Posted by SuperADDMom on May 24, 2010
All nighter drive in weekend.
Our local drive in is wonderful, I love it there…laid back, a fun park for the kids, and NEW released movies for a GREAT price. the second you drive in the gate you go back 20 years.
The playground it all the old wooden and metal slides, and teeter totters, and old swings. the kind you could get a splinter from, or a cut from the painted over rust on the sides of the slide.. it’s GREAT 
Survival of the fittest We survived…I’m not into raising wimps 
On the Victoria Day weekend they always have an all nighter, 4 movies back to back.
the boy being 5 still gets in for free, and the girl cub is $3….so it’s a good bang for our limited buck.
We don’t have a lot of funds for entertainment, in fact the internet is what we consider our entertainment fund, and we try to do a lot of stuff for as cheap as possible or free ( and a bit of gas money), but we always try to swing going to the all nighter.
We spent the last of our money this month ( save some gas for the kids swim glasses midweek) to go to the all nighter…Sadly… it almost didn’t happen because CFShubby (The mundane one) was in so much pain going, the idea of being cramped in a car for almost 12 hours between going and being there and getting home, we had a bit of a meltdown from frustration before we left. Living with CFS is not easy for anyone.He was too sore… I was frustrated at the idea of him not being able to go. I’m a problem solver, so I was trying to come up with ideas to make it better for him and didn’t want him to miss it & The kids would be dissapointed if we didn’t go. HE was crabby because my ideas were none that appealed to him ( thought he is a bit stubborn, and sometimes I think if he at least TRIED the idea, it might work. shhh)
He came with us….and made it through…but it is pretty bad when he can’t even do these things as well anymore. It’s a whole other blog post, but I’m so tired of my husband’s life being limited to coming to the living room to try and play some video games with the kids for a few hours before needing to crash again.
Anyway…for $23 ( and the gas there) we saw 4 new movies. Shrek 4, Iron Man 2, Clash of the titans, and She’s out of my league.
I tolerated but chuckled in a few places at Shrek 4.. it actually has a real good moral lesson to ADULTS who gripe to much about their lives( so basically all of Twitter)
Iron man 2 was good….I enjoyed it…except for the bathroom trips with each kid, and therefore missing some of the best action scenes. RDJ is hot as usual as Tony Stark…but I much preferred him in Sherlock Holmes. ( glad there is another one in the making )
Clash of the titans.. I didn’t watch, I mostly dozed through it…too much mumbly dialogue…thick accents for my CAPD and it was going on 3 am…. no ADHD meds left in me, and not entertaining enough for my attention span at that hour.
She’s out of my League.. was actually what I’d have to stick in the category of “good” and though I would not pay a full theatre price to see a basic, typical boy gets girl, boy loses girl” romantic comedy…if you do get the opportunity to see it for cheap, or rent when it comes on DVD, it is worth the watch just for the one HILARIOUS shaving scene…it by far tops the 40 year old virgin waxing scene
We got home as the sun was coming up, and I made breakfast for everyone, as I watched the birds and the chimpmunk living in our wood pile wake for the morning get breakfast too. I watched a Starling steal hay from our bales we put around the house in the winter, and take them up to a tree and add it to it’s nest.Then we all crashed in bed exhausted.
It’s going to be a short, kind of lazy day. It’s like Sunday to us today being the holiday weekend.
Posted by SuperADDMom on May 20, 2010
You know, it doesn’t matter how long it has been, or how far apart you are, or the things that have gone on in the past…True family is always there for you when you need them.
That family can be blood family, friendship family, neighbor family, or community family…one thing I have learned in our life with each of us having differing needs and disabilities, is just that.
I may bitch a LOT to get through the everyday stress…this is kinda what this blog is for…but I am very blessed in my life because of the true family and support I have in my life.
I told my mom and dad about the waiting for an audiologist test for the boy, from my mom’s asking on my FB wall the other day about his CAPD ( Central Auditory Processing)
Today I did some calling around to find out about alternate ways to get him tested faster.
