(see last post for update)
I know--ridiculous, right?
Actually, I still think she's spectrumy! But now we have had THREE professionals dismiss this concern (one when she was three, two recently...but she's still never been formally assessed....I think I probably need to ask again, but they were so dimissive of the idea at our last appointment!) To many professionals, she apparently just does not "read" spectrumy.
Anyway, this ADHD/auditory thing not my suggestion/suspicion, but DD's teacher. Here are the concerns she mentioned:
--DD seems spaced out in class a lot (yet gets 100s on everything)
--After an assignment is explained to the class, DD will ask to have it explained again to her individually (yet when pressed she does actually seem to understand--I read this as anxiety/need for reassurance, not a listening problem)
--DD has difficulty following fast-paced large group situations (whether this is peers or an adult-led situation--something about it seems to fluster her)
--DD sometimes seems not to hear what others are saying to her or to be in her own world (but her teacher does not think this is actually a hearing issue)
--DD sometimes takes a long time to complete assignments, though this is largely because she is doing beyond-exemplary work
This is not the first time we have heard "spacey" about DD at school. Honestly, I have brushed it off because at home I would never describe her this way (and also because she always gets perfect grades, so who cares, YK? She's obviously listening "enough" and who can blame her if she's vacationing in her head a little?) Oppositional, yes. Not on-task, often. Spacey? Not so much. So maybe it's a noise issue? A boredom issue? Or maybe we are looking at an auditory thing or an attention thing? I looked at ADHD-inattentive again and I just don't see it. She completes her work, she has a great attention span (not just for things of interest) and she is pretty organized. She is and always has been the kid who is sitting there completing the craft project to perfection when all the rest of the kids have moved on.
There is some medical background. She had repeated ear infections, hearing loss, and ear tubes as a toddler. She had a hearing test lately at her ped. She passed, but it was odd. The nurse said the equipment was new and both she and DD seemed confused and bewildered. DD kept not being sure when to raise her hand. I wondered if DD was sort of tanking it and the nurse was writing it off to equipment.
ETA that IIRC, the hearing loss was considered resolved after ear tube placement. She was followed by an ENT for a while and eventually discharged. She did have professional hearing tests at that time...a number. Man, my memory is terrible.
Last edited by ultramarina; 10/08/12 05:09 PM.
