i think my ds has auditory processing issues, anyone btdt?

[contactmaya]

Hi, i was recently doing some math with my ds, now 5. The questions are set out in a visual manner, and he enjoys and seems to excel at this. But one question required putting the material in a 'story' form, ie. instead of 3+2=X, you say- i gave 3 apples to joe and 2 apples to alex, how many apples did i give away?

 

Right away, ds started being silly and disruptive. 

 

He is getting into trouble a bit at school for the same thing. 

 

I could never take him to storytime at the library or music classes, because he  was disruptive/would run around.

 

I think he has problems interpetting auditory data, but excels in the visual format.

 

Does anyone know anything about this? Know any exercises i could do with him? Had similar experiences with their child? have any theories about this sort of thing. Maybe he will grow out of it, maybe he is stuck with it for life, maybe it doesnt matter....he did get early intervention for speech delay, but none of therapists ever mentioned this as a possible issue...

[crunchy_mommy]

For something like the math homework, could you try acting out the story using props, dolls/stuffed animals, etc.? If he has trouble processing auditory input then making it more concrete and visual might help him interpret what's going on.

I have no experience with kids & APD but I suspect *I* have it myself. It wasn't until college that I learned how to listen to a lecture, and before that I got through school by writing down tons and tons of notes (because it was the only way to get the words to make any sense) and relying heavily on other things like textbooks and doing my own research to understand something. I've never been able to listen to a story (though I did enjoy the crafts at storyhour!) or enjoy a movie, & I still zone out the minute someone starts talking in a narrative format. I do better with a more interactive question/answer format but I still tend to answer before I completely process the question & end up feeling foolish. I have a lot of trouble with conversations in general because of this, am terrified of talking on the phone or being in public situations where someone will ask me a question ("Do you need any help?") because it's just so hard for me to focus on the meaning of the words & answer appropriately.

I didn't know about APD when I was a kid, and I wish there had been some kind of therapy or something to help me. I excelled academically despite it, but really suffered socially & emotionally. See if you can get him evaluated, & if he does have it, hopefully there is therapy/services to help him. Also try posting this in the Special Needs forum...

[peaceful_mama]

My son seemed to have trouble with this for a LONG time...it would go away at one level and resurface when challenged again.  (like at first I noticed he couldn't answer a simple question that offered a choice, then he was able to do that but something else would show up that he 'should' be able to do)

I actually researched having him evaluated for APD and was told that they don't do the full eval on kids until they are at least 7 years old because the range of what is 'normal' before that is just too huge.  This is apparently one of the last things to develop in some kids.

So....my son turned 6 in Oct. and at the beginning of kindy, he appeared to really be struggling with following the verbal directions given by his teacher.  I was doing all this research trying to figure out if he might have APD, how to get the necessary and correct testing etc

While I was doing all that, my son was adjusting to kindy....and now....after 5 months of school (couple weeks of August and Jan plus 4 full months)  he is doing MUCH better, his work gets completed more quickly....and the work he brought home today from last week---not ONE mistake!  (his school does 'fix-its' they help them fix the problems, they don't grade)

the concerns have again disappeared.  I'm HOPING it's that he is one of the 'late' maturers....but not 'abnormal'

we'll see how first grade turns out...I know who to call if we think this is a problem past age 7.

[contactmaya]

crunchymama, that is so interesting. When you said 'i zone out when someone speaks in a narrative format', it made me laugh. I can relate to that myself.

Did you know that adults can also do exercises to improve  their auditory perceptions? (been googling alot in the past 24hours) Thanks for advice about the 'special needs' forum,  found some very helpful threads there just now....been looking at programs like Fast ForWord and Lindamood Bell....not sure ig i can afford them on my own though...

 

Peaceful mama, it sounds like we're in a similar situation. Congratulations on your ds doing so well despite his initial challenge.

 

My ds seems to do well with spelling and reading, even though they say that an auditory processing issue can interfere with that. My only issue is that his 'zoning out on the verbal'  is causing him to disrupt the class,  and he's had more timeouts in the last few months than in his whole life before that ( since we dont them at home) 

 

Cant wait to get hold of some exercises for him....