Autism vs. Auditory Processing Disorder vs. ??? « SCM Discussion Forum: Charlotte Mason Method Homeschooling

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Autism vs. Auditory Processing Disorder vs. ???

(15 posts) (10 voices)

Started 1 year ago by greenebalts
Latest reply from Misty

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greenebalts
Member

I really don't know where to start.....I've been thinking our ds age 6 years and 10 months is "special" in some way since he was a toddler, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I'm not sure that we're looking for a formal diagnosis, but some ideas so that I can better meet his needs academically. I guess I'll start with some concerns and go from there.

He's always been very sensitive to loud noise. He hates the worship music in church, the hum of the bathroom or kitchen fan, or any louder than average tones.

He only likes to wear certain clothing/fabric as some clothing is too this or too that.

He spoke in full sentences by his second birthday and has a very large vocabulary for a child. But, he really only talks here at home to our immediate family. He can and will interact with other children, but not most adults. Many people, including family, think he's dumb and/or disrespectful. I don't believe it's either.

He will not take no for an answer. He's very demanding and likes us to perform acts of service that he's very capable of.

He's always been extremely large for his age (He was 10 lbs. 14 oz and nearly 23 inches at birth.) so people think he's much older and it seems they expect more from him than he's able to give.

He's very coordinated and was riding a bicycle without training wheels or assistance by age 3. However, he's very stiff and can't bend well. He's extremely strong as last summer he bear hugged one of my husbands adult nephews and picked him up off the ground. (about 140 - 150lbs.)

He's easily overstimulated and grits his teeth or shakes when overwhelmed or frustrated. Lately, he's been gritting his teeth so hard, they're grinding together and I'm concerned he's going to break a tooth or fracture his jaw. He does occassionally tantrum.

He seems about a 6-12 months behind others his age academically. Reading instruction is extremely difficult. He understands that letters make sounds and knows many letters and sounds, but can't seem to get past that to blend or read short words. His eyes wander all over, but not on the page, and he seems to guess even if he knows the answer. He loves to be read to.

He seems brilliant when it comes to addition, but still can't recognize numbers past 10.

His handwriting has improved greatly over the past couple of months, but he wants to make letters and numbers backward, from right to left, much like when he adds multiple digit numbers, or he starts from the bottom rather than the top.

He gorges on food and seems to have an obsession with it. He doesn't seem to have that "I'm full and need to quit now" button.

I feel this post is getting too long. I guess I'm wondering about the possibility of either mild autism or a processing disorder, but not sure where to go or what to do. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I should also mention, I have only one sister and no brothers and he is our only son, so I'm not sure what are average boy behaviors and what are not.

Thanks so much for reading,

Melissa

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
missingtheshire
Member

Hello Melissa, I don't have sons, so I cannot help with that...but I would think about getting him checked out to see if he has some issues that could be better addressed while he is still young. There are people on here who have children with special needs, autism included...some of his behavior may point that way. I always knew there was something with one of my daughter's but I think fear put us off doing anything for a while along with her pediatrician saying not to worry she would grow out of things. Well at three I decided to get her checked anywa y and that is when she was diagnosed with very mild cerebral palsy. I am always glad I got it checked out, because from then on there were definite things we could do to improve her life and help her with things that were a challenge. Because of that experience, I would encourage you to get him checked because then you know what if anything you are dealing with and can better give him the right kind of help to ensure he has the best life. Linda :))

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
Bookworm
Member

Melissa, much of what you describe could be an autism spectrum OR sensory integration OR even just plain old giftedness. My oldest was a very big baby (11lb) walked at 8mo and talked in complete sentences shortly afterwards. He did teach himself to read at three. He is VERY routine-bound, very sensitive to noise and stimulation and we have cut out all his clothing tags since he was small. He also hates seams in socks. :-) He refuses to wear polyester clothing even today.

Is he also very literal? Is he very moral--does he really get bothered by injustice, perceived or real? Does he get things conceptually very quickly but have trouble with the details?

There could be several possibilities, including twice giftedness. Have you looked at hoagiesgifted.org? Try looking up a list of Dabrowski's Overexcitabilities and see if they match your son. And consider asking your health care practitioner for a referral.

