I am a school psychologist working with a family with a foster child (been with the family since 8 months) that has some unique characteristics. She is 2 1/2 and her birth mother used alcohol and drugs during pregnancy. She was born at 25 weeks. She has received speech therapy and now is up to speed and her intelligibility is great. The problem is that when you ask her a simple verbal question that she knows, she does not respond, BUT when you have a visual cue such as looking in a book and asking her what a picture is, she will respond. She has difficulty responding without a visual. If you ask her brother's name etc. she will not respond. But, she will talk freely on her own with no problem. She also does not talk alot in her play. Her teachers also report that is takes her awhile to process a direction at times (a lag in processing time). She also "freezes" and stares when someone new enters the room or is in a new situation (no other signs of anxiety, just freezes & stares). Help!
2006-10-11 04:54:29 · 12 answers · asked by Kelly A 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Special Education
Her brain may not be processing verbals, the visual is the method of her "on switch", and this is most likely a result of damage from the drug addicted mother while carrying the child. The freezing is her brain trying to process new information.
I have some experience dealing with handicapped kids, and have seen this many times.
2006-10-11 04:58:42 · answer #1 · answered by housemouse62451 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am the single parent of TWO disabled children (now adults and on their own), and I would have to ask if the child has had a complete neurological evaluation (one current this year), if her hearing has been tested (there are hearing disorders that occur in the way the brain processes sounds), and if she has had a psychological evaluation (current too -- or at least in the last year).
YOU can't do this -- the parents need to take the initiative and talk with the pediatrician to ask about testing these areas in specific.
A lot of what you have mentioned sounds very similar to observations made about one of my children - who did have Asperger's Syndrome (an Autism Spectrum Disorder), and Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD).
CAPD is in the BRAIN -- it is in the section of the brain where sounds are processed. The testing is done by a certified audiologist -- who measures the responses -- and this includes measuring the ability of the ear itself to "hear" the sounds. Think of it this way -- the 'speaker' is outputing sound, the 'receiver' (the ear) is receiving the sound), but the black box that processes the sound is MISWIRED and the sound is not processed.
With CAPD -- you have to be VERY CAREFUL to keep within the range of sound that the child can "process to hear". Again, these measurements come through a qualified audiology evaluation -- and, I am about to say something important here -- CAN NOT BE HELPED through any medical intervention -- no hearing aid will help the child "hear" -- EVER.
As far as the Asperger's Syndrome -- these High Functioning Autistics do respond to learning very well -- in fact, there are many who test out as "HIGHLY GIFTED" -- however, the "miswiring" of the brain itself is the problem.
There is a lot of LITERAL MEANINGS when you deal with an Asperger's Syndrome Student -- you MUST Train yourself AND HER INSTRUCTORS and CLASSROOM AIDE to watch EVERY WORD they say and use -- because there is no way that they can understand slang, colloquialisms, whatever. They DO talk Freely (at times), but in play -- they can get real silent -- because they start to drift off into their little comfort universe where they are overloaded in stimulation and need to re-center themselves so that they can COPE with all the inputs they are receiving.
When the child is taking time to process -- I can definitely state that you are not looking in the right area -- and the INSTRUCTORS are NOT Teaching the child effectively -- this CHILD is a VISUAL LEARNER -- so DRAW Pictures, LIST the STEPS, and have the classroom aide help the child 'refocus' -- this can include the instructor re-phrasing the question so that the child CAN then effectively respond.
2006-10-11 14:32:30 · answer #2 · answered by sglmom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Really nothing beyond removing her from the environment she's in. Ideally, she should be in a rural setting, I would imagine. With a little puppy dog. Music therapy. No television whatsoever. It would be my unlearned opinion that she's completely adrift and too many people are talking to her at one time. Just count the number of different adults the poor little tike is expected to interact with everyday, then compare that to how a child is genetically programmed : a mother 24/7, and a Daddy some of the time. And siblings of various ages. Psychologists and therapists and teachers and caseworkers and teachers aides and her foster parents and her little brain can not possibly process this much information...but then, what do I know?
2006-10-11 05:11:57 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Has she been seen by a neuroligist? It sounds like there has been some physical damage done to her neural pathways and that is leading to some problems with receptive and responsive language processing. None of these things are terribly unusual in a child who has been exposposed to drugs in utereo and to preemies..since she was both it would certainly raise the chances of it. I would ask her foster parents to have her peditrician order a consult with a neuroligist (a pediatric one would be best) to eliminate any physical problems. THis child is going to need a lot of support...some the issues you mention will take time and concentrated work to overcome...but luckily enough she is already getting help and love. Just keep asking until the answers are found.
2006-10-11 07:59:50 · answer #4 · answered by Annie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Has she had a med diagnostic, to rule out neurological concerns. Has she had her hearing tested?..It seems she has some issues processing and this could be some type of sensory disorder or it could be emotion based. I consider standing and staring a sign of anxiety or at least discomfort. Has she been evaluated using any standardized assessments for children such as the battelle or the Hawaii?
2006-10-11 06:07:12 · answer #5 · answered by sev1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She may have an auditory processing problem called CAPD http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/ears/central_auditory.html or Central Auditory Processing Disorder. Something else to consider might be Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, though I am pretty sure you already looked at that.
2006-10-11 10:00:06 · answer #6 · answered by goodpurplemonster 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Perhaps autistic tendencies? I know that sometimes in autism processing spoken words is a problem (they tend to be very literal in their interpretation)and also there is a problem with altering routine/new situations.
I am interested to hear she has had speech therapy so early as its not uncommon for children to be late to talk.
2006-10-11 05:02:48 · answer #7 · answered by Sue 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well it seems as though her comprehension is delayed but considering her age and her rough start in life it doesn't sound too out of the norm.
2006-10-11 05:10:30 · answer #8 · answered by Sandy Sandals 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is possible that she has an auditory processing disorder or it is possible that she has a form of autism.
2006-10-11 16:41:27 · answer #9 · answered by akmackinnon 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm truly sorry I can't help you, but maybe you can help me understand why a school psychologist is looking for help on Yahoo of all places.
2006-10-11 04:58:26 · answer #10 · answered by Spud55 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