I’ve been waiting for months to even HEAR anything back about a future date for the OHIP covered testing at the hospital in the city. My Nurse Prac. is not taking me seriously and the boy’s hearing is getting worse, he is loosing /not developing consanant sounds in his talking, is talking more “cotton mouth” like a deaf person with the soft pronouncing of his words, much like my dad did/does, and he is getting very frustrated when he tries to communicate with people. I’m seeing that “i don’t know what you just said, but I’ll smile and nod anyway” look on his face, that my dad often had in those situations.
I’ve asked twice if the referral has gone through because I have not heard anything yet and i felt that she got annoyed with me for being over worried and impatient. “there’s a process, these things take time” instead of just saying, “I see you are concerned, I’ll look into it for you.”
i’m SO SICK of this woman not taking my family’s issues serious. I’m trying to find a new health care provider, but so far no one can take us, and anyone in the county who is available refused us because we are HER patients, and they are on the same health care team, and they won’t take patients away from each other.
So anyway, I had called an audiologist and asked some questions…enquired about cost, coverage etc… it was SO REFRESHING to talk to someone who BELEIVED me when I told him my concerns and the signs my boy shows of CAPD. They squeezed us in for ASAP, and he said, “if you grew up with a deaf parent, and have mild CAPD yourself, NO health practitioner should be minimizing your concerns with him fulfilling ALL of the preliminary criteria for CAPD.”
So, on the off chance I can’t get the testing covered by our Disability, I had written my mom an email and asked if they’d loan me the money to get a hearing test on our own faster. My dad has been essentially deaf even with two hearing aids since I was 9…he had a cochlear implant at 55years old, and got back 65 percent of his hearing! He heard bacon fry for the first time in nearly 30 years when he was 55 years old. I can TALK ON THE PHONE with my deaf father. we now call him bionic Poppy, because he has digital ears technically. He can “turn his ears off” and be completly deaf when he is not hooked up to his implant. He says he sleeps REALLY WELLlo.. anyway…i’m getting sidetracked…
When I got home from swim class with the kids, my mom had emailed me back and said “of course, we know how worried you are, as are we with the family history of nerve deafness, and no we don’t want the money back.we’re glad to help. All you need to do is ask!”
So I have an appointment for the boy with an audiologist on June 21st. It’s a day trip, in a farther away city, but I don’t care. I’m hoping for good weather and a good health day for hubby, and i’ll pack a picnic, and we’ll make a day of it. At the appointment, he’ll get the full testing needed. A physical hearing test, the newborn screening nerve test they did when he was born ( which he technically “failed” because they did not get a reading, and the midwife assumed that meant her device was broken), and then the test with probes on his ears and head to see what he processes from ear to brain, while engaging in typical conversation/play and talking during background noise etc.
My dad knows what it is like to live without hearing well and growing deaf and he doesn’t want that for his grandson. He’s too smart a boy to be held back by any level of deafness. When I told my 5 year old about getting his ears tested, he was genuinely happy, and said he’s wanted his hearing tested, because he can’t understand people when they are too loud to him, and he can’t hear me when the disswasher is running, or when daddy is talking”.
This is a BIG deal for me…My parents are not well off by ANY means…. they get by on my father’s disability pension for his deafness & arthritis from a school board as a bus driver, and my mom works part time giving samples in a grocery store like they do at costco, and kills herself physically doing it…so for them to just give us the money, no questions asked, means A LOT to me!
you have NO idea how relieved I am right now! I’m sittin’ here with tears streaming down my face!
Posted by SuperADDMom on May 18, 2010
- 4 yo me saw my third term of SK marked as “behind her peers” and would be held back in SK if I didn’t show significant improvement
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4 year old me did not get along well with the other girls, i didn’t understand “playground soial rules” and the teacher was concerned for me
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4 year old me, was clumsy, and accident prone, and was no longer allowed un covered cups at snacktime…i remember the yelling
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4 yo me, had hearing tests because I appeared to have a hearing deficit, but my physical hearing tests came back fine
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4 yo me had to take speech therapy bcause I could not talk well…speech therapy taught me how to read lips, little did they know..
