Hi everyone,
I am new to this board and hope you can help me with some questions. My almost-4 year old daughter is in the midst of being tested after her preschool teacher advised that she was not up to the standards of her peers in large motor skills and language skills. This came as a bit of a shock: we knew her language was a little behind but put this down to a bilingual upbringing (French/English) and had assumed that she was a cautious child, which was why she wasn’t as boisterous as other kids in the playground. So of course now I’m on an emotional rollercoaster (denial, then lots of guilt for not picking this up earlier!) but we’re determined to get all the therapies in place to get her the help she needs. Fortunately the local school system has been great in arranging the testing and will be responsible for implementing the resulting therapy programs.
Her OT test has been completed and confirms large motor skill problems and immaturity in formulating motor plans, and once-a-week therapy sessions are recommended. Her formal speech pathology testing is next week, but an informal home visit determined that she probably has a language processing delay when placed in unfamiliar situations or when confronted by people she doesn’t know well. This initially made a lot of sense: in her home environment she’s fairly expressive and articulate and seems to comprehend instructions. Put her in preschool and she can’t follow directions (probably because she doesn’t understand them) and doesn’t interact with the other kids. We’ll see if her formal assessment confirms this diagnosis.
Now for my questions (and I apologise for the long post so far!):
- is anyone familiar with this kind of “situational” language processing problem?
- could you recommend any literature or books which focus on language processing issues?
- I’m keen to complement formal therapy with tools and practices that we can do at home, so if you could direct me to any of these I’d be grateful.
Thanks very much,
Fiona
Re: 4 yr old being tested for language processing disability
The Listening Program might be helpful. Some OTs are providers of this program, so you may be able to get it through your OT. If not, you can go through a private TLP provider (or purchase it online with email/telephone support for about $425). This is a sound therapy that conditions and stimulates the auditory system and, indirectly, the entire nervous system. It is very gentle and can be used more than once. There is some research evidence to indicate it stimulates neural reorganization on higher levels. With a 4yo, you would probably want to get two sets of headphones and a splitter so that you could listen to the music alongside your daughter. (The music is incrementally modified using sophisticated gating and bursting techniques.) The listening is done daily for 15 minutes at a time. Website for this program is http://www.advancedbrain.com
Another program likely to be helpful is Audiblox (http://www.audiblox2000.com ). They have a language exercise that can be very helpful. Basically, they recommend recording a favorite story for the child and then have the child listen to it repeatedly (e.g., by wearing a portable Walkman and listening to it while doing other activities). I have seen posts from parents who said this seemed to stimulate language development in their child.
You might also want to look at Balametrics, although I would call the company to make sure it is suitable for a 4yo. This program works on vestibular development. Website is http://www.balametrics.com
When your daughter is older, I would consider Interactive Metronome, as this program seems to help motor planning. Website is http://www.interactivemetronome.com .
Nancy
Re: 4 yr old being tested for language processing disability
>shock: we knew her language was a little behind but put this down to a bilingual upbringing (French/English) and had assumed that she was a cautious child,
Being bilingual CAN have an effect on language development. I would assume that Victoria would be an excellent person to contact since she deals with that a lot. I personally do not, but I know it does have an effect on both reading and language development.
Some kids also, as I have learned are not as good code switchers as other kids. That means they have difficulty changing languages, etc.
It is NOT the end of the world and your child may make very great and surprising strides in speech therapy— so you should definitely go for this.
>and doesn’t interact with the other kids. We’ll see if her formal assessment confirms this diagnosis.
Everything seems to make a great deal of sense and the school district, you are lucky, seems to be going about things very rationally!!
>- I’m keen to complement formal therapy with tools and practices that we can do at home, so if you could direct me to any of these I’d be grateful.
Many speech therapists will give some suggestions for you to follow.
Ask if she doesn’t do this.
>Fiona
—des
Re: 4 yr old being tested for language processing disability
Thanks, everyone, for your replies. They’re really encouraging and have given me a lot to think about. My daughter will have her formal speech evaluation on Monday and then we’ll have a “team” meeting with all the specialists to formulate her IEP the following week. This is a whole new world for my husband and me, so it’s wonderful to see how much support there is for children like Lily, both within the school system and out in the online community.
I’ll post an update once we have more news from the evaluators. In the meantime, thanks again.
Fiona
I can’t help too much right away, but when you are ready to start reading (and yes, you CAN start soon, just slowly and gradually and age-appropriately) please contact me — email [email protected] and remind me what your situation is, different from many others. I have good reading materials for English and an *excellent* new program for French.