[angelkisses0102]

Anyone here dealing with this?? Can offer me some guidance??

DD is 8 and is very ADHD, is very bright, and mommy's gut says she has a learning disability as well. Her reading comprehension and math skills (lots of reading/word problems) are horrible. Our state (Florida ~ FCAT) starts standardized reading testing this year (3rd grade) and DD took a practice test and failed...miserably!

I have done a quick google search and learned many ADHD kids have LD's co-occuring (30%.) I *think* she probably has some sort of visual processing issue (visual sequencing, visual memory.) She is also a very 'right' brain kind of child and with the ADHD...she's struggling.

I feel her intelligence has allowed her to survive so far...but now that she needs a deeper level of reading comprehension...she can no longer mask this.

Besides the reading comp and math, she still confuses things like 'b' and 'd', follows verbal direction much better than written instructions, makes many errors when reading aloud and often doesn't read the endings of words.

I have made a written, offical request to her teacher for help...I will contact the ESE (SN) coordinator next...and plan on discussing with her pedi at her appointment on Friday.

But, wow, there is so much info out there, I don't even know where to begin!

Any ideas? Thanks!!

[momofMikhail]

My 12 yr old dd has ADHD, most kids with ADHD are very bright! It sounds like you need to talk to your Dr. about the meds your dd is on. Alot of what you are discribing my dd also did. Once we finally found the right medication for her she blossomed like you would not believe. It took us about 2 1/2 years to find the right meds and I still wonder whether if she is at her full potential sometimes. Alot of what you are discribing could just be her attention span. If she isn't using the attention that the subject needs she will struggle. I would ask your Dr. how they feel about switching your dd's meds or uping her dose that she is already on.

I'm not saying that there might not be other disabilities (I don't know your dd). I agree that you need to discuss it all with your Dr. to rule out/diagnose any other issues your dd might be having. Just that I have dealt/researched ADHD for 7 years now and it can be a very overwhelming issue sometimes. Not only learning all there is to know about, but living with it has some challenges also.

[mommytoEli]

Originally Posted by angelkisses0102

Besides the reading comp and math, she still confuses things like 'b' and 'd',

my son is 6 with adhd. he is now homeschooled and doing better. but i can see he struggles some in reading and writing. he has lots of problems with reversals right now, b and d being his biggest. but he reverses most of his numbers, and a few other letters as well.

my friend taught me a trick that works for ds about 90% of the time for b and d. make glasses with your fingers/hands. hold the 2 hands out in front of you, palms facing eachother. touch your pointer finger to the thumb on the same hand and touch the thumbs together. when you look at it doing it yourself, it should look like a b and a d, or silly glasses you could place over your eyes. have your child do their own and look at it. then tell your child this is a bed. sound out b-e-d. when they look at it, knowing b is the first letter of bed, and d is the last, they should be able to transfer seeing the b on their hand first to making a b on paper or reading it on paper. when my son trips up now, i remind him to "make his bed" and he does the little glasses, says bed, and can pick out which letter he needs by himself most of the time. it has helped tremendously. now....he is still reversing everything else, but baby steps, baby steps.

[Max'sMommy]

My 6 year old DS has just been diag. with ADHD-impulsivity- highly gifted.

Another friend of mine whose ds has ADHD told me to go to a psychiatrist. (A specialist on ADHD). The peds are not specialists on ADHD. She said counseling and ADHD meds that are not stimulants has helped greatly. We have only been on meds for 4 days so I can offer no advice. You have always been such a fighter for your kiddos I am constantly looking up to you for support. Good luck! I will be watching for any updates!

[angelkisses0102]

Thanks for the ideas...keep them coming!!! Thanks Max'sMommy...DD went on meds a year ago...and it was like a miracle, until now! I am thinking we may need to adjust the meds at this point.

[Provost21]

With Nate, we took him to a psychologist and they did a lot of different tests to see if he did have any learning disability. I was thinking maybe low IQ. It came back he does not have a low IQ but he has a real problem with his short term memory. This interferes with how he learns. I dont know how we ever would have known this without the tests. I do know that short term memory is associated with ADHD though. The tests were very informative and can help with how you proceed with her learning. Good luck- I know it can be overwhelming trying to get answers!

[GCS]

Well, I could have written much of what you did here myself.

We have DS in Catholic school. No IEPs really there, they do have some programs but the resources aren't the same. It is a really good school (advanced) and we were hoping it would be a good fit for him.
He did well in Kindy and very well in 1st grade. But by the first of October this year he was failing every class. The school has been great in working with us and support us in finding better ways to teach him. But we may have to go to our local public school next year to get him all the resources he needs during the school year.

I do think in his case this teacher has a lot to do with his problems. But I also know that there is a learning disorder here. We see an Audiologist on November 13th to look for processing issues - specifically CAPD. Interestingly enough if you look at the main contributors to Central Auditory Processing Disorder, our kids fit most of the criteria (institutionalized, malnurished, preemies, PTSD, alcohol or drug exposure are the main contributors - I can say pretty confidently that my boy hits 4 of those 5 markers). It is also very often coupled with ADD/ADHD. Actually many kids are mis-dx-ed with ADD that are CAPD.

We believe that it was missed because he was so smart and high functioning that he learned to get the info he needed and work around the disorder. (from conversations with the Audiologist and our PediNeuroPsych we pretty much know he has this condition but the testing will give us all his parameters.) In layman terms the way the Dr. explained this to me was like being on a cell phone where you have a bad connection and are only hearing 2/3s of what is being said. You have to focus so hard to listen that if you get distracted by something you lose your place completely. Its also harder with more complex subjects that maybe the child is already struggling to understand. But he doesnt know any better. This is how his brain has always processed. So he has learned to work around it. Now it seems to be catching up to him.

