ADHD, Language delay, speech delay... | ADHD Information

my dd is in first grade and I just had my conference with her teacher.  She is having problems with reading and writing.  For some reason she can't take the letter sounds that she knows and put them on paper or sound them out in a word and read it.  She knows all her letter sounds but for some reason they get lost before she can do anything with them. 

Is anyone else having this problem?  She has an IEP in place but her teacher this year has not looked at it yet. 

She is such a sweet girl.  It just breaks my heart to see her struggle.  She is doing somewhat better in math.  The teacher mentioned doing further testing to see if their is another underlying condition. 

Her speech is improving but her expressive language is still pretty bad.  She is in speech twice per week.  She uses a lot of baby talk and has a hard time finding the right words to say a complete sentence....and if she can't say a complete sentence how is she supposed to write one. 

She has no behavioral problems.  She is currently on 30mg Vyvanse and it is helping with her inattentativeness but we may have to up her dosage soon.  Sometimes it just seems like she doesn't understand what you are asking her.  I know I'm rambling but does this sound at all like your child?

Thanks,  Melissa

 

 

melissa how old is she? When is her three year review for her IEP?

She is almost 7 (next month) and in first grade.  She still has two years left for a three year review.  We started a new school this past March and new things were added to her IEP to help her in the classroom.  Those things were related to her ADHD and focus though.

Melissa

Hi Melissa,

Yes......... your daughter sounds like a mirror image of my son back when he was 6 and in first grade.....he is now 15 and a sophmore in HS. He still struggles with inattentive ADHD, but he is actually gifted IQ wise and takes some AP classes.

My son had both expressive/receptive delays, mild articulations issues, plus language processing deficits.  On top of that, he had an auditory processing disorder which complicated the whole picture!    I don't know what your financial resources and insurance benefits are.......but I'd highly recommend supplementing the in school speech services with more aggressive private speech therapy if possible.  The twice a week 30 minutes stuff these kids get in school just is NOT intensive enough.  Like your daughter, my son started off with very shaky reading skills.  His phonemic awareness skills were terrible.......which will really affect the learning to read well.  Then you get into the vicious cycle of discouragement, low self esteem, etc.  That's why you just can't afford to not be aggressive in therapy.  There is a window of opportunity in teaching these kids to read well....... don't delay.   One thing I would recommend is asking for both speech and reading lab.  Another recommendation.......... a computer program called Fast ForWord by Scientific Learning.  www.fastforword.com   This is what REALLY helped my son's weak phonemic awareness skills.   Very expensive, but a lot of school districts are actually using it now for reading at risk kids.  Check your district.   Good luck!

Okiemom

I agree.

 It also does not hurt to have her testing for co-existing LD's. I was asking her age as sometimes it's a litle too young for this, but 7 is good.

Thank you all so much for your replies.  The first thing I am going to do is check with our insurance co about more therapy.  I will also make sure she is getting extra help at school for reading.  I am going to meet with her speech/language therapist as well. 

I checked out the Fast Forword program but it is very expensive and we may not be able to swing it.  I'm just so sad for her.  Her self confidence when it comes to reading and writing is just terrible.  It's hard to see your child suffer. 

Thanks,

Melissa

It definitely sounds like there are some other issues going on in co-exsistence with the ADHD. My son is 9years old and is autistic and has multiple delays due to the autism along with ADHD. He gets private Speech and OT and without those, I KNOW he would not be nearly as successful as he is now.

good luck!