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4 yo me could not count to 15, i would count, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12, 11,13,14,15 EVERYTIME, and was scolded for it ( i remember well)
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4 yo old me, refused to play building blocks with a partner, and wanted to be alone and would have temper tantrums if forced to play blocks
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4 yo me, could not sit still for reading circle, interrupted with questions, being “picky” on the teacher paraphrasing the storys she knew..
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4 yo me…hated chalk and paint on my hands, refused to do those activities. liked to play house with dolls, in the dress up area alone..
so, ya.. looking at this report card.. the signs are SO CLEAR…but not in a public school classroom in 1978
Posted by SuperADDMom on
Source:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070402162106.htm
ORiginally titled”
Babies Who Don’t Respond To Their Names May Be At Risk For Autism Or Other Disorders”
I don’t consider being BORN with a certain set of characteristics that can be labelled autistic or other developmental disorders, to be called “being at risk” for it later in life, because they can possibly detect these things earlier.
It is clearly a case of , they are seeing earlier signs on development that may indicate communication delays, and or development milestones being met later than “typical” .
I’ve seen signs in my daughter’s sprectrim idiosyncrancies since she was a baby, as early as 5 months old, when she preferred alone time, and her own sleep space, and would only snuggle or cuddle when SHE wanted, and would get outright flippy screaming if you stopped her activity without enough notice.
By 2 years old, “Raising your spirited child” was my parenting Bible, and the first indication to me, that my daughter was not typical, and that as a parent I was not alone with a spirited child.
I knew in PREGNANCY with my son, he was a hyper child.
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ScienceDaily (Apr. 4, 2007) — Year-old babies who do not respond when their name is called may be more likely to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or other developmental problem at age 2, making this simple test a potential early indicator for such conditions, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a theme issue on autism spectrum disorders.
Although as many as half of parents of children with autism report concerns about their child’s developmental progress before the first birthday, the disorder is usually not diagnosed until age 3 or 4, according to background information in the article. “Earlier identification of autism offers the possibility of early intervention, which holds promise for improving outcomes in children with autism,” the authors write. “This has motivated a growing body of research that aims to ascertain the earliest reliable indicators of autism.”
Aparna S. Nadig, Ph.D., of the M.I.N.D. Institute, University of California Davis, Sacramento, and colleagues assessed the tendency of infants to respond when their names are called, which is “one of the most consistently documented behaviors in infancy that distinguishes children later diagnosed with autism from those with typical development or developmental delays,” they write.
Infants whose older siblings had autism, and who were therefore at risk for autism, were compared with control infants who were not at high risk of developing the disorder. While each child sat at a table playing with a small toy, a researcher walked behind the child and called his or her name in a clear voice. If the child did not respond after 3 seconds, the name was called again up to twice. Fifty-five at-risk infants and 43 control infants completed this test at age 6 months, and 101 at-risk infants and 46 control infants were tested at age 12 months.
“At age 6 months, there was a non-significant trend for control infants to require a fewer number of calls to respond to name than infants at risk for autism,” the authors write. “At age 12 months, 100 percent of the infants in the control group ‘passed,’ responding on the first or second name call, while 86 percent in the at-risk group did.”
Forty-six at-risk infants and 25 control infants were followed up for two years; three-fourths of those who did not respond to their name at age 12 months were identified with developmental problems at age 2. A total of 89 percent of infants who did not have an autism spectrum disorder (including autism, Asperger’s syndrome and related conditions all defined by deficits in language and social skills) and 94 percent of infants without any developmental delays at two years responded to their name on the first two calls at one year. Of the children who were later diagnosed with autism, half failed the test at one year, and of those who were identified as having any type of developmental delay, 39 percent failed the test.
“Thus, failure to respond to name at the well-child one-year check-up may be a useful indicator of children who would benefit from a more thorough developmental assessment,” the authors write. “It will not, however, identify all children at risk for developmental problems.”
“Since this task is easy to administer and score and takes few resources, it could be incorporated into well-child pediatric visits at 12 months of age,” they conclude. “If a child fails to orient to name, particularly reliably over time, this child has a high likelihood of some type of developmental abnormality and should be referred for more frequent screening, comprehensive assessment and, if indicated, preventive early intervention.”
