word retrieval difficulties

Hi Brookelea,

ADD and Word Retrieval issues go hand in hand…I do crossword puzzles 24/7 to help me with the same problem. You can play vocabulary games like BLURT, have her name items in categories…i.e., name as many animals as you can in 2 minutes, movies, books, weather…That kind of thing.

It sounds like your SLP gave the CELF. Which version did she do? Your daughter…probably didn’t do so hot on the sentence assembly because she wasn’t attending to the details…To score appropriately for each query, she was supposed to give 2 or more sentences using those same words on each query. Usually the respondent gives a question and a statement for each query. She may have done only one sentence and not 2 for each query.

There are other subtests on the CELF-4 that she could have done…ie., rapid automatic naming, categories…etc… Auditory processing??? I don’t think so…

she gave her the celf:3.. what makes you think its not auditory processing??
her vocabulary is very poor for her age and her speech isn’t very fluent either..

the speech path did say that dd concentrated very well - that she was able to complete the celf 3 in one session whilst it may take other kids up to 3 sessions.. if she only knew that the concentration came from a bottle!! just because she can concentrate and not get off track does not mean she is actually on track - it just means that she is able to shut up for a while!!

she also commented on dd’s poor memory but at times her memory is amazing.. the harder the task to memorise, ie reverse, the better she does..

Hi Brooklea,

My son has word retrieval problems. I think over the years it has gotten better. What I believe helps is having them use language a lot. Ask them to name things constantly. Give them time to answer questions and find the word. Encourage lots of visualization. Learning similar words (the larger the vocabularly the easier it is for them to find similar words to describe something). Lots of word games. Get the book “Language Wise.”
(You may be able to find it at your local library. I originally borrowed it but then liked it so much I ordered it at Barnes and Noble).

thanks laura.. its promising to know that others have had problems and have been able to overcome them..
i will contact borders and see if they have it.. i’m not sure if the smaller bookstores here stock it..

thanks so much!

The CELF-4 has been out for over a year now. I threw out all my CELF-3 stuff because I won’t use an old version of a test…

Yes…ADD kids who can hyperforcus do well in assessment situations…it is novel and they can hyperfocus for the short duration. I have seen ADD kids do better on more complex query’s…Like auditory number reverse…it is more challenging and they rise to the occassion. But to ask them to manipuate some words on a page and make a sentence…that is BORING. And…the real kicker here…is this testing was ONE ON ONE…not in a classroom with TONS of distractions…

Was she on meds when she did the testing? You can have an audiologist do an entire CAPD battery…and see if she has auditory processing issues. What would be interesting to see is how she does on the TOVA done auditorially…That is the ultimate test of boredom…You listen to words and every so often you hear the word…dog…and you have to raise your hand…The auditory processing issues may be there…but what is causing the ADD behaviors???

i rang the educational audiologist who ran through a list of questions with me.. he was surprised to hear that the ‘red flag’ is only being waved now for this problem.. he feels that as a child gets older, the auditory processing difficulties lessen.. her spelling used to be excellent, now its fallen by the wayside.. ironically when forced to spell the word correctly, she will.. she is just careless and rushes and pays very little attention to the spelling and more focus on getting the job done quickly..
speech path did test one on one.. child was medicated at the time thus the concentration for over an hour!!
paediatrician is not convinced that she has this problem.. he just says that processing is part and parcel of adhd - treating adhd is the key, not the auditory processing..
if she wants to focus and listen, she will do so regardless if there is a concert going on in the room.. she can easily do her homework with loud noise but finds it harder when its quiet!
my comment to the speech path was that i too get bored and forget what ppl are saying.. its not that i have apd, but adhd.. i switch off too!
i feel like i am being bullied into this and i’m not very happy about it.. i will agree to her having speech therapy to help her with her expressive language and increasing her vocabulary..
i wish i knew how to help her - i could help her too..

of what you are saying…I hope that you don’t feel like I have bullied you. That was never my intention. I have many kids on my caseload with language issues when underlying it all is ADHD. I think doing the speech therapy will be good for her…it will give you a break and perhaps the SLP can teach her strategies she needs to improve both her concentration and her expressive langauge skills. Sometimes I spend part of my sessions counseling with parents when they are in a situation like you are. Perhaps you can also talk with her SLP about things that you can do together.

I spend a lot of time teaching kids the scaffolding and “templates” that they need to be successful in life. Like the old adage about horses…I can lead them to water…but I can’t force them to drink…It is ultimately up to the person if they want to change their behavior.

That is good news to hear she was on meds…It shows that she can concentrate better when she is on her meds. The SLP can teach her ways to structure and create sentences to improve her expressive language. But underlying all this is still her weak executive functioning skills and I agree with the pediatrician, I don’t think it is APD…it is more like you said…I liken it to what happens to me…you are listening, you hear everything the people are saying but your mind is going off in different directions..

But for me, I have both ADHD and a severe auditory processing disorder. I am struggilng to decipher what I am hearing, I am hyperfocusing,lipreading…and I am still frustrated because I can’t process what people are saying due to the roaring in my ears.

not you bullying me but the school and the speech path!!! you are great, you listen and take on board my comments.. the educational audiologist spoke down to me and refused to listen to what i had to say..

thanks for the help!