Between our two kids we've got apraxia of speech, sensory issues and attention deficit disorder with a side of anxiety, compulsive behaviors and, depending on the week, tics. Things may be complicated in our house but, hey, at least they're unpredictable.

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Kung Pao Confusion

It was somewhere between the won ton soup and the kung pao chicken when I knew something wasn’t right.

My parents were visiting from New York and we were all at the kitchen table eating take-out Chinese for dinner. Ari leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I don’t remember their names.”

She was referring to my parents, her grandparents, who she speaks to by phone, receives packages from, and visits with on a regular basis. Her question left me anxious and disturbed—much the way I imagine she felt at not being able to retrieve their names. But I leaned over and whispered back in her ear, “Grandma Tommye and Grandpa Sandy.” Satisfied, she said, “Oh, OK,” and went back to eating her spring roll.

If Ari had phrased her question differently, if she had instead said, “I forget. Are they your parents or dad’s parents?” I wouldn’t have been concerned; kids get that kind of thing mixed up. But there was something about how she asked it, that she felt self-conscious about it, that made me concerned.

When I shared this story with my friend Kim, she suggested that maybe Ari had ADD. I started laughing. “Are you manic?” she asked. “Yes,” I said. “I even have the title of my next book all picked out—Me and the ADD Three.”

I had previously spoken with Diane, Ari’s speech therapist, about my concern about Ari’s social language skills. She was constantly interrupting people. And she had a hard time waiting for someone to respond to her. I referred to Ari as a “verbal bulldozer” and realized that I used this same phrase at one time to describe Max.

Back when Ari was diagnosed with apraxia, Dave and I weren’t too surprised to see her following in Max’s verbal footsteps. Now I was faced with the possibility that she might share his other challenges, too.

What does Ari’s future hold? I don’t yet know. The answer wasn’t in the fortune cookies, that’s for sure.

2 Comments:

At 10:01 AM, July 16, 2007, Blogger Angel The Alien said...

My nephew is like that with names... His second-grade teacher was very worried about him because he came back from winter break and had forgotten the names of all his classmates! He also forgets the names of his toys, even when he named them himself! He just has a lot of trouble processing auditory information. Show him a picture, and he'll remember it forever!

 
At 12:36 PM, November 20, 2007, Blogger Unknown said...

My daughter is the same way with names and interupting people. More often than not she looks to me to answer or speak for her when she is spoken too. Only because she doesn't understand what she heard! I'm learning a lot About CAPD. I have one more child that may or may not have these issues but at least I know what to look for!

 

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