This research was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Posted by SuperADDMom on May 13, 2010
The Mundane One and I over Lunch.
me: you should have seen the boy on the balance beam this morning, he was really going..so fast, he was flying like a bat in the wind
hubby: bat in the wind?
( I always get those “old sayings”/metaphors/assimilies wrong since I grew up with a deaf father, who heard them wrong all his life and passed them onto me, so i knew I said it wrong by his question)
me: ya, you know. like really fast.. I guess that one is wrong too right?
hubby: uh YA.. you’ve been saying that for months now, and I keep trying to ask you what the hell…
me: ya. i dunno. i got that one from my dad I guess…. bat out of hell then right?
hubby: ya I guess that would work
me: whatever, he was going really jam fast!
hubby: jam? what is THAT?
me: giggle.. ya. I dunno, just came out, meant to say damn.. but…
hubby: jam tho?
me: YA… I’m trying to curse less for fuck’s sake ok? so, I said JAM instead of DAMN
hubby: (laughing) so.. ok.. how’s that working for ya so far?
me: really fuckin’ great!
hubby: ( shakes head and laughs at me in the knowing.. you’re hopeless, but I love ya anyway look)
Posted by SuperADDMom on May 2, 2010
The boy insisted on pulling the heavy 20 kg bag of sand to the box hmself.. he did a great job! heavy sensory therapy work DIY style.
He’s been in the sand box ever since. The sand has always been one of his most favourite things to do. I can currently hear him humming to himself under the cherry tree playing with cars in the sand.
Posted by SuperADDMom on April 29, 2010
ohhhh my… i just witnessed in myself a near meltdown from sensory overload.
This naming it to claim it stuff is draining.
Now that we’ve made the correlation of the Aspergers traits I have, I’ve been working on becoming more aware of when i’m having what I call “An Aspie Moment”
Sensory overload is a thing.. too much noise, to much light, to many colors. I am a very visual person, I see things very vivid and i notice EVERYTHING…unless I’m really hyper focused on something, I see and take in everything around me.
In the last few weeks, it has been interesting basically evaluating myself to see what is bothersome, when do things get too overwhelming, and how I deal with them, so I can deal with them better.
Being tired. Being in pain…they make it harder for me to filter, and process everything I take in. It then makes my ADHD traits worse, and I’m essentially a bumblling idiot who can’t remember what you call that thing you put things in to stay cold in the kitchen.
When I get that way, I get flustered, anxious. I have a hard time finding words to speak and I go inward. I get clumsy and trip over my own feet. I make mistakes, I get scatterbrained more. My depth perception is off, i break glasses, burn dinner, etc..the list goes on and on.
I recognize that in the past…I’ve dealt with these things, and have been avoiding actual panic attacks, or temper tantrums I guess by becoming actually moody, bitchy, cranky, sometimes even reach a boiling over point to near, if not total rage.
When I’m moody, bitchy, cranky, no one wants to be around me, and it was I guess a backward, sub conscious thing that allowed me some alone time. It gave me the time I needed to recuperate and stop the panic inside, calm down, and find a way to regroup and move on, and handle the sensory overload better.
So, with this awareness, i’ve been trying not to be cranky and be a bitch when I notice these overwhelming feelings coning on, and I’ve been trying to find a way to cope better that is healthier for the relationships with the other people in my life.
Diverting the kids to go somewhere else away from me, using my ear phones, but still being physically present etc.
But today was too much…..I’ve been this overloaded before…many times… but by now I’d always have been bitchy, cranky at people’s needs, yelled at the kids for the smallest things like how they are chewing their cookie near me ( the sound is SOOO ANNOYING and LOUD i can hardly stand it). I’d been cranky with hubby, and then this would cause strife for a while. There would be bad feelings between everyone, and then I’d need to recoup, AND get over the bad feelings, and apologize for my behaviour.
Today I fought the urge to be bitchy…It is very hard to fight the tendancy to revert to a coping stragedy I’ve used for 35 years. I managed to not flip out, but it was replaced by the urge to physically run away…I’ usually run away to the computer, and that in an of itself causes issues, because I retreat to the computer as a way to shut out the stuff that is overloading me, and then I get less done, and hubby gets mad at me for “being addicted” to the computer.
