[tri-med] Re: Aus Alex's Hearing and CAPD


----- Original Message -----
From: "Karen Schuler" <karens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <NanlorW@xxxxxxx>


> > That is really interesting to me. I have seen Dom "switch off", but I
> always
> > thought it was behavioral.

> . During testing it occurred mainly
> in one situation - overload - when he was just processing too much
> information you could literally see him "switch off" as if he were
gathering
> his thoughts, usually he would just pick up where he was, but after a LONG
> pause, but at other times he would perseverate.

US Alex does that too! It's like a zone out. It definately occures more
often when he's tired and/or involved in a long strech of information. We've
seen it at home and teachers view it as "tuning" them out. I don't think he
does this because he WANT'S to ignore them (ok, most of the time???) but
because of system overload.

With Alex's processing delay he's generally a step or two behind, esp in a
lecture type situation. This means he loses info. When the teacher stops and
says "ok, begin" Alex may not know just what to do. It's not that he wasn't
paying attention but that he lagged here and there losing info and train of
thought--esp if notetaking is involved. (Alex is SUPPOSED to recieve copies
of notes in that situation). It just gets to be too much and his brain MAKES
him take a break.

> >> But he
> > would "act" as if he really got every nuance of everything that was
going
> on
> > around him. I think the key word here is "act". He always has said he
> doesn't
> > learn by having someone teach him something, he learns by doing it
> himself.

> OH YES!!!!!!
> With Alex we call it "passing" - he "seems" to get so much but doesn't.

Once again, US Alex does this too.
They get to be good at adapting so that they appear like everyone else. I've
caught Alex doing this in various situations. One example is laughing at a
joke. Now and then I'll ask him why it was funny and he can't tell me. I'll
explain why and then he'll laugh and say "I get it". That's just one
example.


> Again two possibilities with this - one is that the info doesn't make it
> into long term memory - Alex has always had a good memory

Alex does for SOME things. Example: he can remember all the rules and card
possibilities for the game "Sorry". Yet in algebra he can't remember how to
do a problem (something they've touched one each year for the past 3) until
you remind him how it's done. Then he seems to have it for the short term.

>- now unless you drill it in
> (during testing it took three drills) it doesn't make it into long term
> memory.


Drilling........I'm so sick and tired of drilling........so is he!
Again it's strange,  in 5th grade Alex completed the USA map by
memory--state names and captiols assigned to a blank map--on the first test
(some students never did get it after 5 attempts). Boy did we drill that
map!!!!! Yet, Alex still can't work out a rough draft of a paper with a
proper introductory paragraph, main paragraph and closing paragraph. These
are not new concepts and he just doesn't seem to "get it" no matter how much
we discuss or work on it.

>
> Another problem with Alex is that he is very skill specific -
generalisation
> doesn't just happen like it does with other kids. A very simplified
example
> is that Alex has been taught his colours - he knows what black, white and
> grey are and will tell you a zebra is black and white. However if you
asked
> him what colour our cat was he wouldn't be able to tell you (he is black
> white and grey)

US Alex too..........sometimes. It just totally confuses me how he can
sometimes draw up conclusions from looking at similar situations and
others.....when it's SEEMS so very clear, he can't. Why does it work for him
sometimes and not others? Maybe something in the memory make-up or the
various roads to learning that memory. I don't know.
Watching a program the other day we were joking around about it's content.
Molly and I were laughing and talking about how "Yea, that CAN happen" (it
was sci-fi and couldn't). I asked Alex "Do you think there's a possiblitiy
of that happening?" and he replied "yes". I alsmost fell off my chair. We
then talked in depth and he changed his mind. But first we had to discuss
what it wold take to make it happen and why could not happen.

Often, if I draw a mental or physical picture for Alex he can understand. It
has to be put into a context that I KNOW he understands and we have to walk
around the idea and look at it from multiple directions.
Ex: when learning the solar system and learning rotation, revolution etc we
used kitchen chairs, roll played with us as the sun and moon etc. THEN he
got it. Talking, pictures etc didn't do it.
Also, when he was having to memorize poems in 4th grade--one per week--(I
should be totally gray from THAT one), marching while sing-songing it made a
HUGE difference.

Speaking of diretions, written ones--he often gives wrong answers. However,
if someone reads the question to him and then talks about just what the
question is asking, Alex typically does better.
It seems that if straight lines don't work as well for Alex in SOME
situations. It takes a convouluted path to get to the proper end.


>
>- and if you phrase the question the right way you know that he
> really does know - he just didn't know how to either get the info out of
his
> memory or to relate it to a different situation??

Bingo again here too. Often Alex CAN do it but it's a long and winding road
to get from start to end. One single/simple idea can take 15 min of talking
through.
Although, sometimes I wonder if he says "yes, I get it" just so I'll shut up
and he can move on with his life.

Michelle mom to Alex (15,partial trisomy 14 mosaic) and Molly (11)
MichiganUSA


                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
                  Families Helping Families On-line

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