I appreciate the 2-cents! Please! I'm asking for it!
I don't think Shari thought it was apraxia, just that it sounds like it might be a related APD because of the brain-speech connection. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, Shari.)
Certainly, I didn't think it was apraxia, but I thought Shari's point was supportive of it being some APD.
-Have trouble paying attention to and remembering information presented orally
*His WM is a 135, which is much higher than I would have guessed it to be based on how quickly he forgets directions given orally. I make him repeat directions so that he remembers them. This is a pretty strong yes.
-Have problems carrying out multistep directions
*Again, he does have trouble with multi-step directions, certainly more trouble than he should have with a 135 WMI. I think he has been relying on his memory quite heavily to cope and it is masking a lot of problems. He will forget the first direction I gave him or the last. If I give him more than 2 things to do, he'll leave at least one out.
-Have poor listening skills
*I'm less sure about this one. He tends to interrupt conversations inappropriately in ways that his brother never did. He often asks a question and then talks over me while I answer it. It's not utterly age-inappropriate though, so I'm not sure.
-Need more time to process information
*Maybe. His processing speed was significantly lower than his VCI and his PRI. It was on the high end of average, though, so it wasn't slow. He's not a kid I'd call fast, certainly.
-Have low academic performance
*The high level of giftedness makes this hard to answer fairly, I think. I do think he's not been performing as well as he could. It's hard to persuade anyone of that because he is advanced. But that he misses math problems when they're on paper leads me to answer a mild yes to this.
-Have behavior problems
*No.
-Have language difficulty (e.g., they confuse syllable sequences and have problems developing vocabulary and understanding language)
*Yes, I have seen vocab issues. He has been asking meanings of words I would expect him to know. He started talking in sentences pretty early, but his vocabulary has felt...stuck?...to me for a while. He does not seem at all ahead in this area, despite the fact that he is crazy-talkative. This is a strong yes.
-Have difficulty with reading, comprehension, spelling, and vocabulary
*This is a BIG issue! He is not reading fluently, even with work on sight words, though everyone on both sides of the family was reading fluently before turning 4, and several before turning 3. That he is now 6 and still not reading has been a big concern for me, frankly. (I know that not all gifted kids read early, but this just felt wrong for a kid who is so into books and is so talkative.) He actively dislikes reading. He memorizes books so he can pass as reading, when he is not. More coping...
However, he is pretty good at sounding out words to write, and more importantly, he enjoys doing it. That might seem to work against an APD.
Wow. That's a lot of yes answers...