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
Sue
Member

My 12yo ds was diagnosed with mild autism at age 9. A couple of other things were discussed, like sensory processing disorder due to his difficulties with loud noises, lots of people talking, etc. Like you, we knew he was unique from birth, but our pediatrician kept telling us she wasn't seeing enough "benchmarks" to recommend testing for autism. Eventually, she recommended a Christian behavioral practice and we began seeing one of their psychologists.

After a month or so of appointments. she handed me a paper with "PDD-NOS" written on it and told me to research it at home. (PDD-NOS is one of the autism spectrum disorders.) A lot of the symptoms seemed clearly to fit my son. So, I went ahead and had one of their doctors run the series of tests, and they were able to diagnose him with mild autism, a behavioral disorder related to aggression/anger, and a lowered IQ of 81. This was helpful to us in establishing things he needed like occupational therapy to help with his handwriting/fine motor skills and speech therapy. The psychologist was very supportive of our decision to continue homeschooling.

There are resources out there to help parents who are homeschooling special needs children. I know some people are reluctant to apply a label to their child (which I understand--I have felt that way), but often a diagnosis takes the mystery out of what you need to do to help your child. Your regular health care provider ought to be able to suggest where you can have your son tested.

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
kymom
Member

The timing of this conversation is amazing because it’s something I am also dealing with. ( sorry so long)

I have one 10 year old diagnosed with ADHD when he was 7 however, the Dr. NEVER spoke to him or spent any time with him at all, he only went by our telling him symptoms and the CONNERS test. He has severe sensory OCD such as, SOCKS (UGH); his first panic attack at age 3 was over wearing socks. He must have seamless and some days he never wears them or shoes at all, only crocks and yes that is even with snow on the ground. All tags cut out of clothes, no jeans with buttons of any kind, no shirts with any kind of design he can feel on the inside. We know this and know it’s not a battle worth fighting because he can’t help it.

My 9 year old has been diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder and Severe OCD, this diagnosis was by a student of psychology not psychiatry. He does have an appointment with a child psychiatrist because he has severe social anxiety, such as RULES, there are rules and according to him, NEVER an exception to the rules. He has such a sense of justice beyond his years. He never forgets anything. His IQ is labeled in the Superior to above superior. They said 2 points from giftedness, whatever that means. He plays the piano beautifully and by ear, he is amazing at math and can do large figures in his head but has no idea what I mean by the phrase, “did the cat get your tongue.” He has friends but gets angry easy because they don’t play the “right way”. He often thinks people are laughing and making fun of him just because the children are talking quietly. It breaks my heart because he cries all the time and asks what’s wrong with me? He has two cousins that have aspergers and he is SO MUCH like one of them. I worry about getting him diagnosed because we will lose our health insurance and can’t afford for it to go up more than it is. So we are paying out of pocket for his evaluation.

I feel like I am failing them somehow. I am responsible for ALL of the child care so I feel like I must be doing a bad job if my kids are anxious, am I doing this to them? I did find workbooks one called I’m not bad I’m mad, ADHD workbook, and Anxiety workbook at Barnes and Noble. I read with them privately each night. As a mom’s the hardest thing in the world is to know the right thing, I pray each night that I be a capable wife and a mom who can raise boys to love GOD and be good people in the world. But I admit I am terrified.

Becky

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
marmiemama
Member

Hello, ladies. My heart goes out to you all. Some of you might want to check out the GAPS diet. Stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome. Leaky gut syndrome is a very, very common condition that is linked to many different conditions, including autism, add, and digestive disorders. We have been on GAPS for almost four months now and have seen wonderful progress for one of our children who was having multiple health issues. I'll be praying for you, ladies!

Blessings,

Lisa

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
Sue
Member

There are a couple of books about the gluten-free diet that talk about healing leaky gut syndrome, its link to autism and other disorders, and why there is a link to these in the first place. I've been reading some of them, but I'll have to get back to you all with the titles.

