Need math advice for CAPD child

is working on math facts first. It’s a tremendous boost to having those under her belt, and there’s an easy way to do it (at least, this method works quickly for most kids). I’d get the tutoring kit for addition, and the subtraction cards, for Math Facts the Fun Way (http://www.citycreek.com). The approach uses silly stories and vivid visualizations to teach the math facts. Most kids can remember stories easily, so this approach usually works without a lot of pain. There is a workbook in the tutoring kit that is very helpful. This approach would give her a subtraction strategy.

It sounds as if she has tremendous difficulty with math concepts. I have seen this in an older CAPD boy. If it were my child, I would be looking at therapies such as NeuroNet (http://www.neuroacoustics.com), Balametrics (http://www.balametrics.com) which is incorporated into NeuroNet, and PACE (http://www.learninginfo.com). Since she’s in a private school, I am assuming you have some funds available for remedial therapies.

The 13yo boy I worked with seemed to benefit from Balametrics (improved his processing speed and balance), Math Facts the Fun Way (prior to that program, he was still working on learning the 3-times table), and PACE (although we did not do enough of it to be sure there was carry-over into academics). PACE helps a lot to develop reasoning.

Games such as SET and Rush Hour, and working with attribute blocks, can be very helpful at developing underlying spatial and mathematical reasoning. These can be purchased from http://www.rainbowresource.com (email them for their printed catalog, which includes the item descriptions their online catalog does not have).

If the school’s math approach does not work for her, you may want to homeschool math using a program such as Math-U-See (http://www.mathusee.com), which was developed by a math teacher for his son who has Down Syndrome, or another manipulative-based program.

Has she had a CAPD eval by a qualified audiologist? A program such as FastForWord (http://www.fastforward.com) might be helpful for the reading.

Mary

Thanks, Mary, for all your wonderful ideas. Earlier today I ordered the Kids Kit from citycreek.com which includes book for kids, flash cards, workbook, audio cassette and subtraction flash cards. We’ll give that a try. I’ll check out some of the other resources you mentioned.

She has had every kind of evaluation known to man! We live in Wichita (KS) and she has had a CAPD eval. by an audiologist qualified to do CAPD evals. Summer 2000 she did the $4,000 FastForWard program. It was a total waste of money and time for her. However, we know kids that have done it and it worked miraculously. It’s amazing what works great for one can do absolutely nothing for another! We’re considering to go to a larger city/facility to have her tested by another audiologist. We haven’t a clue as to who or where; I’m still doing research. We are at that difficult point of trying to figure out how she learns best. She’s too young to give us much feedback regarding this issue so our best observation is based upon her academic performance (which is often inconsistent). She has astonishing moments of brilliance and intellect but for the most part, she struggles with many many learning challenges. I am also looking into a FM trainer (assistive listening device). I’ve talked to parents of CAPD kids who have reported that the trainer enhanced auditory discrimination and auditory attention by improving listening conditions and attention levels in the classroom; however, there are those who reported that the FM trainer caused the child even greater distraction! One thing for sure, the meds do really help the ADHD; but she struggles terribly with processing. We’ve done OT, language therapy, Alphabetic Phonics, and she currently works 5 days/week with an Orton-Gillingham academic language tutor. I’m also thinking of taking her to a LindamoodBell facility for testing, which would be Dallas or Chicago for us. What an investment this would be if we were to do the LindamoodBell summer program in Dallas or Chicago! We just keep trying different resources; hopefully, one of these days we’ll hit on the right one! Thanks again for your help. Susan H.

With what you describe, I would take a serious look at NeuroNet. There’s a lot of good information on the website (http://www.neuroacoustics.com) about how auditory processing problems can interfere with vestibular development, which impacts processing and the ability to learn academics. NeuroNet is very new and not widely available yet, but it’s possible to do it as an out-patient. Beth, who posts on some of these boards, has a son who has gotten a lot of gains from NeuroNet, so you might want to check for her posts.

Mary

A friend of mine has a developmentally delayed daughter who benefited greatly from the Lindamood Bell programs. I know for sure she did intensive LiPS and Visualizing & Verbalizing, and probably others. In their case, they sent a teacher friend to be trained in the programs, and the teacher then worked with their daughter on a daily basis (about two hours a day, as I recall). If you took the training yourself — and a number of mothers have done this — it would be much more economical than flying for an evaluation at an LMB center, followed by countless hours of therapy in an intensive there or by a tutor in your home city. LMB is not difficult to do — just time-consuming. Some mothers buy the homeschooling LiPS kit for about $500 (some homeschooling resources sell it) and do the program without training, but in general it’s a good idea to get trained at an LMB center.

Many people have successfully done V&V at home just using the book. There is another approach called IdeaChain which does much the same thing, but is organized and scripted to make it easy for a mother without training to do at home. I don’t have the website for IdeaChain handy, but you could probably find it using http://www.metacrawler.com

Mary

Susan,

I have heard of a “guru” of CAPD at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion,SD. Her name is Dr. Terri Bellis. She’s an audiologist in the Department of Communication Disorders - Speech/Language and Hearing Center. The phone number there is 605-677-5474. I learned about her from a SLP I took a class with this summer.

Also, have you tried searching the web for CAPD? I found a lot of useful sites when I was searching for my own 8yo.

I also ordered the addition materials from City Creek for my child. We are in the middle of the 4th lesson and are having much success! My husband and I have never seen her do flashcards so quickly. We’re both impressed. Even though her classroom teacher says that the Area Education Agency in our area does not recommend purchasing the program! I don’t know if anyone in our district uses the method, but the SPED teacher recommended it to me.

Hope this helps!

Laura

My 8 year old daughter was diagnosed with CAPD over a year ago. We had tried numerous “programs” and non of them made a noticeable difference (Earobics, Fastforward, FM Trainer) for her. I know others that have had a tremendous success with these programs but it they just were not the ticket for her. She had severe problems with auditory discrimination and attention to the point that she was literally not able to function in her classroom last year. This past summer we broke down (being that it was a $3200 investment) and had her do the Tomatis Method (WWW.TOMATIS.COM). This was the key that unlocked the door for her, enabling her to finally be able to learn. She no longer has a problem with auditory discrimination or auditory attention. She is like a completely different child! She is now able to perform in her 3rd grade classroom like any other child. I highly reccommend you look into the Tomatis Method. Everyone is amazed at the change in her. This program was trully worth the investment! She is now doing the Lindamood Bell LiPS program with a language therapist, which has made a tremendous difference in her reading fluency. Next I plan on doing the Seeing Stars and Visualizing Verbalzing Concurrently with her myself.

Best Wishes,

Denise

Let me add a slight aside: Years ago a collegue was teaching a group of severely retarded basic life skills. She was frustrated because while they could add the didn’t seem able to subtract—they couldn’t get that concept. She was working with having them figure out the change they should receive from a purchase. I suggested she try having them count back the money, like formerly occurred in stores. This they were able to do since it was a form of adding, but it also helped make the connection between adding and subtracting for them as they arrived at the “answer” first, so they knew what they were supposed to get, but they also had computed it themselves—not being given an answer.
I add this to see if it inspires any ideas from any reader.