Hi,
I am writing for my son who is six and is in the first grade. He was diagnosised last year with a visual processing delay . The school is now offering him the lips program in the classroom as a new satilite program for the whole class as well as meeting with the speech therapist 3 x a week . My concerns are his teacher keeps telling me that she is not a special ed teacher and needs to find ways to help my son . I would like to find parents of other children with this diagnosis and how they are working with their children. Any suggestions would be a great help! My son is very eager to learn and still does not realize that he needs additional support. I feel this is a great time to get in as much information as possible.
Thanks
Kathy
Re: 6yr old with visual processing delay
I also want toknow why they are working on speech & LiPS, which both focus on auditory issues, if in fact he has a true “visual processing delay.” I would look at that diagnosis since sometimes, though much less often than in years past, a kiddo is diagnosed with a “visual processing” problem because he has trouble reading, on the assumption that reading is visual.
What does your kid have trouble with in the regular classroom? I’d highly recommend you find a copy of Mel Levine’s “Educational Care” which has lots of specific advice. Different kids need different things — and he needs different things from special ed, as well as help to get more out of that regular class.
Speech therapy and LiPS will do nothing for a visual processing delay. You need to take your son to a developmental optometrist for evaluation.
You can find developmental optometrists in your area at http://www.covd.org. It’s a good idea to email or call all of them to get an idea of their approach if vision therapy is indicated. Some will do only in-office or at-home computerized approaches to vision therapy, which tends to be expensive. Many developmental optometrists are willing to supervise primarily home-based programs of VT, and this is a much less expensive option. Since VT is not usually covered by medical insurance, it’s worth checking this out before going in for the evaluation. Typically, if there is a visual processing delay, then there are problems with visual efficiency skills (things like binocularity, focusing speed, field-of-vision, tracking, etc.). Visual efficiency skills can usually be brought up to age-appropriate level with vision therapy. Visual processing skills can then be developed by means of cognitive training (Audiblox, http://www.audiblox2000.com or PACE, http://www.learninginfo.com).
If your son qualifies for both speech therapy and LiPS, then I would be concerned about a possible auditory processing problem. A speech and language pathologist can screen for this using the SCAN. If your son fails the SCAN, then you would want to take him to an audiologist who specializes in CAPD evaluations (Central Auditory Processing Disorder). This eval is done before age 7 only when the problems are severe. You can find out more about CAPD at http://pages.cthome.net/cbristol/
Development is like a pyramid, with sensory/motor development on the bottom, cognitive skills acquisition in the middle, and academic learning as the small peak at the top. The most efficient approach to remediation is to (1) reduce deficits on the sensory/motor level first — such as developmental vision delays, motor delays, auditory problems, (2) then do cognitive training, since cognitive skills build on the sensory/motor foundation, and (3) provide academic remediation as the last step. Two good cognitive training programs are Audiblox (http://www.audiblox2000.com) and PACE (http://www.learninginfo.com).
Mary