Lots would.
I was wanting to get some feedback about CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder) and Pdd. My dd 9 yo has been dx'd with PDD-nos and recently found to to have CAPD where she is expected to wear an FM system for the following year to see if there's improvement.
She is dyslexic and has struggled for 3 years to learn to read and not been successful. We had evaluations through the school by speech and psych and no one mentioned CAPD. She has always looked inattentive at school and the CAPD findings were that she's unable to decipher sounds when there are two or more at the same time.
I also wanted to suggest anyone who has a child who appears inattentive and struggles academically to have them tested for CAPD. Ironically, I had made the appt. for my 5 yo dd who I was more concerned and ended up passing (barely).
My question is since Pdd is a communication disorder would most pdd kids test as having CAPD if they were tested. I'm wondering if it would be similar to sensory disorder like a component of PDD.
Good question. My take on it is that CAPD affects a different part of the brain than ASDs. They would thus have an APD, but not CAPD?
However, I was interested in this earlier and was told on another board that the CAPD dx has fallen out of favor in recent years. When I asked about assistive listening devices at my school I was shut down BUT FAST. Of course they would prefer to give a dx that brings funds. And also, the AL devices are REALLY pricey, and if the kid needs the individual one, I suspect they are easy to BREAK. Thus the schools prefer to offer SpEd in a one-on-one setting ... just my guess.
One of the Big Guys in CAPD theory and testing is local to me. The testing he offers is like 2000, no insurance accepted. Same cost as the four-hour Developmental Disability screening. HMMMMMMMMMMMM ....
Spectrummum, That's true my dd has dyslexia dx'd reading and math disorder (less than grade 1 level) NVLD and Pdd-nos and some attention issues although not formally dx'd. She's also expected to manage learning in a mainstream class.
Alice, a VERY GOOD audiology office at a children's hospital told me they do not do CAPD testing and that this guy was IT in our (large metro) area! I too was surprised after reading the book by Terri Bell (?) on APDs. She made it sound like it was easy to get the testing and diagnosis and it had been overlooked!
Between that, the school Autism coach shuttign me down, and then hearing what I did from another mom and teacher, o nteh east coast (philly I think?), I opted not to pursue it ... YET.
OZZIE-ROZIES-MA
if you are in the uk you can apply for a statement of education online without the school back up
if you think she needs extra help then apply
love shell
http://local.direct.gov.uk/LDGRedirect/index.jsp?LGSL=9& LGIL=0&ServiceName=Apply+for+an+assessment+of+special+ed ucational+needs
Wow! looks like I got a bargain basement discount.
Linda, I did find this link that may help these are CAP certified audiologists by state. GL!
http://pages.cthome.net/cbristol/capd-rf2.html
Although CAPD has recently been promoted as a rather new term within the broader area of 'learning disabilities', in reality the notion of an auditory or language-based learning disability has been considered since the earliest days of LD diagnosis. In essence, a Central Auditory Processing Disorder describes a situation in which the underlying cause of a student's learning difficulties is believed to be a generalized weakness in the ability to cognitively process verbal or 'auditory' information. Typically, such a student performs quite well nonverbally (with visual or 'hands-on' activities) but struggles to understand or remember information which is presented verbally. This is not due to poor hearing but is related to an assumed weakness in the brain's ability to fully or efficiently process auditory information.
In the early days of LD diagnosis and treatment, evaluators would frequently look at differences between Verbal and Nonverbal (Performance) IQ scores in order to diagnose learning disabilities. A relatively low Verbal IQ score suggested underlying auditory or language-based processing difficulties which were believed to be the cause of the student's learning difficulties. As our professional understanding of cognitive processing broadened, it became apparent that there was much more to most learning disabilities than simply a difference between verbal and nonverbal abilities. Ultimately, it was found that many students who were formerly believed to have verbal or auditory processing weakness were more accurately diagnosed through other processing models. As a result, the visual/auditory or verbal/nonverbal comparison lost favor as a diagnostic process.
So why has the CAPD term made such a dramatic comeback in recent years? Well, as with many other educational theories which lose favor and then are later resurrected, it seems that psychologists and other educational diagnosticians have found reason to believe that certain subgroups of LD students not only demonstrate the old 'verbal vs. nonverbal' discrepancy but also often demonstrate other characteristics which set them apart from typical LD students. These characteristics frequently include difficulty maintaining attention, difficulty with detailed memorization, and generalized difficulty with planning or organizational skills.
Because of the rather unique cluster of behaviors and cognitive skills found with these CAPD students, some professionals have even suggested the need for a separate CAPD special education category. Other educational professionals are skeptical of the need for such a classification and note that this same pattern of behavioral and cognitive skills is found in many students who have been identified with generalized sequential processing difficulty or some form of attention deficit disorder (ADD or ADHD).
Clearly, the primary factor in diagnosing a true auditory processing learning disability (such as CAPD) is the documentation of a generalized weakness in verbal or language-based information processing skills. This continues to be most accurately evaluated though formal cognitive assessment by an instrument (or battery of instruments) which evaluates both verbal and nonverbal abilities and provides broad cluster scores in both of these areas. If problems are also being identified in nonverbal areas (such as the Coding subtest of a Wechsler IQ test) the CAPD diagnosis may not be appropriate. Students with real auditory processing weakness will typically struggle most with academic tasks which involve lectures or written instruction and which provide limited visual or nonverbal information. These students will generally have most difficulty in the areas of reading and writing due to difficulty processing or expressing language-based information. Math will probably be relatively strong.
