My oldest dd was diagnosed with APD a little over 4 years ago. My MIL has asked a couple times if she could have ADD instead of APD…. well I had asked the therapist that performed the testing on my dd, and she said no. But, my question is….. how do I tell the difference??? What are the characteristics of ADD??
I know all, or most, of the characteristics of APD, by doing a lot of research to further educate the teachers in my dd’s school, as well as myself.
Re: APD and ADD question
I think the biggest difference between the two must be in the issue of focus. Why they lack focus. Is it because they are not getting all the auditory information ,or processing it ineffectively,or is it because they are busy paying attention to all of it causing them to lose focus on what they are supposed to be focused on? My youngest is diagnosed both APD and ADHD. He has such a hard time processing auditory information,when background noises are pulling him off focus. In other words,he pays attention to everything making it hard to focus in( ADHD),but then when he does take in specific auditory info he has a hard time processing what it means,causing faulty responses(APD) .
When he was tested for APD he told the Adiologist that he couldn’t hear them,because the clock on the wall was ticking too loud.
Of course he also has sensory issues
But the big thing is what do you need to do for these kids? The classroom needs to cater to their individual laerning style.
Re: APD and ADD question
Thank you both for your replies. I figured that the specialist would have been able to tell the difference, I was just told that APD and ADD are close in similarities, and wanted to prove to my MIL that she does not have ADD. :) :roll:
A great resource for learning about ADD (ADHD) is www.chadd.org.
Yes, APD and ADD can look alike. And some kids have both. But the audiologist should be able to tell. So just ignore your mil!
Janis