Please tell me about these brain training programs

[Cadam]

I have heard Brain skills PACE and others talked about but I am not sure what they really do and how they do it. How can I know if they might help my child and is there a home based program that happens to be affordable or is this something I could get from a library or used?

My son doesn't have any dx'ed LD's but he has never been tested. His memory is terrible and he learns absolutely nothing by hearing it, not even "please take the trash out". I am struggling with how to help him retain information and how to process things. He doesn't understand jokes and has zero basic logic skills and doesn't understand inferences like that a "coat-closet" would be a closet where people hang coats.

He is a great kid but hates to write, hates to do anything required or put forth effort into anything and it is hard to figure out the difference between possible problems and bad attitude. He was in ST for 4 years for a severe speech disorder and has some mild SPD that has never been treated, (because after his eval at age 3yo the OT's report was sent to his bio mom and I didn't see it until a year ago).

When our new insurance kicks in I am going to ask that he have an OT eval but my dh is resistant to it and thinks I over react and want to label everything as a disorder - dh is a really good guy and he may be right ;)

Info on the brain training programs or other advice appreciated.

[Laurie4b]

It really sounds like ds needs a comprehensive evaluation before you start trying this or that. An OT evaluation would be an excellent part of that, but at a minimum, I would also want a WISC IV (that is an IQ test) and an achievement test in addition . In most places, you can get that free from the local school system if you write a letter to the person in charge of exceptional children stating that you think he has learning disabilities and would like him tested. After getting the parts the school will do free and an OT eval, there may be other areas to explore such as auditory processing. At 10, you really need to know what it is that you are dealing with so that you can devise the most efficient set of strategies to meet his needs.

[Cadam]

We live in a bad district for SN or gifted children. They will do nothing. Of course insurance won't cover something that is "educational" in nature. I would love both of my big kids to have IQ and other testing, possibly by a nuro-psyc? but I am not sure

1. what to ask for (tests exc)

2. what I am trying to learn (would it tell me the best ways to teach them? What else could I learn that I don't already know?)

3. How to phrase the need in non-educational terms

Again, we struggle with this because dh is afraid I am, or will, go overboard. I tend to hyper-focus a bit :o he also doesn't want our kids unnecessarily labeled so I need something other than "I think it would be interesting" to convince him it is necessary to do testing of any kind.

[Claire]

Do what I did. When you get your new insurance company, call them and tell them your son needs a complete neuro-psychological evaluation. Memory problems alone should be enough to qualify him for extensive testing, but you can also mention an inability to understand jokes, inability to make inferences, and difficulties with understanding language and verbal reasoning. If your insurance company is like mine, they will allow you to self-refer. If not, you will need to get a referral from your physician.

A complete neuro-psych eval includes IQ and achievement testing. You just need to qualify the child for the neuro-psych eval with a physical or neurological problem -- such as memory problems. You can't say your child needs IQ and achievement testing because he's having trouble with school. You have to describe his problems in physical terms (such as balance problems or fine motor problems) or neurological terms (memory, language).

The problems you describe are serious and really require professional help to sort them out.

[DianeJM]

as has already been mentioned. Where I live it turns out that it's very easy to do, but I had a tough time finding out about it, especially from our pediatrician who said no because it is educational not medical. But when I actually made a phone call to our local children's' hospital it was a different story -- they do it all the time and insurance pays for it. Who knew?! All the best to you, I know this is confusing and difficult.
Blessings,

[Cadam]

Any specific phrases I need to use or stay away from when asking for the nuro-psyc? Ideally I would like it for both of my big kids. What did this cost you after insurance?

[Laurie4b]

I would try writing them the letter anyway. There are federal and state laws in place that in nearly every state require them to do the testing. The letter is what triggers their legal responsibility.

You are absolutely not overreacting . You are describing a serious cluster of problems. They will have even more impact as your child gets older. It would do your child a disservice not to identify the issues and know how to tackle them.



Reasons to get an eval:

1) The evaluation = labeling is a common misconception. What really happens is this: if a child has true brain differences, the child himself and his peers will label him. A child's own labels will be very destructive: stupid, weird, or bad. Those are the top three. If he hasn't started yet, he will. Homeschooling will not prevent this. Kids know what other kids can do and they can't. This is simply the self-labeling. A child who doesn't get jokes, inferences, etc. will find themselves more and more lonely by high school. Peers may not overtly "label," they will just begin to avoid. There are few levels of pain as deep.

The labeling of an evaluation gives a child a handle on their differences. "I have trouble with my working memory, but I know strategies that I can use to overcome it" is way different than, "I can't do what I see others doing. I must be stupid." KWIM? (Read Mel Levine's One Mind at a Time for lots of stories about how this demystification helps kids. It increases their confidence, not the reverse.) So a good eval tells you AND your child what the differences are.

2. Knowing what tthe problems are called enables you to more effectively research and find strategies to help. You can fiddle with curriculum till the cows come home and never hit on STRATEGIEs that work or don't. There may be whole arenas of interventions you'll never find out about, accomodations that could be made to help your child. At age 10, it can seem that you can "make it work" at home; that gets increasingly difficult as time progresses when there are special needs and you're trying to get them ready for independent living.

3. If you are lucky, your evaluator will be able to give you some of those strategies. Some do this a lot better than others. But just knowing the names gives you a huge head start in researching solutions.

4. Having an eval gives you a baseline to see what is working and what isn't. You can compare later testing and see if your child is gaining ground and catching up with peers, holding the same pattern, or losing ground. That's important to know.

5. If your child is college bound, or even just bound for the work force, having documentation of the specific disabilities can open the door for accomodations that can be the difference between whether the child can succeed or not. You can't just send a mom's observations to the College Board, or the college of choice, or tell them to a future employer. However, if you know that your child has x and z, and that accomodation a and f will enable them to function on the level of their peers, and that is supported by professional documentation, your child will have a better chance at a level playing field.

As for testing, I mentioned the specifics above. You will need to start with a WISC-IV. They will also do an achievement test, like the Woodcock Johnson. A neuropsych will do the WISC-IV first and the patterns from that testing will point to other tests that would be helpful. It also sounds like an evaluation from a speech & language pathologist is necessary (That will deal with the jokes, the not getting inferences, the not being able to follow simple directions, not understanding coat-closet). The speech-language person will know the names of the tests. You don't have to tell him or her; just tell the person your observations. Same with an occupational therapy evaluation. I would schedule all three of these. The various therapists will know how to code stuff so that your insurance will pay if there is any possibility they will.

[Tara from Florida]

Instead of rewriting my web site may is suggest you go to my link below and you can read as much as you want on PACE, as well as information about other related topics. If you have any further questions feel free to give me a call and I may be able to answer some more case specific questions for you. My DD went through the program for a variety of issues she was facing so I have "been there - done that" as a mom and can really empathize.

I also offer an on line free Learning and Behavior Rating Questionnaire. You get to give the answers to 64 in depth questions and I will group them into 8 different categories and send you the report back. This is a helpful tool to "see" in a snap shot where your child's primary concerns are manifesting based on things like: attention, hyperactivities, auditory processing, anxiety, general learning etc. Just click on the link to "questionnaire" either at the bottom of the home page or on the tab to the left.

I wish you and your child the very best.