Speech Processing

Hi- You might look into having a central auditory processing evaluation done. This is performed by an audiologist-you will probably need a referral for your insurance. This may be of help in trying to figure out some of the underlying issues-often times ADD and auditory processing issues go hand in hand.

You need to see an audiologist. They will do a test to see if he processes information correctly. Sometimes kids will hear one word but not understand it. They do a test to see if the brain is processing information correctly. I took my son - we thought he had ADD or ADHD but it turns out that he is a little behind on the maturity level. Anyway - they did an Audio Processing Test - it was called a CAP test I think. That should determine if there is a problem and at least maybe help you deal with it. Good Luck to you.......

Ditto Ditto Ditto.. which means I am so there!!! My son has sensory issues as well and has a hard time with processing as well.. We just put him on Risperdal. This has helped him thus far. It is a Psychiatiric drug used for children with Autism. My son has not yet been diagnosed but is showing high signs of ADHD. In my experience with sensory is that, these children need more that ot in the school can give them ... they need serious pressure therapy ..I am not sure where you are with that or the extent of his sensory needs.
So with that information, I hope it helps but if you would like to talk more on this i am definately available. Feel free anytime to contact me.

Hi!!
my daughter was orig dx'd as adhd + communication issuess etc at 4.5 .. then at 9.5 she is dx'd as aspergers with adhd.
We knew something else was going on because , though she could speak clearly, she often had a hard time organizing her thoughts and getting them out...often mixing up pronouns and even answers to the simplest of questions at times.
NOw i am not saying thats what you are dealing with, but if you feel there is something else going on... follow your gut!!
If you have a medical center in your area, such as hackensack has the institute for child development , where they wil do extensive testing based on your observations & concerns , I would start there so you can get the big picture .

Hi H.,

I am a speech pathologist, but unfortunately work with the geriatric population, not children. But, it does not seem as if your grandson's difficulty and responses are normal. I saw the other response you received referring to the signs and symptoms of auditory processing disorder that you may want to look into, because it seems as if that could well define your grandson, and maybe ADD isn't the issue, or maybe not the full issue at least. I encourage you to have him seen by a speech language pathologist, either through the school system, or maybe privately through the hospital (or agency locally). I urge you to make sure the therapist has knowledge of the type of behavior your grandson is expressing because although we all have the same title, we don't all do the same things!

Good luck!

Has he had an evaluation for learning problems and a Speech Therapy evaluation? Your school district will provide these if you ask. (Although you may have to ask more than once.) I assume that he has; but if the Speech evaluation was more than a year ago, they may be willing to repeat it.
You may also want to consult a Developmental Pediatrician.
Also, if the Strattera is helping somewhat and not bothering him, you might want to ask your prescriber about increasing the dose. It is usually OK to go higher on the dose than was initially recommended by the manufacturer.

Hello H.,
I have a 5 1/2 year old high functioning autistic son. He did not speak a word until I found just the right pediatric neurologist who changed his meds. Though the diagnosis of his functions were correct, his meds and dosage were all wrong. We now give him Prozac. I did extensive research on this drug. There are absolutely no documented cases that would indicate any long term problems or addictions when it is used properly in the pediatric field. It does not solve all of our problems, but it DOES have the beautiful gift of verbiage. My son began speaking about 4 weeks after starting the new meds. Every day he not only comes out with new words, but words that dumbfound US!!! The context and appropriations are all correct. He even has a sense of humor. Who would ever have known!! Now obviously Prozac is not right for everyone or every case, but it does work for us. Just when we thought there would be no light at the end of our tunnel. Keep searching. Don't settle for one neurologists answers. I went through 12 doctors before I found one that understood I was not the one who needed his help...it was my son. He speaks directly to him as if he had no problems at all. My son responds to him like no other. There is hope. Just don't give up!!

UNfortunatly I don't have much time to write but after reading teh other responces I wanted to add my two cents. My son is also 5 1/2 and does simular things. After handing him a streaming cup of cocoa-"mommy please heat it up in themicroswave?" , after telling him to put his shoes on, brings them down teh stairs in his hands saying "all set mom". The example you gave is also common at our house. He has been hooked up with a speach therapist through the school system. At this time my son doesn't meet all teh criteria for the "autio proccessing or central processing lables", but at least we have support and ideas on how to help. Talk to the teacher and his ped and get a referral because those speach therapist are great resources!!

