language development

My son has a history of delayed language development as well as attention issues. Attention can be part of an auditory processing problem which relates directly to language development. This has been the case for my son, who has been diagnosed with APD, as well as ADD-inattentive.

Beth

My anecdote would be that attentional issues can hit ‘across the board’ or not. But theoretically we learn less well and do less well what we cannot pay good attention to. That might include speech and language development.

I know the first improvement I noticed in my son when he went on medication for his ADD was in his speech. He spoke with greater clarity when on his medication for ADD than when he was not on his medication. His rate of speech was slighty slower and his pronounciation the more distinct.

Despite several years of language therapy 2 x a week for several years plus Fast Forward I and II the score of my CAPD ds on the auditory processing subsection of the Test of Auditory Perceptual-Revised was stuck at 1%ile. He was retested two months after starting Adderall and this number zoomed to 50%ile. Anecdotally, he became far more tuned into the conversations around him. (Prior to that I could even discuss what I was thinking of getting him for Christmas while he was in the same room with confidence that he wouldn’t pick it up.)

As a speech and language professional I have seen that ADD has a HUGE impact on a child’s/Adult communication. If a child has the inattentive form of ADD they are tuned out and in their own little world, they do not pick up vocabulary like other kids through eavesdropping on conversations, they miss key components of coversation. Sometimes kids/adults who are ADHD talk a blue streak, in circles, they don’t get the main idea and they aren’t good listeners becuase they can’t attend for a period of time to their conversation partner. When this happens they don’t understand why they can’t maintain friendships, jobs, follow directions and it is because of their poor attention and communcation skills.

I know of an adult ADHD woman who has a severe communication impairment. She has a hard time holding jobs, she starts out good and gets burned out…She is on her 4th time of trying to finish school to become a hairdresser…It has been recommended that she start medication to improve her attention and yet she chooses to ignore the psychiatrist, therapy and medication.

The sad thing is that she is so self-absorbed and missunderstands communication around her on a daily basis. She will disappear for days and weeks at a time choosing to sleep in her car because she feels that people don’t want her around and yet she never communicates these feelings with a family who has provided a place for her to stay. Instead she just pops up late at night when she is tired of living in her car and then talks about what has been bugging her and the family says, “Where have you been? We have been worried about you!” and she isn’t even aware that her Inattentive behavior by not communicating is saying more than if she just learned to focus and express her feelings without retreating into her own little world. It is sad to see an unmarried 30 years old woman, who has so many problems communcating due to ADD.

So yes, ADD affects not only language development but social and communication skills throughout the lifespan..

I have a dear friend who has ADHD. She has been a SAHM the majority of the years Ive known her but recently entered the work force and is struggling. I have listened and kept my mouth closed for months, but just last week I asked if she thought theADHD might in any way be related to her job problems. Her boss was talking about documenting the ‘communication issues’ as he felt they were getting out of hand and I felt I had to mention it. I apparently angered her as she hasnt emailed since; now I regret I didnt just listen and not speak out.

But, at some level, it is good to know from your post that I wasn’t totally guessing out my a….Hopefully, a little time will pass and our relationship can get back on track And maybe she will become regular with her Adderall (usually hit and miss)if only to prove me wrong

Is it common for the ADHD person to believe that the other people/person has poor communication skills and/or isn’t very bright? Defense mechanism of some sort? This seems to be her belief at work and I don’t know that she is capable of shaking it.

I understand what you are saying…and yes it is very common for the person with ADD to blame the other person when there is a problem with communication as they don’t want to take responsibility for their actions..and yes, it is a defense mechanism.. I have also seen if they take meds they are admitting they have a problem, they aren’t perfect…and that is why they say it is your fault…and get beligerant and don’t want to listen…

One woman told me..Once someone put all the pieces together and suggested that she was ADD it made her feel like she had a defect that she could never overcome…she just perseverated on the fact that she was ADD and didn’t know how to get out of the mess she had created.. The therapist attempted to show her that finally knowing about ADD could help her understand why she had doen the things she had, impulsive spending, irrational behavior, on the go constantly…hyperactivity, easily bored….She was shown that she could do something about it, instead…she chose not to and stayed immersed in the mire of her actions…..just as your friend did…it is hard to see things clearly and objectively when you are in the thick of them..

I am ADD myself and I have a hearing impairment so I always try to make sure that I understand what people are saying. I have pretty good communication skills face to face but phones just terrify me..because of my problems with auditory processing and trying to clarify phone numbers and names to make sure I got them right. One SLP I worked with said my hearing wasn’t as bad as I thought it was but she had no idea how hard I worked to stay on top of everything…:-P

Speaking of communication what does SAHM? Is that Single adult homemaker? Or did you mean SHAM? I am not so computer saavy with this stuff…I am out of practice, I have been immersed in Speech pathology far too long…:-)

Thanks for your reply;it helps me understand my friend a bit more.

She was in her 30s when she was dx’d(it was a side effect of 2/3 of her sons getting the ADHD diagnosis)

I wonder if those diagnosed as children, like my son, will deal with the situation better as an adult because it has always been a part of their life

I dont believe I am ADD, but I have difficulty understanding people with foreign accents over the phone while I can usually muddle my way through face to face conversations. So I understand what you are saying-I wonder if it’s easier for the mind to stray without the visual face in fornt of you holding your attention. With a foreign call, I know my mind goes to “oh, no-he has an accent-Ill never get this” and duh, Ive now missed the first 2 sentences entirely. Wonder if earphones instead of a receiver would help keep focus?

As for those dx’s as children-my son has ADHD, my now second ex husband has it as well. My son has spent years watching the issues that arose from the communication problems, and we use this as an example of how people view his communication issues. He does often deny the problem exists but for the most part having had an example of what adulthood is like without proper treatment and acceptance of ADHD, he understands better.

I hope he can learn to work with his ADHD and develop his communication skills. I hope I can help him to better learn how to function in a world that communicates (for the most part) in a different way than he does. I have also noticed that both he and my ex have issues with non-verbal communication: they don’t realize they are making faces that people read as rude and don’t notice when people are backing up from them because they are “invading their space”. I am working on trying to get him to a mirror when he makes one of these faces or mirroring the face myself and asking him what he would think someone was saying to him if they made that face at him.

ADHD is a lifetime issue and the earlier the dx the better, but only time will tell if he fares better than his stepfather

http://home.earthlink.net/~mcoleman/cpdadd.html

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ADHD_Bulletin_Board/

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/central_auditory.html