I’ve been trying not to run to the computer for a mental escape as much lately, and have been using a timer to force myself to do things that need to be done, for a certain period of time, before I go take a break.
So I didn’t run to the computer….but I got a feeling of being out of control and stuck in a situation I could not get out of, and I started to have a panic attack. Of course I put myself in the situation with my limits I’m trying to pose on myself in small ways.
But I could not run away from what I was doing to retreat to the computer, or even run away outside, because I was cooking food for people, baking cookies, and listening to hubby talk about stuff he wanted to tell me.
I had a loud self talk in my head saying. “pay attention, pay attention, listen….don’t panic, just finish the cookies and then you can leave. hang on ok!? Don’t get mad at everyone.”
At some point, I had three people trying to tell me something all at once over each other, and I could feel the need to get mad and yell “go away from me now, you’re driving me nuts!” I answered in a snappy tone and had to take a breathe and appologize right away to not let the responses to my snapping, roll over into the same old song and dance we always end up doing when I get to feeling this way.
I don’t know how I got through finishing the things I was doing in the kitchen, but the second I was done, I HAD to go away.
I had a tight chest, heavy breathing, and a headache behind my eyes coming on from the stress, because I wasn’t reverting to just coping by getting mad.
I’m upstairs now, in the office where I usually gazelle. it’s quiet, it’s good.I txt messaged hubby to tell him where i was and why.
I started writing this to try and get it out as it is pouring out of my brain, and I’m trying to relax.
I’m still buzzing in my brain and my body feels like how it feels when you drink too much caffine in a short amount of time…jittery and jumpy. But as that slowly starts to die off, and the adrenaline from my little Aspie moment is spent, I can feel how spent of energy I am…
My brain is fried right now, and I feel like I just need to sleep for a little while. I feel guilty about that, and I’m not sure anyone here would let me sleep for a little while to get some equilibrium back.
I hate this feeling.. these are the times, when I would get mad and bitchy at everyone and say “maybe I just need to live alone on a mountain in a yurt with no one around me, cause I can’t take this crap anymore”
sigh…..
A blog of a woman with aspergers has been really insightful in allowing me to go, hey…there’s a name for that!?
It’s a good thing to be making the connections… but also…. it processing, and dealing with stuff, and THAT is tiring to.
I never made the connections before but this is why I have what I call “recoup days” after we’ve had a day out shopping, or driving far to the city etc.
I’m discovering the reasons behind elements of who I am, I never really gave a second thought to.
if you’re interested in reading it…
http://www.aspieteacher.com/2009/07/be-an-aspie/
thanks for letting me spill that
Posted by SuperADDMom on
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkk
I’m going to lose my shit! Seriously… the noise is nuts! POLLUTION to my brain.
I’m having a bad auditory day….every noise is grating on my nerves, and is amplified and making me jumpy.
I’ve been up since 8 am, with 4 hours of poor sleep due to pain. I go up today and took the boy to his dash and splash program which I have to paricipate in too. So I’ve trampolined, and swam today and coached the boy in his classes.
He loves the water, but is freaky about water on his face and ears, and that was today’s class…WOOHOO.
So he practically drowned me in the pool clinging to me, and near ripping off my bathing suit.
Anyway….I’ve somehow hurt my right rotator cuff and am in pain It feels like someone slammed my shoulder joint area with a sledge hammer. it feels bruised…i’ve never felt this kind of thing before. Anyway, physical pain always lowers my ability to filter things, and makes me more scatterbrained, and I’m a low hormone level in my monthly cycle anyway, so I am just less able to cope right now with too much sensory input. Even lights are too bright today, and the shades are drawn, and the lights are off.
I ran errands, drove home ( which always takes extra concentration effort when I’m having “bad brain” day.) and I’m exhausted mentally.
These are the current noises going on around me at seemingly IMAX theater surround sound levels:
Hubby playing a first person shooter game on the wii in the living room in surround sound sterio.
