Hello,
My question concerns an adult student diagnosed with ADD.
While the student has seen improvement with medication, behavior management, and environment modification in areas like focusing on tasks, staying organized, and planning time, she still has marked difficulties at the college level. These mainifest particularly as poor reading comprehension/trouble learning from books, slow expression (written and oral), difficulty following directions (written and oral), and trouble remembering math formulas. The student does not seem to have the classic symptoms of dyslexia since she can decode quickly, phonetically or using sight words, and her spelling is good. She had some testing that also revealed very strong visual-spatial skills, so NLD seems unlikely. The student has subjectively described the problem as seeming like a difficulty connecting the words (in graphical or auditory forms) with their meanings (same for math symbols) despite having a very high IQ and no problems with “superficial” decoding. The student has also mentioned that there seems to be a time lag in processing what is heard or read - she can “hear” or “read” the words quickly, but they are not fully processed, and she cannot easily moderate her reading speed to match her rate of comprehension.
Since various therapies have helped many of the major ADD symptoms, is it possible that these continuing problems
are related to a subtle learning disability? It seems like there may be some processing speed issues since the ability to comprehend is there, it’s just not happening at the rate it seems like it should given the student’s motivation, preparation, and overall intelligence. The student is also acutely aware that problems exist, but doesn’t know to what to attribute them nor how to get around them. I know there are tests like “rapid naming” of letters and numbers, which can be problematic for some with LDs, but is it also possible that a student who does not have difficulty at the “recognition” level could have a processing problem at the “association of visually- or auditorially-recognized word with its meaning” level (for both decoding and encoding)? Is this a language problem, or something else? How could such a deficit be substantiated and remediated and/or circumvented in a college environment? What teaching strategies might be employed to help the student “access” the material (I am particularly interested in strategies applicable to science instruction and am already aware of the student’s “visual” and “kinesthetic” preferences)? What strategies could you recommend for the student?
Thank you.
Re: Student should get a CAPD eval-question
Is there some way I can find out what some of these excersises are? I home school and am looking for some things I can do at home with a 17 year old diagnosed with Aspergers/Dyslexia/CAPD. His OT eval found right/left deficit and balance difficulties. I would like to know what the excersises consist of and am not in a position to pay for or travel for another evaluation at this time.
Thanks for any information!
Lori
Wisconsin
[email protected]
Re: Things you can do at home
Audiblox is an inexpensive, home-based cognitive training program that tends to help dyslexics a lot. It also works on directionality (right/left) and other issues. Basically, all you need is the book, video, and a starter kit of manipulatives (although you can assemble your own set of manipulatives once you have the book) — about $80 total from the website, http://www.audiblox2000.com. You don’t need to order the reading set, as the book gives directions on how to make your own cards from any book you have on hand. (This particular exercise works on reducing the number of fixations necessary to read a line of print, so it really is working on a cognitive skill rather than reading per se — worth doing even if someone is already reading.) Audiblox requires 1/2-hour to 1 hour per day of one-on-one.
Balametrics is another relatively inexpensive program (about $300 for a pretty complete kit) that works on developing the vestibular system. CAPD often interferes with vestibular system development (rhythm, balance, timing, coordination), and the resulting timing problems interfere with the ability to learn academics. To learn more about all of these inter-relationships, check out the NeuroNet website at http://www.neuroacoustics.com. NeuroNet incorporates Balametrics into its therapy program. Balametrics website is http://www.balametrics.com. Even 10 minutes of Balametrics a day would likely help, but you could do considerably more, especially if you split it up during the day.
These are the two programs I would highly recommend for home use.
One other possibility is Brain Gym. All you would need for that is the white teacher’s manual — usually available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble for about $25. I would recommend getting it from the library (or through inter-library loan) to look at it first, though, as it was really designed for younger children and your 17yo might balk at it. Many children seem to benefit from doing Brain Gym exercises for 1/2-hour or 45 minutes per day, so it might be worth a try.
Mary
Mary
as this sounds as if a central auditory processing disorder is involved. You can find out more about CAPD, with a search engine to locate audiologists who are trained to evaluated CAPD (regular audiologists do not have the training) at http://pages.cthome.net/cbristol/
CAPD can interfere with vestibular development (rhythm, timing, balance, coordination). Problems with timing in turn can produce slow processing. You can find more information about these inter-relationships at the NeuroNet website, http://www.neuroacoustics.com
I have observed, and also heard from others who have tried it, that Balametrics can help processing speed. (Balametrics is incorporated into NeuroNet therapy.) It is something that is easy to do at home and relatively inexpensive. It works on vestibular development, which in turn seems to help auditory and visual processing speed.
Another approach that can help is PACE (Processing and Cognitive Enhancement). It’s quite expensive, but very worthwhile. I would get a CAPD eval before investing in PACE, in case some sound therapies might be helpful. Typically you want to get all therapies that work on sensory/motor development out of the way before doing PACE, which develops the cognitive skills that build on sensory/motor development. Website for PACE is http://www.learninginfo.com
Incidentally, a CAPD eval is usually covered by medical insurance. Usually the best thing to do is call the audiologist’s office first, as they almost always can tell you exactly what is needed in order to get medical coverage (e.g., referral from family doctor).
Also of note, CAPD can produce the symptoms of ADD. There is also a high co-morbidity of CAPD and ADD.
Another therapy that can help symptoms of ADD is Interactive Metronome. Website is http://www.interactivemetronome.com. I have not seen evidence that it directly helps processing speed, though it does tend to help focus, attention, and motor planning.
Mary