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Special Needs
7 year old- Multiple times a day says things that don't make sense
Hello,
I was wondering what your thoughts are about my 7 year old boy who seems to often says things that simply just don't make sense.
He does have an ADD dx and maybe some LD that we are currently trying to figure out.
An example from this morning is that for breakfast he had a breakfast burrito and I had some leftover tater tots that I warmed up in the pan and served with the burrito.
He sat down to breakfast and almost immediately said, "Why didn't you call me in for breakfast right when you made it?" (I had just made it and set it down and called him in).
I asked, "What do you mean? I just made it..."
He replied "the chicken tenders aren't hot".
So, my question is two fold. Do you think it's indicative of some larger problem that he doesn't say what is really the matter? (i.e. it seems that saying "the tater tots aren't hot" is more appropriate than "why didn't you call me in right when you made it" Also, that he says "chicken tenders" when he's looking at a tater tot?
I wonder if there is a larger problem looming that we don't know about, or if it's part of the impulsive nature of ADD/ADHD...that is, not taking the time to think about what you are going to say before you say in order to communicate effectively.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: 7 year old- Multiple times a day says things that don't make sense
Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Auntie.
I think it's more the usual ADHD zone-out that plagues him so and/or (and increasingly so) more #1 from what you wrote. It's just that several times a day he'll either say something or ask a question and it just doesn't make sense. I know what he's getting at, but I make him stop, think, and rephrase the question so that it makes sense.
Honestly, I am worried sick about the extent of his issues and because they are not visible to the eye, are hard to figure out. I'm worried that he's ADD, LD, and probably CAPD as well.
Also, because I'm so worried about the troubling things I see him do (or not do) I feel like I'm overly sensitive to every little thing- therefore losing all perspective between what is normal and what isn't. You know?
The example you wrote of the little girl describing her meal...that sounds exactly like how a conversation with my son would go- the most disturbing part his inability to understand that the person you are talking to (an adult) knows what you are talking about.
wow. really insightful stuff.
so, if I can ask, your friend's daughter with the expressive lang. problem...i read what you wrote, but would you say she's doing ok now? That is, has she figured out a way around it?
I don't mean to sound stupid, I'm just curious about what it means long-term. Yes- it's hard to figure out what is just 7-year-old boy antics, what is ADD, what will be outgrown, what will still need work on, etc...
It is hard to find testing for all this different stuff. His school has referred him to Special Ed because he's so far behind...granted it's a Spanish Immersion program...in his English reading he's right on track, but lags considerably behind in his Spanish reading. I've asked that they do additional testing for the auditory and speech stuff. That said, what do you think about going to have him tested somewhere that specializes in APD?
And, how do you think the LD school helped your son get so engaged? I feel like that is the real problem here, he's just not that interested in a lot of what they're teaching.
I definitely agree about the consequences approach- but then I read something about ADD/LD kids and I walk away with feeling like if I do that, then I'm punishing them for something they can't control. It's a fine line.
ALso, I know you've mentioned before about the immersion setting being an ill-fit for a kid with ADD/LD issues going on. I asked the psychologist that diagnosed him and he said it wasn't an issue. That all of the same problems would be happening in an English classroom setting. Believe me, I question it everyday, if it's doing him more harm than good, but the fact that his school has really high standards(writing in cursive in 1st, for example), and that he is literally the youngest in the class, and a boy, and ADD blah, blah, when I see him reading directions for math in Spanish, and then doing the math, I feel like everything is ok. There are so many factors involved in all of this!!! Yikes!!!
My son suffered from demyelination for quite some time after a severe vaccine reaction. When he was having demyelination it absolutely affected his speech/language. He'd call things by the wrong name and make weird associations (broccoli was green beans, all animals with 4 legs were moose, the color wheel was backwards). It reminds me a bit of your post since chicken tenders and tater tots are both food and similar in color, it is something my ds would have associated. There were times I'd ask him to put something away at the sink and he'd go to the trash can and then be really confused when he got there. It would definitely come and go and it gave him an almost vacant look sometimes. The myelin was stripped away and the nerves in his brain were misfiring. It was not something he could help and most of the time, as he was speaking, he knew it wasn't right, but not always. It was very, very challenging and we were terrified for awhile that the damage was permanent. Thankfully, we were able to rebuild his myelin with an auditory listening program combined with OT. Listening to the different frequencies and crossing his midline at the same time made the nerves fire and every time they did, his myelin got stronger. And we have added supplements that help his myelin stay strong.
I hope this is not what is going on with your son but I thought I'd post and share our experience.
52 Choices For Better Health
wow. thanks so much for sharing!!! There is so much power in all of us sharing out experience and information!!!
May I ask... what was the vaccine the reaction came from and what exactly did the reaction entail?
Also, soooooo interesting that you write about the midline...something our therapist has noticed is off in our DS. We have been seeking Developmental Movement Therapy as it works to center the midline, and help heal a damaged central nervous sysytem, and get uninhibited reflexes, inhibited.
I get a lot of flack for seeking out this, uncovered (by insurance), and "new" therapy.
Thank you again for writing. I really appreciate the insight.
No problem, I'm happy to share. We've been very open about his journey. I write about it on our personal blog: https://thestradtnerfamily.com/findingournewnormal/
Here is a post I wrote quite some time ago that is specific to demyelination and it also include the vax reaction symptoms etc: https://thestradtnerfamily.com/findingournewnormal/?p=44 And here is a post written by his OT about the therapy she used to stop the demyelination: https://thestradtnerfamily.com/findingournewnormal/?p=176
I think the therapy you are seeking sounds amazing! We found his left sided weakness really started to improve once he effectively crossed his midline in therapy. We have been doing chiropractic care and laser acupuncture to help restore our ds's central nervous system as it had a LOT of damage after his injury and have seen a huge amount of progress with it.
We also saw great progress when we increased his essential fatty acids and put him on strong doses of omegas. Both are vital to myelin.
52 Choices For Better Health