Following verbal better than written direction, remembering the last thing in a sequence first, turning around letters and words are all apart of CAPD. He very often mixes up the words "saw" and "was".

I'll update you after our appointment and let you know what else we find. This is often coupled with an FASD dx which I have believed for many years we were dealing with. Our problem is he never fits criteria in the district for resources as he is too high functioning. But now that his grades are failing and he is struggling in school, that should change. We also revisit with his PediNeuroPsych in December. His last testing with her was in spring of '07 and he was in Pre-K. Now that he is older it makes sense to retest.

There is a yahoo group for CAPD. Honestly I havent found it to be too useful as it seems most the parents have kids with hearing issues, not processing issues. But I havent spent alot of time searching older threads.

One other thing I read online was that Strattera often helps kids with CAPD so if a child has both ADHD and CAPD this can be a good fit.

Good luck!

[millie58]

My ds was diagnosed ADHD. However, he's not on the bright side. When he was a newborn, he wasn't getting the one-on-one from his bio mom. His reading comprehension was way off; math wasn't as bad but not at level. He had no IEP in Kindy or 1st grade (my pride said he could do it on his own). By 2nd grade, I had an IEP done and he's done so much better. he's also on meds. if you go to a psychiatrist, make sure he/she is knowledgeable. My psych wasn't a positive person and we now do the meds through our family doctor. also, he's been to summer school; his para last did a reading project with him as part of her getting her Masters.

[votemom]

am assuming she's been evaluated by a PEDIATRIC opthamologist....?

[KiraLin]

Not sure how much I can offer as I am just starting down this road as well but I can tell you that two of my closest friends who know my dd very well have pointed out from the start that her skills are very uneven. She has some skills that are very much ahead of her her peers and some very far behind. She (as you probably remember) has ADHD among other (still undiagnosed) issues. Both friends separately told me to expect dd to have learning issues (some kind of LD). As she just began K in Sept it really is to soon to know just what things will turn up when the real work starts. Our K is low key with no homework allowed so very low on demands that would make LD issues apparent. But her school IEP team has also stated that they expect to see LD issues as well given her ADHD and other issues so I think the percentage you noted may be a low estimate.

DD also just began seeing an "executive function" therapist who is a speech and language therapist by training. She has already identified holes in dd's language functioning that I suspect will become more apparent as school goes on. Some major issues with short term memory and some types of comprehension. This therapist is so puzzled by dd she is getting a consult from her "more expert" colleague.

I think our kids have so many things in their history it makes them much more complicated than most so it becomes hard to sort it all out. I would insist dd be tested as your gut has been on target with your kiddo's in the past. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Jo Ellen]

AngelKisses ~ I was trying to send you a message and it says your inbox is full. If you will delete some messages I have some info for you about the ADHD issues you are posting about.

Jo Ellen

[TweetyMom04]

Originally Posted by votemom

am assuming she's been evaluated by a PEDIATRIC opthamologist....?

My thought as well.

[angelkisses0102]

OK, mail box is cleaned out.

DD is going to see DS's great pediatric ophthalmologist in early December...I tried to squeeze her into DS's appointment in a week and a half...but it was a no go. She has always passed the pedi's and school screenings but I want her to get a full exam...just in case. I am also looking into a developmental optomotrist (something like that) as they 'see' things differently than the ophthalmologists...or so I have been told.

I am getting a referral to 'someone' from the pedi on Friday...even though I trust her (her DS is DD's age and ADHD) we need to take the next step. I am also going to review the child study that was done on her in first grade (two years ago.) If I remember correctly she had a decent size gap between her verbal IQ (very high) and non-verbal (very normal) which can be indicitive of a LD. I will ask for the school to do another child study...I think.

Her teacher is going to get back to me in detail today...not to DX but just to offer her input as she is a very experienced teacher of children DD's age. Plus because DD is in a multiage classroom...this is her second year with DD. She has 'suggested' without suggesting that talking to DD's doctor about her meds is a very good idea (I brought it up.)

GCS~
Very, very interesting...I've wondered about auditory issues in the past. Just this morning we were practicing her spelling words...'whir' is one of the words. She really just memorizes words and does not/can not sound out many words. She initially spelled 'whir'...'whipl'...eventually she gets the words...but I am 99.9% certain she memorizes EVERYTHING!

Thanks everyone!!!!!! So much to consider...

[waitinginnj]

My nephew has auditory processing disorder. My sister had to work very hard to figure out how to successfully get information into him.

The way that her doctor expressed it is that his ear hears info. The info starts traveling through the brain, but gets lost. She had to find different ways to get the synapses back on track to get the info through.

He graduated high school. Didn't want to work hard enough for college. He is in mechanic school now and thriving. It is hands on learning and he loves the topic.

I really think he will find his way now successfully. Just wanted to offer a success story.

[angelkisses0102]

So DD went to the pedi today...and we are upping her Vyvanse to 30 mg to start. If that doesn't work, we will try Concerta. I am also going to have the school do their evaluation and we are taking her to a behavorial health institute that does 'everything':
Learning Disabilities (LD)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Behavioral Assessment
Emotional and Personality problems
Autism Spectrum
Psychoeducational Assessment
Aptitude and Achievement
Neuropsychological Assessment.

The pedi is not compfortable with us taking her to a developmental optomotrist...but if we don't find anything thru the above, we will go to the neuro-ophthalmologist DS saw.

Thanks everyone!