AR Testing (Comprehension of story)

I have a child who has Speech Apraxia, ADD/ADHD and a learning disability. She unfortunately started her first grade level with the worst teacher imaginable. Something recently changed. However, the problem that I'm trying so desperately to find is, how to help her comprehend a story and test on it? I have tried everything. She is tested several times and gets it right at home. However, when she goes back to school for testing, she fails.

Please help me find the right guidance. She currently holds an IEP, receives OT and SP, reading coach, resources teacher, and I hired a personal tutor. Soooo many things.

- Worried Mom

[lisaob1]

hi,my daughter also has learning difficulties,she is 17 now but when she was a baby she had speech therapy,she had an op on her larynx when she was 9,.her speech has most definitely improved,and im telling you this because although she has had speech related problems,if my daughter sits down and does some work as in maths or spelling or english on her own or with just me she is fine,but the second she is pressured she gets so aggitated and finds the easiest of tasks so difficult,although i know she is totally capable and she does to..she is in college now,and her tutor and myself find that telling her counting to ten helps an awful lot by giving her focus. i found by letting my daughter find her own way as frustrating as it was for me as i knew she could acheive it,that i had to take a step back and let her find her own way,in her own time and have patience,our situations are probably so different..it took me a long time though to work out and accept,i wish you all the very best.sometimes the answer is right under your nose. xx

[specialmom]

Hi there.  Have you asked your occupational therapist about motor planning difficulties?  This not only can make things like speech and fine motor control difficult but can also cause issues in such things as comprehension.  If she is overwhelmed, nervous, etc. the mind can be more 'chaotic' and she would have harder time organizing and processing what she is reading.  My son has sensory processing disorder and this is an issue for him.  He can focus and concentrate better if he has what they call "heavy work" prior to a test.  (you can google this or as your OT, but basically some muscle work or deep pressure.  I have classroom ideas if needed).  That she can comprehend at home and not in school-----  it would lead me to believe that there is an issue with processing in 'active' environments.  

The other thing to think about is if you do something different at home than what they do at school.  Do they give her all the time she needs or time her, is it silent at home and impossible to recreate that in the classroom at school, ?  Those types of things.  

But I'd look into processing issues to see if this could help you help her improve school tests.  good luck (my boy is 8 and in the second grade and we go through some of these same issues.  He's a smart boy but can have processing issues.)

[specialmom]

Hi, I wanted to bump this to the top for you to catch it.  I think I'd go to your OT and ask about motor planning.

[1sherwood]

Has she been tested by an audiologist for auditory processing disorders and a developmental ophthalmologist to rule out visual processing disorders? How do you test her at home? Has she ever been given her tests at school orally?  Try googling the "click clunk" method. Works well for comprehension. Also try having her draw the important parts of the storyline, it crosses the left and right brain learning and may help her remember. Write a simple summary of the story leaving important words out and putting  blanks in their place. Have her practice reading summary or even sequenced sentences of the story and have her fill in the blanks.

[skepticalpeach]

I would also consider asking for a paraprofessional to help her at school. She may also be suffering from test anxiety. I would try and find out ways to help her relax and stay calm during an exam.

[specialmom]

Note, visual processing and auditory processing disorders are really sensory integration issues.  It is under the sensory umbrella and typically treated with sensory as a whole (motor planning included).  good luck