Hi Hilde

You have gotten some wonderful responses. Don't assume ADD is a disease. Sometimes it is a symptom, with a cause. If processing is a cause, then perhaps you will have a solution. In the meantime, why ask questions? Simply say when you are finished put your plate in the sink. Would that bring about less frustration? His frustration level sounds elevated, try to eleviate that while you work on appointments.
Don't discount allergy as a cause!!! Exercise using up the excess was helpful with ours.
God bless you and all you are doing
God bless this family and give them peace
SAHM of 4, 58 years, not a grandma yet.

I am very surprised that they have already made a determined diagnosies of ADD at so early an age. My son also has struggles and he is 9. I have been trying to get answers since he was under 5. He is not ADHD, and the focus issues were not helped and in fact seemed to be made worse by using Concerta. I am in the process of trying to have testing done - seeing neurologists etc. But, when I read your comment on opposites that was something that I had picked up on when he was just a tad younger than your Grandson - and I found it in some information I was looking at on dyslexia. Most people think dyslexia is seeing the letters in the wrong order which it is not. My son used to ask for the television to be made louder as it was giving him a headache or lower it as he couldn't hear it. Turn the light off so I can see its too dark. He doesn't do that much anymore but it does not mean that I don't think there could be a dyslexic component to his processing problems. I would do a search for information on dyslexia and see what you come up with and then take that info to your pediatrician and/or neurologist. I hope that you are fortunate to have a cooperative school system and are already equipped or in process of obtaining an IEP. We have been stuck in the BSI rut now since Kindergarten...It was wonderful in Kindergarten to have the teacher notice what I had and refer him for the extra help but he is now stuck in the limited amount of help that program can offer. Basically every year he gets a tad further behind as BSI is simply not enough.

I would google Music therapy and see if you can find a therapist in your area. Many kids with ADD and/or Auditory Processing disorder benefit greatly from this. The school system might also be able to provide this at no cost. it is usually under the Special Education umbrella.

Hi H. -

My son also has ADD, I've never heard of a situation like that, happening. Sometimes when they are that young, could be he is just not sure what he wants. Did this start when he started using the meds? Has it been something he did before?

With all the side effects of the meds on the market for ADD, we chose to go the natural route. Meds usually supress the problem, not cure. We have found over the past 8 years that switching our house to "green" and using chemical free products has had such a wonderful effect on our son's ADD/ADHD. He is no longer extremely hyper, doesnt lose is "temper" and have breakdowns, shutdowns or tantrums. His focus in school and grades have improved.

I would love to share what we did differently. You can email me at ____@____.com and I will send you some information.

Continue to trust your instincts. I have found over the years that a mother does know when their child is acting differently. This is one option to try something different. Chemicals in products can do a lot of strange things to our bodies!

Hi H.-
It sounds like teh Poor kid hass dyslexia...
I would definately get him to more specialists.
Talk toan Allergist, try to regulate his diet to see if something he's eating he might be having a a chemical reaction or allergic to without any real obvious "outside" reactions.
Work on speaking games and see if he answers them the same way. and keep a log/diary for yourse4lf and have him do one too. It's hard/frusterating to keep crossing out thoughts and re- writing. This should trigger him to "Think" about his responses.Try to stimulate him with a wide variety of activites. including being outside, It's never boring!
I don't know if this truely works with ADD children it does with children who want to respond and just "blurt" out something to be heard. It takes time. to see if it works.
HAs he had any head injuries as an infant...sometimes young head injuries can mimick the signs of other things and cause misdiagnosis in many people a year!
Good luck, Keep us posted!
J.

If you're grandson has been identified w/ a developmental/learning disability, he should be entitled to special education services through the school district where you reside. If he has not yet been identified, make a formal request in writing to the Committee on Special Education to have evaluations done in all areas. You are supposed to be a part of this whole process, and included in any progress reviews. Their are great Special Ed trainings that usually are offered through Parent Network, located @ 1000 Main St, Buffalo, @ the EPIC Bldg.

I have been through this w/ my daughter (now 33), and pre-Special Ed for my grandson. who just turned 4.

A nutritionist will be able to help. Does he have a lot of refined foods and sugar in his diet? My son has epilespy and could not be prescribed ADD meds amazingly diet was a critical factor for him focusing. My son would often say "I dont know" when he did. He did out grow that.

You might want to ask your pediatrician for a speech therapist. Also, I have a 14 year old son with ADD. We tried many different stimulant-type medications, which all had side effects, but didn't seem to help. My son is now on Focalin, which is a new class, and we've seen great results, so perhaps you should ask about that. There is also a terrific center which just opened called the Hallowell Center on West 72nd street, and they specialize in ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, etc. They are a great resource.

