Does average auditory processing + sequencing = not dyslexic? ADHD??

[hildaogden99]

I strongly feel my 7 year old daughter is dyslexic. Her brother and dad are and I've recognised many traits in her as has her class teacher and the private tutor who helps with her school work (she's very behind). School are very good and she gets a lot of support and, although she's making some progress, there's clearly a problem.

School called in the Ed Psych who did a number of cognitive tests on her which show that she is not stupid and should be performing much better than she is. She scored at least average in all the tests - well above in some including 74th percentile in verbal reasoning and 98th percentile in her ability to recall pictures. The Ed Pysch said that, because her auditory processing and sequencing are average, she doesn't believe she's dyslexic, although she didn't do an actual dyslexia test. Instead, she has suggested she has ADHD! She is being referred to the hospital for assessment.

I'm rather surprised by this. Yes, she is quite hyper and struggles to concentrate but, having known children with ADHD, she really is not THAT bad and can conform and sit still if she wants to. e.g. she spent a whole weekend away with the Brownies with no complaints. If she does have an element of ADHD it's surely VERY mild and I still think dyslexia is likely to be the main issue.

I do plan to get her privately assessed (School Ed Pysch won't do it) but wondered if I'm wasting my money if her auditory processing/sequencing skills mean that she can't have it.

Any ideas?

Thx.

[moneytree]

Like my DS she may have both - I wish I paid for a private Ed Psych years ago!! I recommend you do that - ask your local private special needs dyslexic school for some recommendations. It's worth every penny. Good luck x

[isitnearlytime]

thank you. Have now received the Ed Pysch's report and her auditory processing & sequencing are pretty low (37th & 28th percentile) so I'm surprised I was told average! Probably because our area hates diagnosing kids with dyslexia and would much rather it were a medical rather than educational problem. Her visual spacial abilities are very high - age equivalent 13! Classic dyslexic profile I reckon. She has been referred for ADHD (which I doubt she has tbh) and we will pay for dyslexia test.

[BucksKid]

25 - 75 is average.

[PercyPorkyPig]

Do you know how she did on the Visual Processing ST Memory Tests? If this was a reasonable score, then your DD may have 'auditory based dyslexia' rather than the more common 'visual dyslexia'. EPs seem to go through cycles of diagnosing and giving 'dyslexia' as a diagnosis, then not diagnosing as the current 'fashion' dictates. If Auditory processing is the difficulty then your DD will need visual & kinaesthetic hooks to support her auditory memory to learn sequences eg x tables, jottings in mental maths.
Private Assessments are notoriously expensive, especially through specialist Dyslexia associations. Some FE Colleges/Schools may have SENCos with specific qualifications in SpLD who may be able to give advice.

[TheFirstOfHerName]

There are different types of ADHD. Perhaps your DD has the inattentive type? I think this is sometimes referred to as ADD.

DD shows most of the signs of inattentive type ADHD and it can also look a lot like dyslexia, dyspraxia or a processing disorder.

I posted on here a few days ago about her (rather depressing) school report. I'll try to copy and paste to see if you see any similarities. The school are going to start the assessment process in Sept.

[TheFirstOfHerName]

Here are the comments from her report. Do any of these sound similar to the difficulties your DD has?

English:
"isn't always able to show her understanding in her written responses to questions"
"needs to work hard at improving her handwriting and general presentation skills"

Maths:
"approach has been rather inconsistent"
"work does not always reflect her true ability"
"written work is often very untidy"
"needs regular reminders about the precise nature of maths"

Science:
"written work is often poorly recorded and unclear, or incomplete"
"she has often needed prompting and support to add the necessary detail and explanations to her work"

General:
"her concentration can wander from time to time"
"she needs to work on her presentation and organisational skills"