Not Good Enough?
The Remediation of Processing Disorders Begins With A Thorough Screening:
Most everybody knows good vision requires 20/20 eyesight. Fewer people know that good hearing requires passing a 20dB hearing screening across all speech frequencies, bilaterally. But, did you know that just passing these two tests is “Not Good Enough” for the ability to effectively learn?
Learning is ideally 50% auditory (hearing) and 50% visual; with the emphasis greater on auditory skills in Kindergarten – 1st – 2nd grades and swinging to greater emphasis on visual skills in the higher grades 4th, 5th, 6th and so on.
A child who is struggling with communication skills and/or learning skills often presents with very similar symptoms. How is a concerned parent to know what the real problem is?
Is it a visual acuity problem?
or
Is it an auditory acuity problem?
or
Is it a visual processing problem?
or
Is it an auditory processing problem?
ALL FOUR AREAS NEED TO BE ASSESSED.
An acuity problem, if found, needs to be addressed by an optometrist for eyes, and an audiologist for ears. A referral for complete diagnostic work-up and treatment will be required.
A processing problem implies that the child can/does adequately receive the information through the “ear gates” or the “eye gates,” but something interferes with the sorting and analyzing of that information in the brain.
That sounds very serious and detrimental to the child’s emotional and academic growth, and it is. Normally, a child does not “outgrow” a processing problem, just like a child cannot outgrow an acuity problem. But the good news is that both visual processing deficits and auditory processing deficits are completely remediable in this day and age.
The knowledge of what the breakdowns are in both areas has been around for over 35 years. However, only recently has the technology been advanced enough to be able to help your child remediate these problems.
One complicating matter, though, is that the symptoms for auditory processing deficits and visual processing deficits “appear” or should I say “sound” very similar.
A complete Auditory Processing & Visual Processing Screening at Merritt Speech & Learning can clearly delineate the problem. Acuity and Processing in both the auditory and visual domains will be thoroughly screened. At that time, a plan will be made to remediate the problems.
Does that mean that the child will be “slow to develop” and “not very intelligent?” No, it does not. More often than not, these children develop normally and are above average in intelligence but, they “do not test well” on traditional IQ tests.
If your child has a communication problem or a learning problem, please contact Merritt Speech & Learning for a Screening. The time required is two hours for the testing and one hour to immediately go over the results and recommendations. Before you contact us, review and print the list of Signs of Auditory & Visual & Motor Processing Deficits and the Questionnaire. Be sure to bring those to the Screening. If your child wears glasses/contacts and/or hearing aides, those should be worn according to the doctor’s directions.