My son is 8 and was diagnosed with ADD in Kindergarten (w/o hyperactivity)
Everyone agrees that he can do the same work as others when given enough time to complete it. He was put on an IEP last year for written expression, but continues to do poorly on any standardized or timed tests in other subject areas. I believe that he has a processing delay and therefore it takes longer for him to complete work in any areas—do we extend his IEP to include all areas? Has anyone else dealt with this sort of problem? Do all ADD kids have this? It even effects his reaction time in sports. He is on Ritalin but that only helps him focus—not react faster. Help! I’m a teacher myself and I feel so helpless!
Re: Processing delays
Kids with ADHD are usually slow processors and often need untimed testing in all subjects. If you are concerned about processing speed, both the WISC and the Woodcock Johnson tests can be used to identify problems in that area. Has your child been given these tests? If so, you could post the results here. There are a number of people on this board who have testing expertise (not me, though).
Andrea
Re: Processing delays
Hi Kim,
Being a teacher, you have probably communicated with your son’s educators concerning his processing delay and other difficulties that your child may be experiencing. You can possibly have your child take additional assessment tests. Talk to physicians, psychologists, and other affiliates of your child’s IEP committee to give your suggestions and request additional assessment tests. You want to determine what his complications are as early as possible to help him in progressing and/or overcoming his problems.
E-mail Mr.and Mrs. Semenas at [email protected] for information on a program that these educators have established to help children succeed in school. Type in “send me the free program” in the subject line. I hope you obtain information that will be beneficial to your child.
Another source of reference is the Final Regulations - 34 CFR parts 300 and 303 March 12, 1999 Federal Register. Refer to Section 300.347 for information on the content of an IEP. Section 300.7 (c) (9) (i) is information concerning the rights of chid with a disability such as ADD. Section 300.125 provides information on Child Find. The concept of Child Find is that all chidren with disabilities, regardless of severity, are identified, located, and evaluated, Their special education needs are met. The basic requirements of an IEP are discussed in Sections 300.340 -300.350. I hope these rights determined by the US Dpt of Educ can be useful for you.
To obtain a free copy of the Federal Register, it can be ordered through the following website from the US Dpt of Educ:
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpub.html.
Good luck with everything.
Re: Processing delays
Our 8 yr old daughter has processing delays as well. She was diagnosed by a child phsycologist and an audiologist that specializes in Central Auditory Processing Disorders. Both doctors agreed that she has a severe Central Auditory Processing Disorder as well as ADD-inattentive. The processing issues stem from the CAPD. It might be advantages to your child to be tested by an audiologist who specializes in “CAPD”. Most audiologists that I found do not do the necessary testing for Central Auditory Processing Disorders so it is important to ask if they do when you call to make the appointment. We got our doctor to make a referral for this service to our ins. co.. They paid for it.
Please post again if you have any further questions.
Re: Processing delays
Hi , My DD is 14 and ADD and she had to have an iep for tests . She can take any test that she get’s a D on over. She actually can answer the test verbally better than putting it down on paper. My daughter also takes the test in another room where there isn’t any distractions. Often test taking stratagies help the kids out alot. Have the teacher give the test one page at a time, Normally the kids get over whelmed with several pages. I hope this helped.
sherry
Re: Processing delays
Hi, I was on another site and they refer to their kids as dear daughter DD or dear son DS. so I got use to referring to my daughter as such.
To my observation, ADD is like fingerprints. Every one has them but they’re unique to the individual. It’s believable to me, though, that a child with ADD may also be found to be processing slowly. Attention and processing are closely related cognitive activities if not the same activity.
I’ve seen Ritaling help kids focus and I’ve seen it help other kids react faster. But like everything else, a child’s response to medication can be idiosycratic.
Have you spoken to his physician about it, though? Would a different medication or a different dosage possibly address his processing delays as well as his focus issues?
Good luck.