I am a speech pathologist and parent of 3 boys. I would recommend an evaluation for auditory processing. This can be done at the Hearing Conservation in Camarillo. You may need to have an assessment plan from his school, or a recommendation for it from his teacher, speech therapist or his pediatrician. HIs school probably doesn't want to do an evaluation because he is not falling far enough behind in his classwork. Good luck!
Yes, there is such a thing as a processing problem. The ears work fine and the brain works fine but the connection between the two gets fuzzy. I am constantly having to look people in the face and can't hear anything in a noisy room. I have to ask people to repeat things or it takes a second or two for me to decifer what they said before I get it.
Talk to your doctor about it. My mom was evaluated last year and they told her that if caught in childhood there are things they can do to help but if you let it go it can't really be helped in adulthood.
As a former teacher and now a SAHM of a 4 and 2 year old, with #3 on the way, my knee-jerk reaction is that he wants attention. Children who aren't receiving the attention they need (every child varies)will resort to negative tactics. Don't take it personally, if this is the case, just realize he has greater needs, perhaps.
Good luck
It is possible he is telling you the truth. If you asking him
over tv set on or computer games or just distraction in the
home or yard he may not hear you or understand. Just make
your comment to him up close and with eye contact in a gentle
but firm voice....he will get it. If you have to yell then
you know he is telling you the truth, kids hate being yelled
at, they truly want mom not to yell or get mad because they
did not get it the first time. And again..7 years old sounds
like nothing abnormal here.
(just look back when you were little)
My Best
Hi
If you have checked him out physically and everything is fine I would say you just might be on the money with this one.
It sounds like a processing order to me.
I have a son with autism and work with many families who have children with different disorders.
Is there anything else about him that worries you?
Something you can try is having him read a story or book at his appropriate age level, ask him questions about what he has read and see if he answers them correctly.
Secondly, YOU read him something out loud, ask him questions about what was read and see if he answers correctly.
We all have different ways of learning.
He might be a visual learner. (For instance, he can follow a movie because the moving picture tells the story, but if you read the book of the movie to him out loud he couldn't follow it as well)
This by the way would describe not only my son but me!
Have you talked to his teacher? Does she notice anything.
All I can say is, a mother KNOWS. If you think something is going on. IT IS. Processing disorders can be helped, no worries!
Best,
Christine
This seems like a silly question, but did your son stand and walk before 12 months old? If his crawling time was limited, this will deeply affect communication between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Did he ever have a very high fever (over 103F), have a traumatic birth (C-section, forceps, vacuum), did he ever have a concussion or fall from a bed of high chair. Any of these could cause processing problems especially if you have tested his hearing and so forth. It woul dbe in your best interest to consult your local chiropractor to have his nervous system evaluated for intereference between the body and the brain.
If you need a referral, please contact me. Vera: [email protected]
Who did the testing for the ADHD? If it was the school district then request a second opinion from an OUTSIDE consultant. If the school district gives you any flack then you need to consult a local support group or an attorney. My son had problems from an early age with chronic ear infections, ruptured ear drums, allergies, etc. He was a nonverbal three year old and qualified for special education. His speech problems were thought to be related to his hearing problems, which were corrected by the age of four. HOWEVER, he had other problems, such as gross motor skills problems, lacking of social skills, etc. THe SCHOOL DISTRICT misdiagnosised him. We finally got a diagnosis from a private psychologist that specialized in children. It turned out that my son was high functioning autistic with ADD (without hyperactivity) and his hearing problem just made his ability to speak worse. He still has fine motor skill problems as an adult, but he is functioning well as adult and attending college. DO NOT RELY ON THE SCHOOL DISTRICT! They are not always looking out for the student but thinking of $$ first. Some districts are better than others. How do I know? I worked for a private psychologist who specialzed in disputes with school districts all over Southern California. I had all my battles in the 1980s amd 1990s so I don't know the current support groups in your area, but I bet you can find out online. Good luck.
Yes, seek help - it couldn't hurt. My kids are small, but I had speech therapy for both of them for various reasons and I think that to err on the side of doing too much is always prudent, especially when they are using those skills to learn. Ask your ped and your son's school how to proceed.
My son also displayed these kinds of symptoms when he was younger. He is now fourteen. We had him tested by a private speech therapist. It was a minimal test and did not get very specific but definately showed that he had an auditory speech delay. In other words, it would take him a few extra seconds to process what had been said to him. My concern at school was that he would still be processing what the teacher had just instructed the kids to do and then move on to the next instruction. All the while he would still be thinking of the first task when the teacher was already on task 2 or 3. Ask his teacher how he is at school also.Your son can be tested by the school system. You need to put your request in writing and submit it to his school just asking verbally is not always enough.
Dear Roberta,
Yes, I would continue looking for someone to talk to who will really listen to you and take this seriously. You have the right idea about needing to get to the bottom of this. Try a psychologist, and not a school psychologist either - look in the yellow pages and call the American Medical Association in your local area for guidance about finding a child psychologist.
....and what about some of those great private schools who help children learn to study and so forth. My dear friend worked with one of the for a while and she said that they were really competent and serious about helping children.
Carolyn N.
Hello. I am a first grade teacher. I'm not an expert on speech processing disorders. But, the best thing to do is if you're in a public school, have him referred to the speech pathologist. They will do testing. Just keep on top of it. The school will do something if you are the one requesting and not the teacher. Best of luck.
My son had that problem when he was 6. His ears weren't draining properly so he had to have tubes put in. Everything he heard was muffled so he mispronounced words and had a hard time hearing. Take him to an ear, nose & throat specialist to make sure before you take him anywhere else. He's fine now that did the trick and the surgery is simple.
You can get his tested for free through your school distrct. Both of my boys are special needs, ODC and ADHD and the school district was able to test them and assign them IEP's (individual education plans) to hopefully help with their education and future sucess.
Hi!
I'm a speech-language pathologist. I would recommend that you have him evaluated by a speech-language pathologist; either at school or at a private clinic. They can do testing to help figure out what's going on. If his school won't pick him up for testing or treatment, you can talk to your Dr and ask for a referral to a speech-language pathologist; hopefully your insurance would pick up the expenses.
Good luck!
For effective, convenient and affordable instruction using the Lindamood-Bell® programs, consider Reading Boosters. www.readingboosters.com
I am so grateful to everyone who responded. It’s nice to know that my feelings/intuition are justified. My husband and I have decided to file an IEP with our local school (since my child attends a private school) and work on getting an assessment through them. Thanks to everyone for sharing your stories and advice.