Press Release Summary: Mark was quickly labeled with having ADHD. Mark\'s true diagnosis was central auditory processing disorder or CAPD.
Press Release Body: I liked Mark the tallest student in my second grade classroom. Mark sat at the back of the room, which was a choice he had made. Since I was familiar with the acoustics in my room, I would always walk around to insure all students understood any oral directions I had given them. I always monitored the students completing their seat work. In the morning before school began, I would allow any students needing assistance with their homework or if they wanted to work on completing a writing assignment, to come to the classroom. Mark was one of those students who came everyday. Usually, he needed help studying for his spelling tests. Usually, he became confused over the sounds of certain letter combinations. I knew the only way he would really learn it, was by writing it. Eventually, I created weekly word searches for the spelling words which helped Mark tremendously. Mark began having behavioral problems in his resource classes. The art, music and physical education teacher stated that Mark constantly asked them to repeat the oral directions they had given. They did not appreciate when he spoke out of turn. Frankly, Mark was failing his resource classes. I spoke with Mark about his behavior and he stated that sometimes he became confused over what he was supposed to do. When he could not remember, he thought he had the right to ask. Actually, I agreed with him. However, I explained to him that it was annoying for someone to repeat a set of directions after just giving them to a group of students. I thought the best thing to do was to pair him up with a listening buddy. When I approached the teachers about it, they did not understand 'why' he needed one. They believed he was an obnoxious student, since he was over-aged. Mark had been retained twice. Last year, he had been referred to the child study team and they concluded that Mark was a slow learner. I had met briefly with Mark's mother before and felt I had a good rapport with her. Upon meeting with her, she was deeply concerned about the trouble he was having in his resource classes. The thought about her son having ADHD kept entering her mind. Yet, she wondered if he did have ADHD, how come he did not have a problem being in my classroom. I told her I made sure he knew his assignments. Sometimes, I had him repeat oral directions. His mother began to discuss the problems he had at home in following directions. It seemed that he constantly forgot what he was supposed to do. Sometimes, she was aggravated in having to repeat herself. I gave her some literature about CAPD and let her make up her own mind about whether Mark had it or not. Mark's mother did not take him for an evaluation that year. Instead, Mark was tested for ADHD by the urging of his pediatrician. The following year, Mark had moved out-of-state. I shocked when his mother called the school wanting to speak with me. Luckily, I had a break at the time. She had lost the literature about CAPD and wanted to know if I could send her another copy of the information I had. Apparently, the medicine Mark was taking was not effective. He was having a problem with all of his teachers. Mark's mother began to cry and did not know what to do. I told her I would send the information to her as soon as possible. As it turned out, Mark did have CAPD. He was given an FM monitor to wear and performed much better at his new school.
BIO: Sahron Ollie is a literacy specialist, children's advocate, freelance writer and the author of Not Once Not Twice but Three Times: Being an Advocate for Children's Hidden Disabilities and 504 Plans. Her website is: http://www.geocities.com/sahronollie/504Plan.html
Web Site: http://www.geocities.com/sahronollie/504Plan.html
Contact Details: 8243 Briarwood Circle Norfolk, VA 23518 sahronollie@yahoo.com
2022
