Specific Language Impairment (associated with Dyslexia)

It’s just another name for a speech and language impairment. My daughter has it, the kids I work with qualify for services because they have a Specific language Impairment.

The way that I would treat a kid with dyslexia that had an SLI would be to increase his vocabulary, work on his auditory processing, lots of work with phonology, expressive and receptive, also on his logic and reasoning skills…Again treatment depends on the areas of deficits for each and every child. One can’t prescribe a one size fits all program because kids with dyslexia have varying degrees of severity. For some, specifically those with SLI reading gets easier, but comprehension remains difficult because they lack the vocabulary to know what words mean.

Hi Patti,
Thanks for that information! This is Laura in CA, but I’ve been having a bit of trouble with my log-in for the site. I’ve been researching SLI and have found very interesting information. Have you read Laurence Leonard’s book?

My (9 —almost 10-year-old) son hasn’t formally been diagnosed with SLI, but from what I’ve read it sounds very possible. I know he has some speech difficulties with grammar, tense and morphology, but there’s also word retrieval and rapid naming problems (which, from what I’ve read are often present with SLI — which neurologically seems to be connected to the cerebellum — just like dyslexia).

Beth in FL gave me an exercise quite awhile ago which I want to start using and I recently told my son he cannot use “thingy” or “thing” in his vocabulary!!! He has to name or describe “things” from now on. I’m not sure if this is helpful or not.

I hear you…People who are ADD/CAPD have problems getting the words out at times….it is embarrassing…I am the queen of circumlocution. One of my professor’s used to tease me about my word finding problems… “It’s like being in the ballpark, hitting all around the ball but you’re not hitting the ball. :oops:

Patti,
Would you say that the best overall way to help with this would be to build up vocabulary and maybe also work on visual memory?

For example, fill in the blank tests. Those must be extremely difficult. I’ve been helping my son study for vocabularly tests and if these were fill-in-the-blank it would be really difficult to get him to pass. As it is, they are very difficult (this week’s is geometrical shapes and there’s a lot of difficult terminology)! I’ve tried presenting them word first and he gives me the description and then later I’ll tell him the description and see if he can come up with the word. In both instances he has difficulty remembering the words.

I’ll give you another example, please tell me if you also share this difficulty with words… My son yesterday told me he had a substitute teacher. I asked him to describe the person and he couldn’t. He couldn’t remember what she looked like. This is moments after leaving class.

Another example, the other day he told me that one of the boys in class was teasing him during lunch. I asked him what his name was, he couldn’t tell me. He also couldn’t remember what he said. He knows it’s something about him being a nerd, but he can’t remember the words. I told my son to find out what this kids name is so I could tell the teacher.
I went to pick him up afterschool at the classroom (so I could make sure my son had learned this boy’s name). When I got there my son said the boy had already left, and that he didn’t know his name. I asked him to think about where he sat in the class. He didn’t know. I asked him if I named out kids in class could he remember who it was. I then went to different desks and when I came up with the name my son then recognized it. I had him double check to make sure (I didn’t want to get some other child in trouble!).

My son doesn’t seem ADD/CAPD from what I’ve read. He actually has some remarkable auditory processing skills (musically, very early talker, etc…) But instead, seems to have problems that might be classified more under SLI. I wonder how much they are related (SLI and CAPD) and how easily they can be misdiagnosed? The other interesting thing I read related to SLI is Speech Perception Deficit which sounds like CAPD. Is that just another term for CAPD or are they different?

Perhaps he doesn’t attend to the details in situations when things are happening. Perhaps he has trouble with multi-tasking, does he have weak visual memory but a strong auditory memory? If he has a strong auditory channel then I don’t think he is CAPD…what you are describing is more ADD-Inattentive…sometimes kids that are ADD-Inattentive are more self-absorbed into what their interests are, they don’t notice the minute details unless it is something they are interested in… It is like they are constantly fiddling with station on the dial, tuning in and out at random times.

And at times if too much is happening a person can get on what I call sensory overload and they start short circuiting…It’s like remembering bits and pieces…remembering the emotional part of being upset but not the details.

I would work on his vocabulary test taking skills and compensatory strategies that he can use to help him when he finds he is having problems pulling up words in stressful situations.

My son too has difficulty with names. I also do. I, for some reason, can remember everything about a person easily but their name. I teach and have to put forth a tremendous amount of effort to remember names. I think the same is true of my son but he doesn’t put forth the effort.

I think this is a type of word retrieval issue—I generally have word retrieval issues, which have got worse with age. It may be attention too—but I certainly don’t have ADHD.

There are a subgroup of kids with dyslexia that start out with speech and language issues. My son is among them.

Beth

Hi Patti and Beth,
Those are all relevant points. If he has ADD inattentiveness it might explain why he can often test well in areas that I’m certain he’s weak in. (example: testing at LMB indicated no need for VV).

By the way, an interesting thing about this sub, I asked him again yesterday if he could recall any visual details and he told me no, but he did remember that she had been his reading intervention teacher last year! (this he couldn’t remember the previous day. Or maybe he just didn’t think about saying that?). I then asked him more specific questions, was she short or tall? Did she wear glasses? Short or long hair? He couldn’t answer any of these.

I definitely know there’s retrieval issues and also some sensory integration difficulties. I think the problem for so many of us is knowing where one problem starts and another begins with our children (I know that’s my difficulty!). And it may be because there’s a combination of mild problems creating the larger ones.

Patti, I know you’re in the So. Cal. area. Even though my son has had a lot of testing through the school district, some indendent testing, LMB, testing through PACE, VT, etc… do you think a comprehensive neuro-psych evaluation might help me better pin point where these weaknesses stem from? Also, who have you heard are the top neuro-psychs around here? I’m kind of worried about expecting too much, or paying alot for information I already know.

Lori Humphreys is the one that I have heard good things about. There are some kids like my daughter who started out with speech and language/auditory processing issues and eventually we discovered the final missing piece of the puzzle that created much of the problem was her wandering creative mind, that tuned in and out at random times.

The LA Branch of the International Dyslexia is doing a full day seminar in your area on May 8th called The Many Facets of Dyslexia. It will be at the Summit View School, 12101 W. Washington, Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 751-1101. There is a fee to attend that includes lunch.

Sue Sears will talk on Reading and Dyslexia,

Deborah Gilman will talk about Math and Dyslexia,

Lori Humphreys will talk about Non Verbal Learning Disablities, and

Marshal Raskind will talk about the Predictors of Success for People with Learning Disabilities: a 20 year Longitudinal Study.

IDA LA Branch, 4383 Tujunga Ave. Suite J., Studio City, CA 91604 818)506-8866

Hope this helps you find some answers.

Hi Patti,
Thanks for the info! I’ve heard of Lori Humphreys as well. I’ve noticed that she does a lot of speaking and I’ve seen her name mentioned at other conferences. She has a tremendously busy schedule so it’s not easy to schedule testing with her. But she does have other colleagues working with her so I thought I’d make an appointment with one of them. I’m told they are also very good. Hopefully that’s true!

It must be nice to find that “missing piece of the puzzle” that helps explain some of the learning difficulties your daughter has had. I sure hope I can finally get some clarity on my son. I know a tremendous amount already, but there are still a few pieces that just don’t fit quite right.

Ooops! Forgot to log in. That last post was mine.