It's been a long time coming huh?;)
Well, we took Ava in March for Kindergarten screening(she will be 5 on June 25th) and got the results today....
Verbal processing percentile rank 16
Perceptual processing percentile rank 25
Auditory processing percentile rank 1(not sure this is accurate...REALLY..1?)
"high" percentile rank score is 76 or higher
"average" percentile rank score is 25-75
"low" percentile rank score is 24 or lower
Hmmmmm. This almost made me laugh, because back in Sept. she "aced" the preschool screening and tested as an "average" 4 year old AMERICAN kid would, but I KNEW that couldn't be right!!! Therefore, she did NOT qualify for any "therapies" with the local school district....
In addition, the letter from the school included activities to help in these areas...which if she COULD do them in the first place, she would have scored HIGHER..DUH! Frustrated.
I've been working with her on letters and numbers this year and she CAN memorize some facts, but it takes A LONG TIME to retain it...if she retains at all. She's working on copying simple shapes(writing), but it's VERY hard for her... She knows her colors and the names of the shapes(mostly).
More importantly, she has real trouble carrying on conversations that are NOT about food, clothes, toys, etc... She can't understand "why" or "how" questions...I get blank stares and then she just makes something up to answer me. sigh.
I will be calling the school on Monday, and she will definitely be going to Kindergarten at our local public school, and hopefully get some kind of help. I knew all along that I could not teach her effectively at home..that there was something else going on with her, which we need to find out...This just affirmed what I was thinking/feeling even though others kept saying give it time. And this has definitely NOT helped our attachment issues...:(
This has been a VERY frustrating time for me and for her, and we would appreciate your prayers as we try to figure out what her educational/cognitive needs actually are.
Oh, and I'm open to ANY and ALL suggestions you may have:).
Ok, I work with spec ed kids...so here is what I would do, firstvI would want to know what screening tool they used last September and what screening tool they just used (screening tools are very different and some kids can test in the normal range on one and below normal on another one). I would also consult with one of the Speech Language Pathologist because they usually have very good and accurate developmental norms regarding producing certain sounds and being able to developmentally understand certain speech patterns (specifically the how and why questions). I would also be looking at her ability to focus and for how long. While she is focusing how does she seem to be approaching problem solving....it could be that she just has some delay and more time will help, but it could also be something else. Usually at that age we tend to see kids with issues in attention, speech or the way the process is different than most kids/people. It is really hard to identify learning disabilities at this age b/c of the skills that are being looked at. If you have specific questions email me at socialkat78@yahoo.com Also, I can talk with some of my co-workers to see what suggestions they would suggest.
ReplyDeletePraying for you friend! You are a beautiful testimony and it's wonderful that you are fighting the fight to get Ava what she needs!
ReplyDeleteCalvin doesn't understand why either, he always says because...With audio processing issues, this means they don't learn well by hearing. So try other ways, like using her hands and acting out the story. Using salt, beans or shaving cream to draw her numbers and alphabet in. I totally think any child from an orphanage will need some help from services when they get home, they are delayed no matter what. Hang in there, and fight for her with the school. Thanks for the update, think of you often.
ReplyDelete