The kids arguing in the kitchen over a train set we borrowed from the toy lending library, the CAPD boy has the tendancy to talk too loud, and especially when he’s frustrated, and due to his sensory issues and exercising for 2 hours this morning, he is cranky and tired from working his gross muscles and practising his balance, and getting lots od vestibular stimulation.
the bread machine churning dough for pizza later. The Aspie girl is dressed up to be pretty today and wearing high heeled shoes she loves and they are clicking on the floor like riverdance.
Hubby yelling at the kids to not step in the wayof his game.
The dog barking in the bag porch.
And the timer beeping to warn that the cookies can come out of the oven.
I am gonna seriously freak out! I’m physically tired, I need a nap to rejuvinate my brain power to cope with this stuff, but at 2 pm, there are too many things going on and too many things I’m needed for.
It is moments like this that I think my father’s ability to turn off his hearing with his cochlear implant must be a great blessing.
Where can I sign me up for one of those..like right now….PLEASE!?
Anyone have an auger? Can I borrow it? Left ear first please.
Posted by SuperADDMom on March 30, 2010
This is the kind of trampoline i want to buy. I’d love a large outdoor one, but I really would love one for in the house. I’ve been trying to find a second hand one, or a freecycle option to save my sanity.
It’s not for me. it’s for my kid.
My 5 yo boy is HYPER to the power 2 times eleventybillion.
he jumps, yells, tumbls, spins, climbs on EVERYTHING. he breaks things. He’s broken our table in the past, i just removed all the wooden chairs from our dining set out to the workshop because he has made ALL of them loose and wobbly and they need reinforcing and glue to make them right again. He broke his toddler bed.
He gets into EVERYTHING. Hubby’s computer screws are missing. a whole assorted organizer holder of them. Last night i found my yarn to make a polarbear cut in many places into spaghetti like lengths.
Maybe because I’m sick today, i am lacking patience…..but I’m tired, generally….overall…. he doesn’t process audio well, he essentially needs to be yelled at for him to “hear” you, to shock him into paying attention. he’s constantly getting in trouble no matter how much I distract him with stuff to do. he jumps from the 4th stair up. the two kids chase each other up and down them….and I live constantly in anxiety/adrenalin state, terrified that one of them are going to break a bone, or their neck.
Rainy days like today are the worst. there is not enough activities in the world for him to stay calm and stimulated.
I’m tired of yelling, I’m sad I have to, I’m sad I can’t find enough things to stimulate his nervous system needs.
I’m having a bad day 
Posted by SuperADDMom on March 1, 2010
Kids with CAPD often watch TV upside down
Central Auditory Processing Disorder.
I just got back from the Dr with the kids, and the Ped we saw was really good with the kids
I’m thankful for that because the lengths I have to go to to get anywhere to see someone for my health or hubby’s health drives me nuts. But FINALLY the cubs individual issues are being managed by a Doctor and not just the Nurse Prac.
The boy cub is scheduled to be tested for the nerve processing of sounds between his ears and his brain, to check for CAPD…a condition that my father and a few of his brothers and I also have.
Having him checked young and getting tested in order to plan a treatment and therapy for him to learn to handle it better than past generations is a good thing.’
I hope the wait for the referral won’t take long.
Below is some info on CAPD if anyone is interested in reading further. I gathered my information from various sources, but a majority of it is from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
NOTE: CAPD can often be misdiagnosed as ADHD in young kids, but if you have a child who shows these signals of hearing impairments, but does not respond to ADHD treatments of stimulant meds. they could possibly be CAPD and not ADHD. catching it young give kid with CAPD better odds of learning good communication skills.
Children with APD may have difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, following directions, or telling the difference between similar-sounding speech sounds. For example, my son misunderstands words that begin with b’s and p’s often.
Sometimes they may behave as if a hearing loss is present, often asking for repetition or clarification, this can be very frustrating for families, and the child, and cause behavioural issues.
