Road to Diagnosis - pulling hair out

[Justiceuadd]

Anyone else feel like pulling their hair out due to different opinions on diagnosis. Some doctors say Beneficial - some look at you like you are mad for wanting one?
DD1 has confirmed Learning difficulties but no actual diagnosis. Been to Pediatrician, who referred us to the OT, then onto genetics (But not to hold hope that this will help as it's a shot in the dark)
Daughter is bullied by other kids her age - they don't want to play with a kid that can't talk properly and goes off track as though she has forgotten what conversation she was having. Tried to sign her up to a club for children with difficulties but they want diagnosis so she is fitted into the right group. Is learning difficulty not enough?
Daughters problems include Speech problems, Memory Issues, Auditory processing difficulties, she is in Primary 3 (7) and has not yet got A-Z or 1-10 as every time she seems to have learned it, one week passes and it's gone again. Anyone else went through something like this? Any hints or tips appreciated as we thought learning through games was working but it seems to have stopped being effective? (Sorry for the rant, having one of those days .. ) x

I don't want your post to go unanswered.

I think a diagnosis is always helpful, and you should definately try and get one.

It's hard to know what's going on from you've written. My DD has learning difficulties which they labelled as dyslexia. And though not nearly as severe as your DD, still stopped her from learning to read or much else.

I've tried every therapy under the sun and most of them have worked. DDs 8 now and has almost caught up (but like I say she wasn't as severe as your DD to start with)

If you're interested in therapies I can recommend some. But all the ones I know about are aimed at children with ASD / ADHD / dyspraxia and dyslexia.

Justiceuadd

From what you have described Auditory Processing Disorder APD could be one of the major factors.
If you are having problems with your GP getting referral for an assessment and diagnosis then you could download the Medical Research Councils 2004 APD pamphlet, from their main web site listed on the links above or from the APDUK web site
APD could be an underlying cause of some of his speech issues, and cause of a poor auditory memory, and coping with these types of disabilities can cause problems with the working memory, especially when under stress.
APD is a listening disability and can limit our abilities to process social communication, following conversations, following changes in games when playing etc, and following multiple verbal instructions.

Sounds a bit like my son who is 5 and in year one. He also has dyspraxia and attention and concentration issues but has difficulty retaining information. He can not write his own name yet despite extra help at school and keeps forgetting what he has previously learnt. He can ask someone their name 3/4 times in a 5 minute space because he can't remember even though they have answered him. It may possible be processing difficulties/verbal memory that could be a cause. Perhaps something like dyslexia or a more general learning difficulty maybe the outcome. This is where an formal assessment using tests maybe useful by an Educational Psychologist to establish where the difficulty lies.

Thanks for the replies. DD has been to OT and the outcome was that she needed no further appointments as they found she was not in the 'Worrying' zone. Dyspraxia seemed to be ruled out from then on.
DD is the same wasuup she has only started remembering names of the children in her class this year.
Nowadays I seem to have to say 'try thinking for a few minutes and come back' when she doesn't remember something and can tell it's getting her frustrated although it's what the pediatrician has said to do. Words go a miss so she can't construct the sentence she's trying to say so will use 'Aww whats that word' and 'I know this' < Then either laughs at herself or starts to panic.
Days of the week are a big task as even with calender or so on she panics about 'PE day' or show and tell, because she can't remember what day it is so now takes them every day (Even if I tell her it's not that day)
Frustration though is coming from being told they may never know why, and that's that. Pediatrician is coming to school meetings late, not adding anything to the meeting, looking bored and only ever adding in 'Well that's nothing to do with me, that's an education issue' requested a change of pediatrician but was told she is the only one for this area. Heading to genetics on Wednesday but she had told me she doesn't believe this will help 'Ditch attempt'.
Ranting again, just feeling confused by the whole mess. Midwife spotted things were not progressing at 9 months, yet still floating around the NHS at 7 and 1/2. :)
Thanks for posting - at the point of trying anything to help her as she just wants friends, and wants to ride a bike, wants to do the same school work as everyone else and can see the frustration she has with herself. x

Has your dd been assessed by the speech and language therapist? If not then you can look up the details on your local PCT and either self refer or attend any local drop in clinics they may have. Google word finding difficulties as they could indicate verbal dyspraxia?

www.afasicengland.org.uk

www.afasicengland.org.uk/publications/glossary-sheets

I would second an appointment with a SALT :)

Also playing memory games like pairs, put items on a tray and take a couple away and guess what is missing etc.

Also if you let her use the computer. Use word and get her to type the days of the week several times over so she is seeing the word rather than being told.

Then you type and omit a day and get her to type the missing word answer and give her a reward of a choc button every time she gets it right.

Same can be done for alphabet.

This can help detect visual memory works as well as help working memory along the way.

DS is very much a visual thinker and this has helped with his reading abilities.

Also try giving her Omega 3 oils this is helping DS.

Good luck all this is so frustrating for you :)