Expert: Christine D. DeLoatch, MA CCC-SLP - 7/30/2008

Question
QUESTION: I believe that my 7-yr.-old son might have this but diagnosing it seems to be VERY expensive. We've already had him tested by an educational psychologist and he was diagnosed with mild ADD (inattentive) and mild expressive/receptive language disorder.
After reading about CAPD, my gutt says this is probably what he suffers from, along from being more of a visual-spatial learner. (It's probably all related though!)
We've move him to a smaller private school down the street for the upcoming year as he does much better with more one-on-one learning. (really. who doesn't!? ;-) )
My question to you is, what sort of therapy/treatment, etc. would be helpful to him? And does any of this treatment need a "formal" CAPD diagnosis?
He's very athletic, a terrific speller (i think b/c he actually has a visual memory and can "see' the words), but he has trouble with comprehension on all levels, especially word problems. And he often does the "what" when spoken to (his regular hearing is fine) and even responds to my questions/statements/directions asking simple vocabulary questions, like "what's a car, etc." when I use them. (maybe not as simple as a car, but ALMOST!) (Obviously, he knows what a car is, but I think his brain is just trying to catch up and he's stalling.)
He's really a sweet kid and we just want him to be able to learn more easily.
Help!

ANSWER: Dear Adrianne,

Thanks for asking me your question. I apologize for the delay in my response.  

Depending on the type of insurance coverage your son has will determine how expensive it actually is out-of-pocket.  

There are two avenues to work on central auditory processing disorder.  The first one involves the audiologist.  The audiologist should be able to let you know based upon your insurance how much of the testing and treatment is covered if any.  The testing involves telling whether or not your son can filter voices from background noise, whether he processes sentences slower than others, and whether he hears better with one ear than the other.  

There is some computerized training sessions that can be done to help improve the speed of processing and other skills.  Sometimes, an audiologist will recommend what is called an auditory trainer.  This is like a small set of ear buds/ hearing aid that help your son hear the teacher's voice louder than other things in the room.  This can get more expensive.  

Usually, a speech therapist also gives an evaluation to determine if there is also a language problem.  That your son doesn't know the meaning of words or that he isn't hearing some of the sounds correctly like the 't' sound in words.  Speech therapists can work on these skills also.  Sometimes it is easier for the speech therapy to be covered than the treatment by the audiologist.  

You will have to explore your options.  You can find out if speech therapy is covered by your insurance plan and how many visits they cover in a year.  If your child has medicaid, speech therapy is usually covered.  

You can also look into some computer programs call Earobics or Fast Forward.  Earobics has a home program that may help also, buy check on which operating system is needed.  I don't think these are Vista compatible yet.  

Check in to some strategies for classroom teachers also.  I suggest that they check to be sure your son understands the directions when they are given out loud.

I do hope that helps some.  You can go to www.asha.org to read more about Central Auditory Processing Disorder.

Many blessings to you for observing your son so closely and identifying areas where he can improve.


Christine

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks.
I know for a fact that none of the above is "covered" under my insurance.
It MIGHT fall under a yearly high deductible.
So, do all audiologists do CAPD analyses?
Whenever I google around, it seems that those who specialize in this charge
large amounts.
He WAS taking speech last year in school, but I don't know what he was doing
other than pronunciations.

Answer
Dear Adrianne,

I'm sorry to hear that your insurance does not cover speech therapy or audiology services.  I suggest that you go through the school system.  You will need to look at his IEP - that is the plan that you should have approved to get him speech therapy in the school setting.  

You can still get the speech therapy he needs at the public school without any cost to you except that you will need to transport him to the sessions.  Look at the IEP and contact the school speech therapist to see how to make this work.  You may have to take him to the public school first thing in the morning or take him out of school a little early 1-2 days a week.  

Since you do not have insurance to cover this- it would be the best solution.  You need to ask if Language testing was completed and if it looks like he has a language processing problem/disorder.  Often when there is a mild receptive/expressive language disorder there may be some processing problems.  Ask about what the tests showed.  

Unfortunately, not all audiologists do testing for central auditory processing disorder.  

You may want to try to save up for the expense and also check into the computer programs I suggested.  

I hope this helps some.

Christine