I've been looking into gluten-free possibilities rather than GAPS partly because my son won't eat soup or any kind of broth....so, no bone broth for him! Plus, he visits his dad every other weekend and one weekday per week, and they are uncooperative regarding his diet. They tend to be "pill-poppers" instead of looking to dietary and lifestyle changes for health issues.

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
Sonya Shafer
SCM Team

One thing that helped me with our youngest was completing this autism spectrum evaluation. You can put a code name in rather than your child's real name, if you want to. It calculates your scores and gives you an idea where on the spectrum your child lands. This was especially helpful as we progressed through the months and tried various therapies. I was able to complete the evaluation again every few months and see if the scores changed.

Even as we keep in mind that we must respect each child as an individual comprised of many aspects, sometimes it's helpful to know what aspects we're dealing with so we can research in the right direction. Maybe this evaluation will help you determine which direction he's leaning right now.

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
trulyblessed26
Member

HI there,

There is a book called The Out of Sync Child. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but there are check lists in it for sensory issues that help you see what areas your child has issues with.

http://www.amazon.com/Out---Sync-Child-Recognizing-Processing/dp/0399531653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329593595&sr=8-1

There is a follow up book that I have not read called The Out of Sync Child Has Fun that has activiies and one called Growing an In Sync Child that looks like helps with development.

http://www.amazon.com/Out---Sync-Child-has-Fun/dp/0399528431/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1329593595&sr=8-4

http://www.amazon.com/Growing--Sync-Child-Activities-Develop/dp/0399535837/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1329593595&sr=8-5#_

Hope those can help. We deal with several of the things you have mentioned in your son.

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
greenebalts
Member

Thanks so much ladies for you thoughtful input! I've been busy ordering up the library resources you've recommended. Thanks Sonya for the evaluation link. I'll be sure to check it out!

Blessings to you all,

Melissa

http://reflectionsfromdrywoodcreek.blogspot.com/

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
TracyM
Member

I didn't read all the replies so sorry if I repeated something. I have a house full of APD kids. Two boys and a girl. (the 4th is yet to be determined. lol) With what you said, I might look into both. Some of the symptoms do overlap and it's not uncommon to have both, but there are different therapy options for each. So you'll want to know where exactly he needs the help.

APD is tested by an audiologist that specializes in it. I have no idea where you'd do testing for austism, we haven't had any issues there.

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
TracyM
Member

My favorite book I think was called the Mislabeled Child. It coveres several learning things, but it has a GREAT section on APD. There is a section on Autism as well I think too. Another book for APD is "When the Brain Can't Hear"

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
Sue
Member

Yay! I'm so glad Sonya posted. I couldn't for the life of me remember where she had linked to testing in a prior thread, and I was just thinking about that test a few days ago.

What I'm struggling with right now is thinking I should have another evaluation of my son. (It's been 3.5 years since the original diagnosis.) But I'm not sure if he needs testing again, whether he retakes the same tests, or if there is something else we should do. I just have this vague feeling that I need something to tell me what to do next, instead of just continuing with things we've been doing.

One thing I do know is that I am not going to our local school district to ask about this. They are just too busy (and maybe too underfunded) to handle this properly, especially for someone who is not even enrolled in their school system.

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
Misty
Member

sorry what is APD?

You know the scary thing I look at the things you mentioned and go I think I have something like that? And the noise thing is HUGE for me. My kids know that if you turn on the fan on the stove it will make me so crabby so fast and my dh is constantly turning it on, always worried about to much moisture in the house and doesn't get that it just makes me cringe. Its just something about that noise that makes me loose it. Cause I love the noise of our corn stove running, the house fan going at night, etc.? Anyway.. Thanks for this post. I am praying for everyone as I have a few kids who also fall somewhere in here.

I know some don't buy it, others think it's crazy and there are a few who have never but I really believe it has to do with all the shots our kids are given. Some of us (like me) just really didn't know in the beginning what that did, so my 1st 3 children are much different than the last 4 who never had any. Anyway, that's just my personal opinion and wish often I could take those back. Misty

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post
Misty
Member

OH MY .. I am so slow.. I scrolled back to the top and there it was Auditory Processing Disorder. Ok off to see what the library has. Feeling like a fool.

Posted 1 year ago # Report Post

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