When the CAPD diagnosis is being considered it is very important not to overlook the possibility of generalized sequential processing weakness and/or an underlying attention deficit disorder
hope this helps hun
shell
http://groups.msn.com/autismaspergersinthefamily
Symptoms of CAPD can range from mild to severe and can take many different forms. If you think there may be a problem with how your child processes what he or she hears, ask yourself these questions:
These, as well as other behaviors, may be signs of a central auditory processing disorder (CAPD). It's an often-misunderstood problem because many of the behaviors noted above may also appear in other conditions such as learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), and even depression But kids with CAPD can have a coexisting disorder - the most commonly seen is ADHD. Although CAPD is often confused with ADHD, it is possible to have both.
The possible causes of CAPD are varied and can include head trauma, leadpoisoning, chronic ear infections and unknown reasons. Because there are many different possibilities - even combinations of causes - each child has to be assessed on an individual basis.
Audiologists (specialists in hearing) can determine if your child has CAPD. Although speech-language pathologistscan get an idea by interacting with your child, only audiologists can perform central auditory processing testing and determine if there really is a problem.
However, some of the skills a child needs to be evaluated for central auditory processing disorder don't develop until 8 or 9 years old. The auditory center of the brain isn't fully developed at age 7, 8, and 9 - the most common ages audiologists see for the central auditory processing test. These kids' brains just haven't matured enough to accept and process a lot of information. Therefore, many children diagnosed with CAPD can develop better skills with time.
Once diagnosed, children with CAPD usually work with a speech therapist. The audiologist will also recommend that your child return for yearly follow-up evaluations.
Here are the five main problem areas that can affect both home and school activities in children with CAPD.
If your child has CAPD, there are strategies that can be used at home and school to alleviate some of the problem behaviors associated with CAPD.
Difficulty with following directions is possibly the single most common complaint about children with CAPD. Some of things you can do that may help:
For directions that are to be completed at a later time, writing notes, wearing a watch, and maintaining a household routine also help. General organization and scheduling also seem to be beneficial for many children with CAPD.
It's especially important to teach your child to be responsible and actively involved in his or her own success. Your child can be encouraged to notice noisy environments, for example, and move to quieter places when listening is necessary.
These other home strategies may also be helpful:
These are all very important goals. Your modeling of these behaviors goes far toward encouraging them in your child.
It's also important to keep in regular contact with school personnel about your child's progress. Kids with CAPD aren't typically put in a special education class. Instead, techniques are used to make the child's regular classrooms more "friendly" for him or her. For example, it's important to discuss seating plans with teachers (a child with CAPD should sit toward the front of the room with his or her back to the windows). Also, talk to your child's teacher about specific plans for problem academic areas and provide your child with whatever aids may help in class, such as an assignment pad or a tape recorder.
One of the most important things that both parents and teachers can do is to realize that CAPD is real. Symptoms and behaviors are not within the child's control. What is within the child's control is recognizing the problems associated with CAPD and applying the strategies recommended both at home and school.
A positive, realistic attitude and healthy self-esteem in a child with CAPD can work wonders. And kids with CAPD can go on to be just as successful as other classmates. Although some children do, however, grow up to be adults with CAPD, with coping strategies and by using techniques taught to them in speech therapy, they can be very successful adults.
http://groups.msn.com/autismaspergersinthefamily
Is CAPD anything like ADHD or autism?
Current literature uses the term comorbidity to relate CAPD to other diagnostic labels. This means that the two may coexist with each other or with a multitude of other individually labeled disorders such as LD, ADD, dyslexia, autism, PDD, et al. CAPD, however, is one of the few that is "measurable" through established audiology and otology instrumental tests. ADHD, autism, etc. are usually diagnosed by case history and observation of overt behaviors such as failure to stay seated, inattention, hyperactivity (or hypoactivity), etc., etc. As a generality, CAPD is almost always a component of learning disabilities, ADHD, dyslexia, autism and other related disorders, but the reverse is not necessarily true. Therefore focus on the CAPD component will be helpful in reducing the symptoms of the other labeled disorders. It is a strong possibility that all of the listed disorders do not exist as separate illnesses but are rather related to each other on a severity continuum beginning from the very mild (dyslexia for example) to severe (autism).
Linda, it shouldn't be that expensive you may want to phone around.
I paid for each of my girls to have a Central Auditory Processing test and the audiologist was certified and had a degree in communication disorders. The test was 30 minutes of listening and responding back to pre-recorded words/sounds and the audiologist checked or X'ed the response and then totalled the score. She then wrote on the result paper that Zoe required an FM system at school and to return for re-eval in one year.
They were required to have had a standard hearing test first and to have passed which we had done a couple months ago.
My understanding is that the FM systems are beneficial for some students who have atttention problems ADHD etc but they aren't readily prescibed accomodations for these disorders. I don't know if my dd shows CAPD due to ADD and PDD but perhaps it's a way to try something that's not normally available to PDD/ADD kids.