In schooling, children with CAPD may show difficulty with spelling, reading, and understanding information presented verbally in the classroom. Often their performances that don’t rely heavily on listening is much better,and you may notice children with CAPD are visual learners, and respond well to lists written down, or picture directions. They typically are able to complete a task independently once they know what is expected of them, unlike children who have attention deficits. However, it is critical to understand that these same types of symptoms may be apparent in children who do not exhibit APD.
Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that not all language and learning problems are due to APD, and all cases of APD do not lead to language and learning problems. APD cannot be diagnosed from a symptoms checklist. No matter how many symptoms of APD a child may have. Only careful and accurate diagnostics can determine the underlying cause. If you suspect your child has Audio Processing issues, it is important to bring this to your child’s Dr.’s attention.
A multidisciplinary team approach is critical to fully assess and understand the cluster of problems exhibited by children with APD. Thus, a teacher or educational diagnostician may shed light on academic difficulties; a psychologist may evaluate cognitive functioning in a variety of different areas; a speech-language pathologist may investigate written and oral language, speech, and related capabilities.
Some of these professionals may actually use test tools that incorporate the terms “auditory processing” or “auditory perception” in their evaluation, and may even suggest that a child exhibits an “auditory processing disorder.” Yet it is important to know that, however valuable the information from the multidisciplinary team is in understanding the child’s overall areas of strength and weakness, none of the test tools used by these professionals are diagnostic tools for APD, and the actual diagnosis of APD must be made by an audiologist.
To diagnose APD, the audiologist will administer a series of tests in a sound-treated room. These tests require listeners to attend to a variety of signals and to respond to them via repetition, pushing a button, or in some other way. Other tests that measure the auditory system’s physiologic responses to sound may also be administered. Most of the tests of APD require that a child be at least 7 or 8 years of age because the variability in brain function is so marked in younger children that test interpretation may not be possible.
Once a diagnosis of APD is made, the nature of the disorder is determined. There are many types of auditory processing deficits and, because each child is an individual, APD may manifest itself in a variety of ways. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the type of auditory deficit a given child exhibits so that individualized management and treatment activities may be recommended that address his or her specific areas of difficulty.
When treating APD it is important to understand that there is not one, sure-fire, cure-all method. Treatment of APD must be highly individualized and deficit-specific. No matter how successful a particular therapy approach may have been for another child, it does not mean that it will be effective for your child. Therefore, the key to appropriate treatment is accurate and careful diagnosis by an audiologist.
Treatment of APD generally focuses on three primary areas: changing the learning or communication environment, recruiting higher-order skills to help compensate for the disorder, and remediation of the auditory deficit itself. The primary purpose of environmental modifications is to improve access to auditorily presented information. Suggestions may include use of electronic devices that assist listening, teacher-oriented suggestions to improve delivery of information, and other methods of altering the learning environment so that the child with APD can focus his or her attention on the message.
Compensatory strategies usually consist of suggestions for assisting listeners in strengthening central resources (language, problem-solving, memory, attention, other cognitive skills) so that they can be used to help overcome the auditory disorder. In addition, many compensatory strategy approaches teach children with APD to take responsibility for their own listening success or failure and to be an active participant in daily listening activities through a variety of active listening and problem-solving techniques.
Direct treatment of APD seeks to remediate the disorder, itself. There exist a wide variety of treatment activities to address specific auditory deficits. Some may be computer- assisted, others may include one-on-one training with a therapist. Sometimes home-based programs are appropriate whereas others may require children to attend therapy sessions in school or at a local clinic. Once again, it should be emphasized that there is no one treatment approach that is appropriate for all children with APD. The type, frequency, and intensity of therapy, like all aspects of APD intervention, should be highly individualized and programmed for the specific type of auditory disorder that is present.
The degree to which an individual child’s auditory deficits will improve with therapy cannot be determined in advance. Whereas some children with APD experience complete amelioration of their difficulties or seem to “grow out of” their disorders, others may exhibit some residual degree of deficit forever. However, with appropriate intervention, all children with APD can learn to become active participants in their own listening, learning, and communication success rather than hapless (and helpless) victims of an insidious impairment. Thus, when the journey is navigated carefully, accurately, and appropriately, there can be light at the end of the tunnel for the millions of children afflicted with APD.
