He really doesn't understand. He pays attention. He doesn't seem to be drifting off into his own thoughts (although that's admittdly hard to be sure about). It really seems like he just doesn't understand.
The stories that the SLP read to him: she said most kids do well on the first one and get worse as they go along because they get bored and lose focus. But DS6 turned that pattern on its head. He missed every comprehension question on the first story, some to the point of giving the opposite answer that he should have given. He got not one part of a single question right. She read more stories and he got better as he went along. She said that was unusual and indicates a problem.
No one who has tested him thinks he has any sort of attention issues. He focuses. He doesn't seem to latch on to one part of the question as a general rule. He just doesn't understand what he hears.
Even if he's looking right at an adult who is asking him questions, even if he knows a question is coming, he generally cannot answer it unless I repeat it or even translate it sometimes. He definitely has an easier time understanding me than he does other adults. Even his dad has a harder time than I do with getting through to him.
That's why ELD doesn't seem as on point to me as some sort of auditory processing disorder, since an APD can cause problems with both hearing and reading, as well as with understanding and producing spoken language.