Best of luck,
K. mom of 3 kids, 14, 12 and 2 years of age

I didn't read any of the other reponses before writing this, so I don't know if you got this advice yet, but I would encourage wait time before he responds to anything, from anyone. You will need to prompt him to do this to begin with, but eventually he should be able to do it on his own. Tell him that he needs to slow down and think about his answer carefully before he responds and really pay attention to the word he is choosing, even if it is a simple yes or no question. Encourage him to slowly count to three while he thinks about it or something like that. Feel free to email me personally if you want to talk about it more!! Good luck and God bless you for raising your grandson!!

** I am now a SAHM, but in another life I was a special education teacher.

Have you tried helbal supplements instead of drugs. Talk to your pedi about trying this route. There is a great book out there called The Green Pharmacy. I use it all the time. But remember herbs are not regulated in this country, so I would talk to your pediatrician about it first and if they can't help you try to find a naturopathic doctor in your area.

Hi H.-
I read your request and you mentioned that your grandson sees an occupational therapist, did his pediatrician recommed the O.T.? You should call Early Start and ask them to evaluate your grandson. He may need speech therapy also. They can lead you in the right direction, just tell them your concerns.
Good Luck

My 10yo son is dyslexic and possibly ADD and I am an undiagnosed Adult ADDer and I am beginning to see issues with my 6year old. Because your grandson is so young a lot of what he is experiencing may be just developmental. Young children have these tendencies to reverse things up until and not limited to about age 7.

I recommend reading up on dyslexia, auditory processing disorder, and children with visual spatial learning styles. Most people don't know that ADD is directly related if not interchangeable with dyslexia. They tend to be 3Dimentional or picture thinkers so words and vocabulary can get mixed up when they are processing info. I at age 39 can not tell my left from my right!:) I have to consciously think about it every time.

Personally, I found that working with the understanding of how my sons brain works and accomodating that has been far more productive than medication.

I do believe in vitamin supplements very much and have helped my son enormaously too. Here are some links that may help you.

http://www.interdys.org/FactSheets.htm
http://www.dys-add.com/symptoms.html
http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/mag38.html
http://www.dyslexia.com/
http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm#Learning%20S...

Hope this is helpful best of luck

A.

Hi H.,
I'm a holistic health counselor. In part, I work with helping people with challenges through whole foods nutrition. Some children with ADD have undedected food allergies and disbiosis (which basically means that their intenstines are not functioning optimally for any number of reasons). If you have not gone this route, this might be something to consider. IF this is the origin of the challenge, your grandson may experience a complete reversal of his ADD behaviors and be able to come off his medication too. Wouldn't that be wonderful.
Bless, K.

Hi H.,

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/auditory.asp

What are the symptoms of possible auditory processing difficulty?
Children with auditory processing difficulty typically have normal hearing and intelligence. However, they have also been observed to

Have trouble paying attention to and remembering information presented orally
Have problems carrying out multistep directions
Have poor listening skills
Need more time to process information
Have low academic performance
Have behavior problems
Have language difficulty (e.g., they confuse syllable sequences and have problems developing vocabulary and understanding language)
Have difficulty with reading, comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary

Does this sound like your grandson?

M

Dear H.:

I would suggest three things and two of those are alternative approaches, seeing that he has had no luck with the ritalin based medications (which don't really work well anyway).

1. Get him to a childrens' speech therapist.

2. Find a homeopathic practitioner, possibly through
a wonderful website called HealthProfs.com

If you don't know about homeopathic remedies, I suggest
you do a search in your computer and go to a real good
health food store as well and ask there. There are no
side effects in homeopathic remedies. It is the only
remedies that even pregnant women can use safely.

3. Find a cranio-sacral therapist possibly through the
Upledger Institute.

Hello H.,
I am a speech pathologist as well, working with the pediatric population. Has your grandson ever had any traumatic brain injuries? This definitely sounds like a processing disorder, which can be caused by different things or just be neurological.

I encourage you to get a second opinion from another neurologist, see an audiologist that diagnosis auditory processing disorders (usually diagnosed after 5 years of age), and definitely see a speech pathologist. I would also look into possible allergies (never hurts and when that is the cause, it seems so simple with such powerful consequences). Where are you located? I may be able to recommend someone in your area privately, and/or you should definitely see what the board of education will offer.

Warm Regards,
C.