alaska, so I am in the middle of it.

Like was pointed out, this is sometimes confused symptomatically with ADD, since the appearance is much the same. It is as the name describes, an auditory processing issue. What your daughter hears, is not what you or I would hear and this presents problems not only with her understanding what was said, but also trying to understand why what she heard is different to her. As far as I know, this is not a medication kind of issue at all and should not even be considered. The accommodations that we are making for our student are fairly simple. Such things as allowing extra time for thought and processing, making allowances for note taking including use of electronics like a laptop or tablet, Giving the student content and vocabulary in advance so they can work on it at home. Giving less homework especially if it is repetitious, working specifically on following multi-step spoken directions and working on compensatory skills, such as vocal or sub-vocal repetition. The teacher needs to develop a relationship with your daughter so he/she is always aware of how she is doing so she can provide repetition or clarification or time to work. It is also likely that your daughter will suffer from auditory fatique as she tries to make sense of the noises she is hearing. She may need to physically remove herself from the noisy environment or use some noise cancelling headphones, earplugs or earbuds. All of those will tend to make her stand out from her classmates and needs to be handled well and immediately by her teacher. This is an area where advice from the special ed teacher and the school counselor may prove useful given their possible expertise in this area. If this becomes an issue, I can possibly help with that as my wife is my school counselor and I am working with the best special ed teacher I have ever had.

I would wish you luck, except luck has nothing to do with it. This is simply a difference to be worked with and you will get positive results by being a strong advocate for your daughter with her teacher and the administration. When it was brought to me as the principal it was a simple matter of what do we need to do to have this student be successful. If that is not the immediate response you get, take it straight to the next highest level in the school or the district.